A few misses and plenty of hits for Joe Nichols

October 30, 2014 at 12:05a.m.

Hills and valleys is one way to describe the career of country singer Joe Nichols. Another is to simply say he has enjoyed longevity in what is nothing short of a cutthroat business.

“Even my business manager says all of the time, ‘If I could write a book, I’d definitely have a whole chapter devoted to you because your career is unlike any other I’ve ever encountered,’” said Nichols, calling from Waco, Texas. “‘It has so many misses and hits. It’s really remarkable how you’ve been able to come back and kind of guide through this.’ I guess that’s what I’m grateful for — I’m still here and still having hits.”

And what hits they are. Not only did the Arkansas native watch his 2002 debut, “Man With a Memory,” go platinum behind No. 1 tune “Brokenheartsville,” but two albums later that was followed up with chart-topper single “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.”

On and off again for the next decade, Nichols enjoyed No. 1 hits with “Gimmie That Girl,” “Yeah” and “Sunny and 75.” The latter two are from his 2013 effort, “Crickets.”

It’s pointed out to Nichols that with the number of hits in his catalog — six No. 1s and eight top-10 singles — he easily could be headlining outdoor amphitheaters.

“You know, if they’d been closer together I think it would be easy to say we’d had a bunch of hits and we could go out and headline, but there needs to be sustainability,” Nichols said. “The hits have to be in succession, and what we have now is momentum. I’m very hopeful and optimistic that we have a good thing going. I think maybe in the not-too-distant future we can look at possibly doing that.”

He added, “What I’m grateful for is that I’m still here and still having hits. At the same time, I’m not disappointed at all of the stuff I’ve kind of gone through with the misses or near hits. I think it all kind of leads to where I’m at today.”

When Nichols looks back at the misses in his career, he believes there’s a common thread of why the songs didn’t work: Either the tune wasn’t as good as it could have been or his record label at the time didn’t fully support it.

That’s definitely not the case now for Nichols, who pointed out “Yeah” and “Sunny and 75” are balanced out by an artistic and commercial appeal. Fans will be able to hear all of Nichols’ hits, and some near misses, when he returns to Northeast Ohio for a Sunday show at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown.

Speaking of his live show, Nichols also falls right in line with his Music City artist brethren these days in the sense he’s not afraid to have some fun with audiences covering songs that are decidedly outside of the country world.

“I think it’s fun to throw people a curve ball every now and then and keep them on their toes,” Nichols said. “Not just let them feel like they’re listening to the CD or their iPod. It’s always good to make sure they know there’s a show going on.”

Take for instance Nichols’ current tour, which finds the artist singing Aloe Blacc’s recent pop hit “The Man” as well as Sir-Mix-A Lot’s ’90s classic “Baby Got Back.”

“I’m kind of a smart aleck,” Nichols said. “That’s my sarcastic view on a country guy like me trying to get into the rap world or bringing rap into country. It’s me doing a rap song, but as like a country shuffle. So it’s country but a rap lyric.”

You know, if you think about it, there’s a connection thematically between “Baby Got Back” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.”

Nichols said, laughing, “Well, they’re in the same key, so that’ll work. That’s not bad.”