Catching up with Neal McCoy: 10th anniversary of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, future plans, and fans

Country artist Neal McCoy. Photo Courtesy of 2911 Media.

Veteran country artist Neal McCoy chatted about the 10th anniversary of his reciting the Pledge of Allegiance daily, and his future plans.

McCoy is a two-time “Entertainer of the Year” winner at the TNN/Music City News Country Awards, and a multiple gold and platinum-selling country music recording artist.

On the 10^th anniversary of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (and celebrating America’s 250th birthday), McCoy said, “It’s crazy! I can’t believe it has been 10 years since as you get older you will think your life went by so fast already.”

“When you get older, it actually does go by fast. I’ve done it every single day for 10 years,” he noted.

On joining forces with Allied Flag, he said, “I love working with Allied Flag. They are a flag company out of Kansas City, and they are American-owned, American made, hand sewn, and they are just wonderful. They actually found out what I was doing with my Pledge of Allegiance every day.”

McCoy continued, “A lot of people say the Pledge with you, and I always try to find a flag. There are some places that don’t have flags, but I wear a hat from my ranch called Old Glory Horse and Cattle Ranch, and it has got a flag on it, so I’ll do a pledge to that sometimes.”

“Allied Flag came out to see us, and we talked to them at the show, and they said, ‘Man, it just looks like you stand for a lot of things, same things we stand for, and I know you’re all about your country, and we just can’t tell you how excited we would be to work with you.’ We took them up on the offer, and now, they are coming out with a commemorative 10-year anniversary flag, or a box set with a flag in it. I’m excited about that,” McCoy elaborated.

“I love our country, and respect our flag, and it’s not just always the way it is,” McCoy noted. “So, we’re glad to be with somebody that makes them right and cares about them. I’ve learned a lot about their family, and they stand for our flag, proudly.”

Future plans

On his future plans, McCoy shared, “We are so blessed with what we are doing. I get to go do shows, probably a little over 100 shows every year. I get to bring joy to people every night that we’re out there, and they give it back to us.”

“It is so wonderful that I’m still able to sing, and that the shows are still really good that we put on,” he said.

“We go out there with one thing in mind… we’re going to entertain you, and we want you to let us know if we did. It usually works pretty dang good. So, that’s what I’ve got planned up,” he elaborated.

“I’ve got some songs that I’ve been putting in a can when I do them, over the last four or five years. Some of these songs were from the early 1990s when I was looking for material,” he said.

“So, I’m going to do a couple of those demos, and then others I’ve co-wrote with some people, and other ones are people that just send them to me when they think that they have a song that I like, and they send them to me,” he said.

“I hang on to them, and I’ve been recording one at a time, usually every two or three months, and then just holding on to them. Now, I’ve got about 10 built up, so I’m going to put that out on some kind of project, I just don’t know where or when,” he added.

McCoy on how he spends his holidays

On the holidays, he remarked, “Each year during the holidays, we just try to slow down for a minute, and get a chance to see my immediately family, as well as my brothers, sisters, their kids and grandkids.”

“This is the time when I do get to slow down, and I’m excited about that,” he added.

Regarding his New Year’s resolutions, he revealed, “I don’t set them anymore, and if I do, I don’t tell anybody because I put it on myself.  I’m going to continue to stay in shape, continue to work out, continue to get my rest and drink water, so that my shows will still be as good as I can be. That’s about it!”

Stage of his life

On the title of the current chapter of his life, the country crooner revealed, “Still More to Come!”

Success

Regarding his definition of the word success, McCoy said, “Success is exactly what we’re doing. I love the lane that we’re in.”

“I’m 67 years old, and I try not to look it. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that, and I go and do shows, and we make money. We ride in one bus, so I get to actually bring some home for the family, and that’s good,” he said.

“The shows I do are a great size for me,” he noted. “I just take my five-piece band. We set up our little equipment. We play for people. We don’t require much. We don’t have any big lights, or screens, or confetti bombs, or any of that stuff.”

“We just go out and set the mood. We’ll have these people laughing, and crying, and clapping,” he added.

Message for his fans

For his dedicated fans, McCoy expressed, “Thank you for being so loyal! In the ‘90s, these people became true fans of ours. Not just the music. They knew us and they liked us. They will continue to be fans until I die or until they die. That’s just the way it is. When we were having hits in the ‘90s, we were drawing pretty good.”

“So, I make sure that I put on a great show. All you’ve got to do to work, until you want to quit, or until you die on the stage somewhere, all you need to do is be nice to people, and put on a great show,” he explained.

“Don’t just be nice to the fans, be nice to the caterers in the stage. Just be good to everybody because in five years, when they are looking for an act, they’ll remember we were there, and we were nice, and put on a great show,” McCoy concluded..

To learn more about Neal McCoy, check out his official website and follow him on Facebook.