Charles Kelley Reveals The Meaning Behind Every Song On 'The Driver'

It's a very exciting time for Charles Kelley. The Lady Antebellum founding member just released his debut solo album, The Driver, welcomed his first child, Ward Charles Kelley, into the world (a baby boy) with wife Cassie McConnell, and he's up for a Grammy for Best Country/Duo Group Performance for his single "The Driver" featuring Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay.

Speaking of The Driver, the album is Charles's very first solo record, and was released on February 5th by Capitol Nashville. The album not only features the Grammy-nominated single of the same name, but also features the incredible talents of Stevie Nicks, Miranda Lambert, and Chris Stapleton. 

Kelley tells iHeartRadio of his new album, "If I could say one thing about this record, it's definitely honest. It one hundred percent comes from my heart. I was trying to put art before commerce, so one thing would be [that it's] honest."

The country star also revealed the meaning behind his tracks onThe Driver. He explained what each song is about, what inspired them, and what they mean to him. Read on below.

Track 1: "Your Love"

"'Your Love' is a song that kicks the record off, and it's just got a lot of grit to it. I actually didn't write this song, it was a buddy of mine that wrote four of the songs off this record, Abe Stoklasa, sent it to me. I felt like it pulled out something in my voice that I was kind of missing for a while, with Lady Antebellum. I wanted to get back to a little bit of a warmer, grittier side of my voice, and I just love the energy of it. It's a great one live."

Track 2: "The Driver" featuring Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay

"I haven't been as proud of writing a song probably since 'Need You Now' [with Lady Antebellum]. 'The Driver' is one of those things that, just lyrically, it kind of encompasses the last eight or nine years of my life. The first verse is about 'The Driver,' but he represents everybody — the crew — everybody behind the scenes that makes it happen. And then the second verse, that Eric Pasley sings, is the dreamers and the believers, and they're the audience. They're the fans. And we were those fans in the front row. And then the last verse, that Dierks Bentley sings, is the singer pouring it out each night. So, when we wrote this song, our vision was almost like this 'we're all in it together' moment at a live show. I picture people with the lighters up in the air, singing along. It's been fun to watch the evolution of that song, and it actually is nominated for a Grammy. It's exceeded my expectations. It was amazing working with Dierks and Eric. Eric and I wrote this song together with a buddy of mine, Abe Stoklasa, and Dierks has been a close buddy for as long as I've been in the business. So we were hanging out together, and I was just playing him some songs off my new project that I recorded, and he was like, 'That's a really special song, 'The Driver,' and I said, 'Do you want to sing on it with me?' And next thing you know, here we are."

Track 3: "Dancing Around It"

"'Dancing Around It' is definitely one of my favorite songs off the record. I just love the feel of it. It almost has a bit of a John Mayer kind of vibe, the way the drums sound and the groove. [It's] got a little bit of R&B flavor to it. I think a lot of us can relate to having that person that comes over, and just strings you along a little bit. It's almost kind of like 'Need You Now' in a way. They call you when they've run out of all the other options, but you're dancing around the fact that you know there's probably something more there, if y'all just were to get to the heart of the matter. It's just one of those songs that, for some reason, is one that I find myself going back to when I listen to the record."

Track 4: "Southern Accents" featuring Stevie Nicks

"This, believe it or not, is an old Tom Petty song. It was off his record Southern Accents [1985], but it was never released as a single, and I always thought it would make a great country song. So, when I was going down this solo project concept, I just started going through all the music I had, that I've written, and [that I] just had in my playlists and I was like, 'Man, I should give this a shot.' So I record it and then my producer happened to play it for Stevie Nicks's manager, just casually. And she said, 'You know, Stevie's the biggest Tom Petty fan. They're friends. I've gotta go play this for Stevie.' And next thing you know, she had reached out, and I asked her if she wanted to sing harmony on it, and it was the coolest moment for me as an artist, just to have Stevie Nicks there. One of the weirdest things was, we went up to L.A. to this studio called The Village, and I didn't realize it at the time, but we found out later that it was actually where Tom Petty cut the original version of 'Southern Accents.' Same booth, same everything. It was pretty crazy. It was fate."

Track 5: "Lonely Girl"

"Lonely Girl" is a song actually that Chris Stapleton wrote with Jesse Frasure, and I knew I needed something off the record that had a little bit more groove to it. Because a lot of the songs are a little more introspective and heavy. And 'Lonely Girl,' the lyrics are even a little arrogant. It's like, anytime you get lonely, just put this record on, and, I'm right there with you. For me, though, this song's all about the groove and the vocal delivery. I wanted to find songs, too, that pulled out a grittier side, and this song definitely did."

Track 6: "The Only One Who Gets Me"

"'The Only One Who Gets Me' is the first song I've ever written one hundred percent about my wife. We've been married over six years, but we've been together for nine years now. It's tough being married to a musician. You're gone a lot and my passion is always going to be music so strongly, and so there's always that balance. And she's the only person that could put up with me, but also dish it back in the way that you need. We just have such a strong love and respect for each other. Every line of this song is just my story. Anytime I've ever written a love song with Lady Antebellum, it's a little bit of Hillary's story, little bit of Dave's, little bit of mine put into one, and this was the first time I was able to write a love song specifically just from my perspective."

Track 7: "Round in Circles"

"'Round in Circles' is a track that I wrote with my brother, Josh Kelley. Josh is the reason I got into the music business. He encouraged me to move to Nashville back in 2005. It makes me feel old saying that, but he taught me how to write songs, really. He helped me get my start, and so we were writing a little bit, I guess it was not this past January, but the year before. It's really cold in Nashville, and my wife and I were like, 'Let's just get out of Nashville.' We had a couple months off of touring, and we rented a house in L.A. for a month. And Josh and I wrote just a ton [and] just kind of rekindled our brotherly friendship. I think that over the years, we didn't get to see each other as much, and we bonded like we had never bonded before. We wrote this song called 'Round in Circles' and it was fun to have him on there. He's singing harmonies on that track as well."

Track 8: "I Wish You Were Here" featuring Miranda Lambert

"'I Wish You Were Here' is a song that was actually written by a guy named Jedd Hughes. And I've always thought it was a great song. I've always wanted to record it, actually, with Lady Antebellum, but it just never fit. It was funny, after I got done cutting it, I knew it was missing something. Maybe it's just 'cause I love female harmonies, and on this record I was just like, 'God, it needs something.' And so, Miranda had come to a little showcase I had, a little industry showcase in Nashville, and she just was so complimentary of the project, and talking about the songs. I was like, 'Man, I wonder if she'd be into singing on one of them.' So, I sent her the song, and she loved it, and there it is. I mean, she makes the song. She really does."

Track 9: "Leaving Nashville"

"'Leaving Nashville' is the final track for a reason. I wanted people to have something that made them think a little bit, [and] made them feel. It's about the struggle of the songwriter in Nashville. I think everybody has this perception that all the songwriters are wealthy and famous, and it's this glamorous life. And for a handful of them, it is. And then, for the majority of them, it's just ebb and flow. Sometimes they're living month-to-month, but they're just one break away. One of the lyrics is 'One day you're the king/next you're not/it's handshakes and whiskey shots/to throwing up in parking lots,' which is a pretty heavy lyric, but it says a lot. Because then it says, 'But I ain't ever leaving Nashville.' When you have something you love, no matter what it throws at you, you're going to keep at it. You're not going to give up."

Photos: Rachel Kaplan