You might not know his face, but if you’re a big country music fan like the rest of us, you’ll definitely recognize his lyrics. Coming from Aiken, South Carolina, McNair got his start in music while writing in his dorm at the University of Alabama. After his roommate moved out in college, McNair used his guitar knowledge he’d acquired from his childhood to perfect his craft and understand song structure. Since moving to Nashville in 2013, McNair has landed major label cuts from artists like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Hardy, and Keith Urban to name a few. Stars and Guitars caught up with the singer-songwriter James McNair and chatted about everything from his start in music, his advice to aspiring songwriters and what to expect from him within the next year.
Starting out, the Overstreet family, a legendary family in Nashville who’s written hits for country music legends like George Jones and Keith Whitley, played a big role in his beginnings. Summer Overstreet accompanied him on his first co-write, helping the South Carolina native learn the ins and outs of the music industry. After almost 8 years in Music City, McNair has major hits under his belt. McNair co-wrote CMA’s Entertainer of the year recipient Luke Combs’ chart-topper “Lovin’ on You,” which hit number one on country radio in September 2020.
Writing songs from the heart is one of the things McNair does best. The most personal song he’s written, “Used to You,” was also cut by Combs back in 2016. He told Stars and Guitars that he came into the co-write with the intention to write a breakup song, but after encouragement from Combs to write what was on his mind, the song morphed into him telling the story of losing someone close to him. “Used to You,” was inspired by the loss of his uncle and has since become an underground fan favorite as the song was released early on in Combs’ career. McNair hopes for this song to resurface and reach a bigger audience— believe me, it’s a song that hits close to home.
Although McNair has already had co-writes with some of Nashville’s finest, his dream co-write would be with none other than The Chief himself— Eric Church. McNair told us that he believes his own life experience, in conjunction with Churchs’ authenticity and ability to dig deep to find lyrics would make a great combination. We can’t agree more.
His best advice for aspiring songwriters would be if you’re not in Nashville, move to Nashville. When McNair moved to town in 2013, his “graduating class” of singer-songwriters was among the likes of Combs, Hardy and Wallen. Finding artists that were all “gunning for the same thing” and coming up as a class together played a significant role in his success. He added, “Don’t give up because you just never know… as soon as you’re ready to pack up, that’s when it could happen.” If you’re trying to make it in Music City, having boots on the ground is of the utmost importance.
Although McNair does not have any music of his own out yet— don’t worry, it’s on the way. We asked him what the difference was between writing music for other people and the music he plans to release himself. Growing up on 90’s alternative and classic rock bands like Pearl Jam, the melodies and guitarists would lock him in to the songs, emphasizing that if the melody and lyrics he’s written meant something to him personally, he’d consider cutting the song for his own album. At some point, almost every song that’ll be on his upcoming album had been on hold for other artists but he’s ready to make them his own. He’s currently in the process of going through his roster songs to decide which songs would be the best fit. If it’s a song he’d love to sing or perform, you bet it’ll be on his freshman album.
While McNair is still in the process of completing his first album, he’s hoping to release a single in late 2020, and plans to have an album release date some time in early 2021. Check out our full interview with James here and keep up with him on his socials at @JamesMcNairmusic or jamesmcnairmusic.com
