Parker McCollum shared a candid glimpse into fatherhood and how his son has completely changed his life, but not his songwriting.
While co-hosting Country Countdown USA alongside Lon Helton, from his wife Hallie Ray Light McCollum’s parents’ home in Oklahoma, the country superstar and Texas native opened up about his just over one-year-old son, Major Yancey Tyler McCollum, who was born on August 8, 2024.
“He’s a wild animal, he’s 15 months, he’s full go, he’s got a different bump or bruise every day. He’s a show-off. He knows when girls are around. Hopefully he’ll be more like his mama. I didn’t know life could get this good,” McCollum shared of fatherhood, which he previously called “the greatest thing ever.”
The “What Kinda Man” singer went on to detail how fatherhood has completely changed his life. “The best way I can explain it is I feel like I’ve always been an inquisitive person. I would always ask why. I had to have a reason,” he explained. “Then, when we had Major, I was sitting there looking at him, and realized that’s why. That’s why we’re here. That’s a profound moment to have. It puts a lot in perspective.”
Lon Helton then asked Parker McCollum if he and his wife Hallie Ray were wanting more kids or if they would settle with one, to which he replied, “Hallie Ray is already talking about number two. I kinda kid with her by saying, ‘This one’s not good enough? You need another one?’ But I can’t imagine two. I know I will lose that argument. It’s already been lost.”
McCollum has previously shared that being a parent can sometimes feel overwhelming, but with his wife by his side, and good friends like fellow country star Koe Wetzel, who also became a dad earlier this year when he and his longtime girlfriend Bailey Fisher welcomed their first child, a daughter named Madison Woods Wetzel, he doesn’t have to navigate first-time fatherhood alone.
“Everything that people [have] said about having kids is a thousand percent true,” McCollum admitted during a recent round-robin with Music Mayhem and other media outlets. “Koe and I were just talking about that this morning. He’s a dad now, and that’s what we were talking about… I didn’t know what it was going to be like, I was mind-blown the day he came into this world and just had no idea what I was getting myself into.”
“I feel like it’s a million lessons, and you’re still learning them in real-time right now,” he added. “And it’s like as soon as you get over one obstacle, it’s just another ridiculous obstacle to overcome. But it’s just been the greatest thing ever.”
Even though McCollum’s life has completely changed since becoming a father, he says don’t expect that part of his life to translate into his new material when it comes to music. “No. No dad songs,” he said while guest-starring on an episode of Taste of Country Nights. “I would never sit down and try to write a dad song. It’s hard to do it without being cheesy, and if I were to write a song about my son, I’d want it to be really special.”
He further elaborated on if his songwriting shifted since having a baby, “It hasn’t changed at all, really,” and that is showcased on his newest album, Parker McCollum, which arrived on June 27 and is his best and most authentic project yet.
“I’ve noticed guys that have had kids and their songwriting changed, and everything changed for them, and I just, man, it’s two separate completely different things for me,” he continued. “I just don’t think about it much. I’m still out there running, still out there chasing it. I always say, still trying to make it. And I don’t think that’ll ever change, regardless of how many kids I have or how much success I have in music. I think it’ll always be just that kid in me that’s still trying to write great songs and that every time I sit down and pick up a guitar, that’s what shows up most of the time.”
Parker McCollum and Hallie Ray Light McCollum welcomed their first child, Major, on August 8, 2024, after announcing in February that they were expecting.
