Tim McGraw Looks Back on the Risk That Started His Career: ‘I Gave Up Everything I Owned’
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The country star remembers leaving college behind and purchasing a bus ticket to Nashville to chase his dreams.
In 1989, a young Tim McGraw made a bold choice that would shape the rest of his life. Armed with a setlist of around 50 songs, the Louisiana-born singer left college, sold off his belongings, and bought a one-way bus ticket to Nashville to pursue music.
Now a country music icon with 47 No. 1 hits, McGraw recently reflected on that defining moment—and his mother’s unexpectedly encouraging response.
At the time, McGraw was studying pre-law and playing small gigs in his college town.
“I started performing for tips at a local restaurant, then formed a band,” he told NPR. “As that picked up, I found myself skipping more classes and focusing more on music. Eventually, I couldn’t keep up with school anymore.”
That’s when he took a leap of faith.
“I sold off everything—my car, my shotguns, all of it. I wanted just enough money for a bus ticket to Nashville and maybe a couple weeks in a hotel,” he said.
But telling his mother about his decision was the most daunting part.
“I was terrified to call her. She never finished high school because she had me young and gave up so much for me,” McGraw shared. “She didn’t get the chances she deserved because she was raising me and ended up in a difficult relationship, probably because she needed support. I felt this pressure to succeed for both of us.”
With anxiety building, McGraw finally made the call.
“When I told her I was leaving college to move to Nashville and chase music, there was silence. I braced for her to yell, ‘Absolutely not!’ But instead, she said, ‘Well, I’m surprised you didn’t do this sooner.’ Then she told me, ‘You have to try, or you’ll always wonder what could’ve been.’”
That show of unwavering support stayed with McGraw.
As history shows, he made the right call. He arrived in Nashville on May 9, 1989, coincidentally the same day his musical idol, Keith Whitley, passed away from acute alcohol poisoning.
McGraw’s journey began with that bus ride—and he never looked back.