MUSIC

Josh Turner shares personal stories of faith, family and struggle ahead of 'I Serve a Savior'

Cindy Watts
The Tennessean
Josh Turner's first faith-based album, "I Serve a Savior," will be in stores Oct. 26.

Country singer Josh Turner got baptized when he was 12 years old.

Now 40, the South Carolina native said that was older than most of his friends at Union Baptist Church near his hometown. Many of them, Turner thought, chose to get baptized because it was what everyone else was doing. He wanted to take his time with his public declaration of faith. 

“I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons,” Turner said. “And just like any relationship, when I entered into that relationship with Jesus Christ, the longer you know somebody, the closer you become.”

Turner’s relationship with God led him to Nashville, encouraged him to chase his country music dream, supported him when panic attacks threatened his livelihood and still governs every weighty decision he faces. His faith is also the basis for his new album “I Serve a Savior,” which will be in stores Oct. 26. It’s a project fans have wanted for 15 years — since the singer’s baritone first rang on his breakthrough hit, “Long Black Train."

" 'Cause there's victory in the Lord I say/ Victory in the Lord/ Cling to the Father and his holy name/ And don't go riding on that long black train," Turner sings in the platinum-selling song about temptation. 

“I think many times the country music writers do a better job of looking at our theology and our gospel than the gospel people do because they are looking through another window,” said gospel singer Bill Gaither, who worked with Turner to create a DVD companion for “I Serve a Savior.” “Josh’s approach made some of the hymns and old traditional songs become fresh again.”

Josh Turner's first faith-based album, "I Serve a Savior," will be in stores Oct. 26.

Turner has wanted to be a country singer his entire life — a goal that seemed outlandish for a kid from Hannah, South Carolina. Soon after he was baptized, Turner said God started giving him guidance through the Bible and fellow believers. A few years later, as a teenager, the singer was riding his four-wheeler on his family’s property, praying about his future. He asked if it was the right decision to move to Nashville and chase a dream that most people thought unreachable. 

“I felt like the Lord told me, ‘Hey, if this is what you want, I’ll give it to you,' " said Turner, his eyes bleary after a day of interviews. " 'All you have to do is trust me. I’m going to carve out your own path.’ ”

The singer went to college for two years near his hometown and questioned his path again when it was time to transfer to Nashville’s Belmont University. He knew his parents couldn’t afford the private school and decided to attend nearby Clemson University and major in forestry. His parents wouldn’t hear of it.

“They said, ‘Son, we don’t know how we’re going to send you to Belmont either, but we’re going to find a way,' ” recalled Turner. He graduated from the school in 2001 with a degree in commercial vocal performance. 

Josh Turner and his wife, Jennifer, walk the red carpet before the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

While at Belmont, Turner met his wife, Jennifer, made contacts that led to his first publishing deal and wrote “Long Black Train,” which he said came to him in a vision.

The song was the first Turner sang on stage at the Grand Ole Opry and the song that led to his record deal.

However, Turner’s faith was soon tested again. His first year of touring was also his first year of marriage. His wife was a teacher in Nashville, and Turner spent 300 days of that year on the road.

“I’d had my first panic attack because of all the stress going on,” he said. “I described it as the best year and the worst year of my life.”

He was dealing with the stress of being his own boss, never seeing his new wife and deep financial woes. Turner would sometimes play two shows a night and not break even. He closed that year and the next in a financial hole.

Josh Turner, his wife, Jennifer, and their sons, Hampton, Colby, Hawke and Marion,  recorded a live version of the song "The River (of Happiness)" — all of them singing and playing — to include on Turner's new album, "I Serve a Savior."

“I had every reason to quit and pack up and move back home, but I kept going back to that moment when God spoke to me and said, ‘If you want this, I’ll give it to you as long as you trust me,’ ” Turner said. Seated at a large table in his manager’s penthouse office, he can see most of downtown Nashville. “Had I quit and moved back home, I would have forfeited all the blessings that came after that. I’m sitting here almost 20 years later, and I’ve lived my dream.”

Turner and his wife are parents to four sons: Hampton, 12, Colby, 9, Marion, 7, and Hawke, 4.

“There’s never a dull moment in my house,” said the proud dad, who maintains his sons are better musicians than he is. 

Hampton and Turner’s wife, Jennifer, co-wrote “The River (of Happiness)” on “I Serve a Savior.” The family recorded a live version of the song — all of them singing and playing — at Gaither’s studio to include on the album. The singer wanted a moment to showcase them on the project, and he thinks they will be proud of the results for a lifetime.

Josh Turner's sons — Marion, 7, Hawke, 4, Hampton, 12, and Colby, 9 — perform.

Other songs on the album include hymns “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” There's also reimagined versions of Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light” and Loretta Lynn’s “I Pray My Way Out of Trouble” and live performances of his hits “Me and God” and “Long Black Train.” Turner co-wrote the title track with Mark Narmore.

“This is something he’s always wanted to do,” said Turner’s producer Kenny Greenberg, calling the album “a vocal tour de force” with a bluegrass flare. “This is where he comes from … and who he is. This is what he grew up listening to and it became this labor of love.”

Reach Cindy Watts at ciwatts@tennessean.com or 615-664-2227 and on Twitter @CindyNWatts.

Josh Turner's first gospel album, "I Serve a Savior," will be in stores Oct. 26.

About 'I Serve a Savior'

Josh Turner’s “I Serve a Savior” is 12 songs deep, rich with country gospel favorites, church hymnsand new songs. In addition to the album, Turner also will release a live performance DVD version of the album filmed at Gaither Studios in Alexandria, Indiana. The DVD also will include Turner talking about his song choices as well as his family and his faith. The DVD will be edited into a one-hour television special hosted by Gaither that will air this fall.

"I Serve a Savior" will be available Oct. 26.