Boots, Bullets & Ballads 🎸 20 Country Music Legends Who Proudly Served Their Country — The Untold Military Stories Behind the Stars! 🇺🇸🔥
Here Are 20 Country Artists Who Served In The Military
Patriotism is a theme that runs through a large number of country songs, and there’s a good reason. Many country artists who served in the military did so before they became the stars we know and love today.
Country music artists represent all branches of the nation’s military. As just a few examples…George Strait served in the Army, Johnny Cash was in the Air Force, and George Jones joined the Marines.
While country artists have always been great about showing support for our troops, these men, among others, served in the military themselves.
20. Roger Miller – United States Army
Roger Miller ran away from home as a teenager and started chasing his musical dreams. The biography on his official website details how he was desperate to start writing songs. So 17-year-old Miller stole a guitar in Texas and took it to Oklahoma.
Miller’s guilt got to him, and he turned himself in the next day. The police made him an offer…he could go to jail, or he could join the Army. Miller chose the Army.
The future country singer served in Korea. He used to joke, “My education was Korea, Clash of ’52.”
Later, Miller was assigned to the Special Services and was stationed at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. While there, he joined the Circle A Wranglers band and started playing the fiddle.
Miller went to Nashville to visit Chet Atkins upon his discharge from the Army, and the rest is history.
19. Jerry Reed – United States Army
“East Bound and Down” singer Jerry Reed became a country singer-songwriter before enlisting in the military. He released his debut single, “If the Good Lord’s Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise,” in 1955.
Reed experienced great success in the years that followed. In 1959, he appeared on the Bubbling Under the Top 100 chart with his song “Soldier’s Joy.”
The singer went on to become a soldier himself. He enlisted in the United States Army and served for two years before he left and moved to Nashville in 1961.
While Reed was in the Army, Brenda Lee covered a song he wrote titled “That’s All You Got to Do.” Her recording was popular, which kept Reed in the spotlight as a songwriter while he was in the service.
Once in Nashville, Reed picked up where he left off and established himself as a legendary singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.
18. Sturgill Simpson – United States Navy
Grammy winner Sturgill Simpson enlisted in the United States Navy during his senior year of high school. He served for three years in the Combat Information Center of a frigate.
Simpson moved around a lot after he left the Navy, and had a series of jobs, all while chasing his musical dreams. He released his debut album, High Top Mountain, in 2013.
Four years later, Simpson won the Best Country Album Grammy Award for his third album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.
During an interview with Uproxx in 2020, Simpson shared he was working on a movie script based on his experiences in the Navy.
17. James Otto – United States Navy
James Otto was born on the Fort Lewis Army Base near Tacoma, Washington in 1973. He went on to pursue his own military career, opting to join the United States Navy after graduating from high school.
Otto served in the Navy for two years. He moved to Nashville in 1998 and released his debut single in 2002. Six years later, his song “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” became his first #1 hit.