Joe Nichols is keeping it country for his new single, "Billy Graham's Bible," and he's taking his fans inside the recording process in a new lyric video for the song that's premiering exclusively with Taste of Country.

Nichols took a little-bit-of-everything approach to his most recent album, Never Gets Old, mingling traditional and modern elements to form a cohesive whole that is both satisfying to older fans, and progressive enough for the climate at country radio. "Billy Graham's Bible" represents the traditional end of that spectrum.

The singer actually recorded the track in 2012 and included on his previous album, 2013's Crickets. He asked his label to re-release it as part of Never Gets Old because he so badly wanted a wider spectrum of fans to hear its message.

"Sometimes you've gotta swing for the fence," Nichols tells Taste of Country of his unusual choice. He cites the success of Chris Stapleton and a few other artists at country radio in recent years as harbingers of the idea that country music might be ready for such a traditional cut with a big message, but Nichols is quick to stress that he's willing to accept the risk that goes along with such a bold choice.

We Talked to Joe Nichols at the Taste of Country Festival

"I'd rather swing and miss, swinging for the fences, than try to bunt a single down the line," he reflects. "I'm a country guy, and I think people have kinda known that for years, that I'm always a traditional country guy. And if I can squeeze in a little space on country radio with a traditional country song like this one, then I think it's a little bit bigger than me, and it gives other people that are like me maybe a little bit of hope that you can get played on the radio with a country song. That would mean a lot to me, to see this be successful and maybe give other country guys a little bit of a shot."

Nichols worked with legendary producers Tony Brown and Mickey Jack Cones on "Billy Graham's Bible," and he credits their attention to musical detail with helping him achieve the final result.

"I sure would like a big old hit for Tony Brown," he observes. "He's done so much for me over the years, and has had such a great career. I would love for him to have a big old shiny hit."

Nichols has also been recording a monthly series of classic covers titled Never Gets Old: Traditional Country Series, which he debuted in March with a cover of Don Williams' "Good Ole Boys Like Me." He continued the series with a cover of the Charley Pride classic "The Rose Is for Today," as well as a cover of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home." He's releasing a new track in the series on the first Friday of every month. Visit Taste of Country on Friday (June 1) for his latest classic country cover from one of country music's most beloved artists.

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