Parker McCollum Reveals He Has An Ongoing ‘Dad Songs’ Bet With Luke Combs
McCollum and Combs have a playful songwriting bet on the table.
Parker McCollum, Luke Combs; Photo By Andrew Wendowski
Parker McCollum and his wife, Hallie Ray Light are enjoying the last few months of restful nights and a quiet household before they welcome their baby boy in August. As Hallie Ray’s due date inches closer with each day, the Texas-born country star finds himself thinking more and more about what life will be like for them as first-time parents and how this new chapter could impact his music.
“Right now, it’s real quiet, I sleep good and am real rested and all that stuff. Probably won’t be that way for much longer, but we’re so blessed,” he told Country Now and other outlets. “Hallie Ray’s like a prodigy mom. She was born to be a mother. That is her calling. She wants to do that so bad. That’s all she’s ever talked about. She wanted be a mama. And so the fact that it’s all going so well and God’s been so good to us and he’s healthy and it’s a boy, which is really nice. I want a girl for sure, but it’s nice to have the oldest be a boy and kind of set the tone for the whole family. I’m just excited about it. She is too. She’s over the moon.”
Talking Fatherhood With Luke Combs
Along with having a group of strong male figures in his family to look up to and seek out guidance during this exciting yet uncertain time of life, several of McCollum’s friends/fellow country stars are also in the early stages of growing their families. As a result, some of these first-time dads have started to share words of advice with the “Hell of a Year” singer to help prepare him for what’s to come.
One of those friends is Luke Combs, who has recently been teasing that since becoming a dad to his two boys, he has felt inspired to write plenty of “dad songs.” He warned McCollum that he will likely find himself in a similar situation despite the fact that “dad songs” don’t exactly fit into his wheelhouse as most of his discography centers around heartache and toxic love songs.
“Luke and I had this conversation about three weeks ago. We were playing golf together and we sat around after and we were picking on guitar. I played him some new songs off my record and he played that song that he just teased…Such a good song. He killed it when he played that just sitting on the couch that day and he was like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be writing dad songs.’ I’m like, ‘Luke, no, I will not. No way.’”
He continued, “There’ll be some references to him, but I don’t think I’ll do that. I don’t think it fits in what I do. I think it would have to be some crazy good song. And he’s like, ‘Alright, well call me in six months and tell me how many dad songs you’ve written since that little kid was born.’ So we’ll see. We’ve got an ongoing bet.”
Have They Decided On A Name?
While the question of whether or not his inspirations will shift once he’s a father still remains, Parker McCollum and Hallie Ray are currently focused on deciding what to name their baby boy. The couple previously hinted at some possible name options, but now McCollum claims that they’re pretty certain they have found the perfect one for their newest family member. Though he kept a tight lip about what that name might be, he was able to share a bit of insight into their thought process behind this difficult decision.
“My middle name’s Yancey. It’s my mom’s side of the family and I always really took a lot of pride in having that as my middle name and my last name, McCollum, I take a lot of pride in that too. So I wanted to kind of pass that down to him,” he explained without revealing if Yancey will end up appearing somewhere in his son’s full name.
According to McCollum, he and his other half struggled to come up with a name they both felt connected to but Hallie Ray has found one that “she’s pretty in love with” and says he doesn’t see them changing it between now and August.
How Many Kids Does Parker McCollum Want?
Seeing how excited the parents to be are to welcome their first child, it’s no surprise that they have already discussed how much bigger they hope to grow their family in the future.
“She keeps saying she wants have three and I’m like, ‘well, if you say you want to have three, you’re probably going to have four. So aim low, say you want have two and then maybe you get three,” McCollum said. “My sister has four…and I’m like, holy cow. I go to her house and they live in on a different planet. So I’m like, aim for two, maybe you get three.”
Touring In 2024
In the meantime, Parker McCollum is staying busy trying to keep up with his thriving his music career. He is currently rising to the top of the country charts with his latest single, “Burn It Down,” which would follow his run of three consecutive No. 1 hits with Platinum “Handle On You,” Platinum “To Be Loved By You,” and his 2x Platinum debut, “Pretty Heart”
Additionally, he is currently on the road with his 41-date Burn It Down Tour. This trek includes stops in arenas and amphitheaters across the U.S. and features support from Corey Kent, Larry Fleet, George Birge and Catie Offerman.
It was also recently announced that Parker McCollum will return to his home state of Texas on his birthday, June 15, to perform as an opening act for George Strait.
This milestone concert, which also marks his biggest show to date, will take place at Kyle Field in College Station, TX on June 15.
Visit Parker McCollum’s official website to see a full list of days and to purchase tickets.
Written by
Madeleine O’Connell
Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.