How Lady A’s Charles Kelley Sings Drinking Songs Sober

Charles Kelley, the singer from Lady A, has been sober now for about 18 months. He entered rehab in August of 2022, after his wife told him he needed to and that she was going to see a divorce attorney.

On the latest episode of Taste of Country Nights on Demand, I sat down with Lady A and swung the attention for a moment Kelley's way. I asked him if it is hard to perform any Lady A songs now that he has been sober for a length of time.

Kelley responded, "I been sober now, a little over a year and a half, and everybody's like, 'You still gonna sing 'Bartender' or the chorus, 'I'm a little drunk'? I was like, 'Yeah, it was part of my life for ... I mean, you know, I mean, Warren Brothers told me one time, they're sober, and they're like, 'I wrote the best drinking songs ever written, five years sober.'"

Kelley continued, "To me, it's like, there's absolutely nothing wrong with drinking, it's just I couldn't, I can't drink anymore. So no, I mean, I think that's part of our catalog and they're just great songs that'll always have great memories. Listen, I had some great times. I had some low times too, but, when it was fun, it was fun and you know, I can always remember that."

Lady A just wrapped up their Request Line tour and released a brand-new song titled "Love You Back."

Check out my full interview with Lady A on this week's episode of Taste of Country Nights on Demand here, or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 120 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today's top stars, like Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, Morgan Wallen, + more!