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Thomas Rhett doesn't have to go further than the family tree to get advice on the music business. His dad, Rhett Akins, had a record deal of his own back in the mid-'90s and charted several singles, including the Top 5 hit, "That Ain't My Truck." Rhett also happens to be the co-writer behind a slew of recent country hits, including "Gimme That Girl" for Joe Nichols, "Take a Back Road" by Rodney Atkins and Blake Shelton's "Honey Bee." So Thomas obviously comes by his songwriting abilities naturally. But he still looks to his dad for plenty of guidance and advice, and has grown much closer to his father now that he's joined the music business ranks with him.
"Me and Dad's relationship has changed a lot over the years," Thomas tells The Boot. "Because when I was in high school, me not being awesome in football and being better at soccer was kind of hard for him to take in, I think, because he was a big football player and really good at it. When I got in this business, our relationship kind of skyrocketed, because I had a lot of questions and he had a lot of answers. So now we probably talk three to four times a day. And he's so proud -- he's a little bit too proud. [laughs] But it's really good having somebody on your team like that that's been through the trenches and on the mountaintops."
Thomas admits that he and his dad actually became much closer after they found their common bond through music, a language they both speak quite fluently these days, thanks to the booming success in their respective careers. Rhett definitely looks to his dad for songwriting advice, since the proud papa has penned so
