Chuck Wicks performs at the Nightly Concert on the Vault Concert Stage LP Field Sunday, June 8 in Downtown Nashville during the 2008 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: John Russell / CMA
July 31, 2008 — Chuck Wicks spent a number of years in Nashville honing his craft as a songwriter by day and parking cars by night. He didn’t perform much in clubs, so when he found himself opening for Brad Paisley on the Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour, it was a sink-or-swim situation.
"It was the biggest learning curve of my life," he told The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. "I literally skipped the club circuit. I have to ask myself: How did I get here so fast?"
It helped that he had a big hit with his debut single, "Stealing Cinderella." But even that wouldn’t have happened had Chuck not been willing to stick it out in Nashville, and that was not a fast progression by any means. Chuck waited five years from the time he moved to town before he got his recording deal, so he spent plenty of time paying his dues.
His willingness to do the work is something he owes to his roots on a Delaware potato farm.
"Growing up like that makes me appreciate everything in life," he said. "You learn to work hard and believe in yourself to persevere through hard times."
Times are good now. Chuck is currently on Brad’s GAC-sponsored Paisley Party Tour, along with Julianne Hough and Jewel. His second video, "All I Ever Wanted," debuted last week on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.