Drew Baldridge is answering the call. After making country music history by reaching #1 with his first single, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,”

and doing it as an independent artist, many were asking, “What’s next?” I think it’s natural to wonder if his first hit was a “one-off ” or if there was something to Drew, his story of determination and talent.

I didn’t get through 60 seconds of his new single “Tough People” and for me, the answer is a resounding YES!!

After a couple of listens, I realized there are so many moments in this song that had me saying “me too.”  That had me feeling like the words he was singing were written for me, inspired by the shit I have gone through or inspired by the “TOUGH PEOPLE” in my life.

For instance: “It’s the single mom working two jobs a day and a farmer barely getting by needing rain. It’s a grandma waitin’ tables workin’ through the pain.”

THE INSTANT I heard that line, I got choked up and thought about the sacrifice my Mum made as a single mum. She has waited tables for almost 50 years and continues to do it part-time at “Sawyers,” a small cafe in Goffstown, NH. I call her pretty much every day to check on her, say hi, and make sure she’s okay because I know there are days that being on her feet is incredibly painful, but she does it because she loves the work, loves talking with people and she’s damn good at it. In all those 50 years, she did it to take care of my sister and me. She has never said it out loud, but I know there were probably many times she thought about quitting and giving up as a single mom, but she didn’t.  This is just one of the many reasons why my mother is one of the toughest people I know.

Thank you, Drew, for a song that hits home and reminds us that life is hard, and that’s okay because we are “Tough People.”