Darryl Worley photo courtesy of Stroudavarious Records.

Darryl Worley might be a big ol’ country star, but he’s still got the same small-town sensibility he was raised with, which is part of the reason he raises about 75 head of cattle on his farm near Savannah, Tenn.

“It’s just one of those little things that were kind of the way we grew up,” Darryl told The Decatur Herald & Review of Central Illinois. “I think sometimes those things help you keep your feet on the ground.”

One other thing that will keep you grounded is a little lull in success. “Sounds Like Life To Me” is in the Top 15 on the Country Aircheck singles chart, the first song Darryl’s had reach that plateau in a good three years. He went through a major adjustment when his label folded in 2005. In the aftermath, he signed with an independent company that Neal McCoy started up, and that company ran out of money.

Now he’s with a new indie, Stroudavarious Records, owned by James Stroud, who produced Darryl’s early hits “I Miss My Friend” and “Have You Forgotten?” Darryl is taking nothing for granted: He used his second chance to stretch a little with the new album, Sounds Like Life.

“There are a lot of songs on there that nobody would have expected me to do,” Darryl said. “And that’s why we did them.”

Darryl hosts his annual Tennessee River Run fundraiser Sept. 10-13 at Pickwick Landing State Park in Savannah. Among his guests for the weekend are Craig Morgan, Richie McDonald, Night Ranger, Caitlin & Will and Jonathan Singleton & The Grove.

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