‘Kiss This’ (Aaron Tippin/Thea Tippin/Phillip Douglas)

Thea and I were having this little spat one day, and I said, "Let's kiss and make up." She said, "I'll tell you what you can kiss. You can kiss this ~ wait a minute! That might make a good song!" We've been writing together five or six years, and this is the first time she'e had a cut, so this is long-overdue justice.

‘And I Love You' (Casey Beathard/Odie Blackmon)

There's nothing unusually said or really different about this. It's like an old great Hank Williams song. It just kind of says it straight ahead, plain as day ~ "I love you." What turned me on to it was the simplicity of it.

‘People Like Us’ (David Lee Murphy/Kim Tribble)

David Lee Murphy is a great country singer and a super songwriter. He's had the type of records that will not go away, that Ajax couldn't take off the charts. I'm hoping that'll happen with this one. The demo was a hit, and this is probably my favorite track.

‘Always Will' (Tony Cotton/Bobby Ray Wood)

Just a great-feeling song. Of course, I think of Thea when I'm singing it. In fact, originally the eyes were blue or green, and I changed them to brown, because that's what hers are.

‘I'd Be Afraid Of Losing You' (Mark Collie/Leslie Satcher)

This was crafted by my old buddy Mark Collie, who I've always thought was one of the most unsung singers and writers in this town. I was a co-writer with him on his first CMA single, "Something With A Ring To It," so now we're getting even.

‘Lost' (Steve Seskin/Craig Wiseman)

This one really snuck up on me. It was a big favorite of Doug Howard's from the beginning. I thought it was pretty good, but by the time we got into the studio and started cutting it, I was really a big fan of it.

‘Big Boy Toys' (Aaron Tippin/Buddy Brock)

This is very Aaron Tippin. That's just a given. And it's Teddy's favorite song. As a matter of fact, we were in the studio and he'd keep saying, "Big boy toys," over and over. So, if you turn it up right after the last drum roll, you'll get to hear him say, "Big boy toys."

‘Twenty-Nine And Holding' (Aaron Tippin/Marcus Franklin Johnson)

That's a real, modern country song, because it's out there happening every minute of the day. It's a little anthem to those women out there who raise their kids and take care of business, make sure they're fed and housed and clothed before they worry about themselves. They deserve an anthem.

'Every Now And Then' (Aaron Tippin/Michael P. Heeney)

There's a lot of personal reflection in there. That's even a line in there that mentions Dry Creek Road, which is set up close to where we live in Tennessee.

'The Night Shift' (Aaron Tippin/Marcus Franklin Johnson)

Mark had this idea, but it was a love thing where the guy was sneaking off, saying he's working the night shift. I said, "No, no, no. Let's just write a dance song, something kind of funny. The 'night shift' can be a little dance step that all the two-steppers can do. If nothing else, it'll get played in the honky tonks and they can get up and two-step to it."

'The Best Love We Ever Made' (Aaron Tippin/Thea Tippin)

There are a lot of cool things about this song. The first is Thea's singing. She so talented, and such a great singer. She also wrote it with me. We write it about Teddy, but it's also about my daughter Charla, from my first marriage. I guarantee it's going to be a big hit with people who've got kids, because that't what people say after they hear it ~ "You're right. Our child is the best love we've ever made."

Lyric Street Records