Tim McGraw Reflects on the Leap of Faith That Launched His Career: ‘I Sold Everything I Had’

The superstar recalls dropping out of college and buying a bus ticket to Nashville.

Tim McGraw; Photo by Andrew Wendowski

In 1989, a young Tim McGraw made a decision that would change his life forever. With a “repertoire of about 50 songs,” the Louisiana native dropped out of college, liquidated his assets, and bought a one-way bus ticket to Nashville.

Now a bona fide superstar with 47 chart-topping singles to his name, McGraw recently looked back on that life-altering choice — and his mom’s surprisingly supportive reaction.

At the time, McGraw had been taking pre-law courses while playing local shows around his college town.
Photo Courtesy Tim McGraw
“I started playing for tips at a local restaurant and then I put a band together. And then there was less and less of going to class and more and more going out and playing music at night until it became unsustainable on the class level,” he explained in an interview with NPR.

At this time, he took a leap of faith.

“I sold everything I had. I sold my car. I sold my shotguns. Everything that I had, I sold. And I was going to buy a bus ticket to Nashville and have enough money to be in a hotel for a couple weeks if I needed to,” he recalled.

With his mind made up and his heart set on Nashville, McGraw faced the hardest part:  breaking the news to his mom.
Tim McGraw and Mom; Photo Courtesy Tim McGraw

“I had to call my mom and let her know that I was dropping out of school, which scared me to death, because I knew she didn’t graduate high school because of me. She didn’t get the opportunities in life that she wanted because of me, because I was born and she had that responsibility and she was in an abusive relationship, probably because she thought she needed help and needed the support. So for all of these reasons, she wanted me to succeed and I wanted to succeed for her,” he said.

He was “scared to death” to make the call, but his mom’s response took him by surprise.

“And when I finally got the nerve to do that, I called her and said, ‘Mom, I’m just letting you know that I’m dropping out of college and I’m moving to Nashville to play music.’ And there was silence on the line. And of course, I expected, ‘Hell, no, you’re not!’ but what I got back from my mom was, ‘Well, I’m surprised you haven’t done that already.’ And she said, ‘You need to go do it, otherwise you’ll always wonder if you could have made it.’”
Tim McGraw performs at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on his Standing Room Only Tour; Photo by Tyler Conrad
We all know now that Tim McGraw ultimately made the right decision.

He got on that bus and never looked back, arriving in Nashville on May 9, 1989,  the very same day his musical hero, Keith Whitley, tragically died of acute alcohol poisoning.