Zach Top is known for bringing back 90s country, but not many believe he's an authentic cowboy country singer. He's explained why he feels more than qualified to don the cowboy hat, however.
Videos by Wide Open Country
When country singers croon about ranching, fishing, the country life, or any other country buzzwords, you'd expect them to have actually done those things. Authenticity is a big deal in country, and the last thing fans want to see is a country singer who hasn't lived the life.
When Zach Top performed at RodeoHouston back in March, he got to ride a horse in front of the audience. There, he almost ran over a security guard if it weren't for the horse's reflexes. Seeing this, some people criticized Zach Top for not being a real cowboy, despite his songs.
However, despite being on record as saying that he's not really a cowboy, that doesn't mean he hasn't earned the right to wear the hat. When he spoke to 92.3 WIL, he explained how he grew up around rodeo and how he doesn't feel any shame wearing the hat.
Zach Top On His Experience Ranching
"You big into rodeo?" the station asked him.
He responded, "I grew up watching it. My dad worked in the livestock industry and s--t."
Zach Top grew up in the Northwest, Washington. He was further asked what it was like living there.
"It was good, I have very fond memories of it. It's kind of funny going back now. It's like, dang, there's nothing going on back here," he chuckled.
"We grew up on a farm, my dad and his partner ran a big ol' piece of land, with a bunch of Black Angus Cattle," he continued. "He still runs the sale barn out there, that was his main thing. He and his partner had a side deal, where they raised a bunch of cows."
"So we got to... play cowboy a little bit," Top explained. "Didn't have to do it for a living, but I like to say I spent enough time on a horse's back looking at a cow's a-- that I can wear the hat without shame. I got it before I moved to Nashville, anyway."
There you have it, folks. Zach Top may not be the cowboy of your dreams, but he has some dirt under those fingernails.
