Zach Top is currently one of the biggest rising stars in country music, but it's not surprising. The 27-year-old showed an early propensity towards a music career, even as a little boy.
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"I took my first lesson when I was five-years-old, and the teacher asked me what I wanted to learn first," Top recalls to Songwriter Universe. "I said [George Strait's] 'Amarillo by Morning' without hesitation. That was my favorite song. She said, 'That's a nice idea, but let's start with something simpler like 'Jesus Loves Me,' and we can work our way up.' Her name was Marie Parks, and she turned me and my whole family onto the bluegrass thing. She happened to be involved in that scene up in Washington."
How Zach Top's Love of Bluegrass Helps His Country Music Career
Fortunately, Parks' advice to Top actually helped his career, and his family, who all fell in love with the genre.
"We really fell in love with bluegrass," Top says. "I've got a younger brother and two older sisters, and we had a little family band for 10 years growing up. I loved that style of music. I wanted to play like [guitarist] Tony Rice and sing like Keith Whitley, so I tried to do that as best I could. And I think it was really beneficial because the bluegrass scene is family-friendly, more so than other genres would be.
"It gave me an early head start on learning how to entertain people and then being comfortable onstage behind a microphone and all that," he adds. "That was a way for me to get the chops up to where I could eventually make it in country music."
Fortunately, Top's parents were encouraging of their son and his musical interests, even as a child.
"My parents had a lot of great Marty Robbins music playing around the house," Top shares. "My dad worked in the livestock industry. So, I got to play cowboy a little bit growing up and listen to music that went along with sort of the cowboy way of life. I would by no means call myself a cowboy, but I think I wanted to be one. That was probably the first thing that drew me to that music, and I think that bug bit me and never let me go. I just ate up that music as long as I can remember."
