Mario Tarradell

When you're as imposing a figure as Keith Anderson, you don't need to make any apologies for your music. In person, the Oklahoma native is almost intimidating; the former baseball player and personal trainer's bodybuilding physique and firm handshake keep you in check at every turn. And the country singer-songwriter's conversation proves articulate, intelligent and thoughtful. He does have a musical vision, and he's no-nonsense.

Keith Anderson

Jack Guy

"I'm in the music industry, a singer-songwriter, but it's a business. It's not a party," said the 40-year-old artist during a quick promotional jaunt through Dallas earlier this year that took him to ABC Radio Networks. "I'm going to approach it like the people I've studied, my heroes, and that would be Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney. They go out every year and do radio promotion. They tour hard and promote hard."

His plan's working. "I Still Miss You" – the current hit from Mr. Anderson's sophomore CD, C'mon!, which arrived in stores Tuesday – is already in the top 10 of Billboard's country singles chart. C'mon! is the long-in-coming follow-up to his 2005 gold-selling debut disc, Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll . Both efforts put him squarely in the camp of modern-day male country stars who mix rock (Southern and otherwise) with tradition-based country. It's by design, he proudly affirms.

"We're cranking up the best music, our favorite music, and that was Willie and that was Waylon and that was Kenny Rogers, but at the same time it was ZZ Top and Aerosmith and Tom Petty," he says about the sounds that shaped his youth. "It was music that we loved, that touched our souls, that made us rock. The lyrics made us alive, that's who we were. It wasn't just country, and it wasn't just rock 'n' roll. We grew up in the country, and those lyrics are the ones that tend to touch us. But [John] Mellencamp's got country lyrics, and Petty's got country lyrics, and ZZ Top. I'm a country boy. But there's also a groove that moves me."

So with that in mind, we thought we'd get Mr. Anderson talking about four tunes off C'mon! He was more than willing to share the stories behind the songs.

About "C'mon!" – the title cut and one of those made-for-summer scorchers that rocks for 3 ½ minutes:

"It's just a big ol' party. We start every show with that song. It just starts everything off with a bang. You ready? You want to join the party? OK, c'mon."

About "Sunday Morning in America" – a series of panoramic vignettes that take place on the most reflective a.m. of the week:

"It's just real-life pictures. None of them connected. It wasn't about one woman's story. It was just pictures from life ... just a lot of pictures about America. Almost like 'Pink Houses,' Mellencamp. Almost like a Springsteen song. Separate pictures and separate stories about America, good and bad."

About "Crazy Over You," his slamming cover of Foster & Lloyd's 1987 staple that features Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd:

"I saw Foster & Lloyd in concert three times just out of college, and I thought they were the coolest thing ever. I've done this song live before recording it. It worked so well live, and people always ask me who did that song after they hear it. It was one of those great moments when your heroes come to the studio and you get to work with them. I wanted to make it my own. We took it from just a plain Texas honky-tonk shuffle to more of a Texas roadhouse version."

About "Lost in This Moment," which he co-wrote with John Rich of Big & Rich; it became a No. 1 country smash for the duo last year:

"That song was written almost seven years ago. It's an old song. We'd already spent time and money to put it on there. So you know what? Let's give fans another version of a song. It's my song, too. It's just another take on a song they know."

Here's a quick look at five other current male country mainstays who rock up the twang.

Gary Allan: Californian adds the rock edge of Johnny Cash, Del Shannon, Roy Orbison and even Vertical Horizon to his smoldering brand of honky-tonk country.

Jason Aldean: Georgia native takes his cue from Southern rock, not to mention Hank Williams Jr., for an explosive yet down-home sound.

Keith Urban: You might as well call this Aussie-raised singer-songwriter and guitarist the Bryan Adams of country, what with his sometimes organic style of pop-rock.

Kid Rock: Detroit's Robert James Ritchie continues to heavily court country, and his Southern rocking single "All Summer Long" is already a top 30 country hit.

Kenny Chesney: His concerts, his beach-baked image and his meat-and-potatoes, rock-fortified music put the Tennessee son in rock 'n' roll territory.

Mario Tarradell