Rodney Atkins: Singer, family man, headliner

By Jerry Fink

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | 2 a.m.

After a dozen years of paying his dues on the road, country singer Rodney Atkins is stepping out of the superstars’ shadows.

After being the opening act for folks such as Martina McBride, Brad Paisley and Brooks & Dunn, Atkins is headlining a tour that stops Friday at the Henderson Pavilion. His opener is twin sister act Kate and Kacey Coppola, who appeared on Country Music Television’s reality show “Can You Duet?”

“It’s a lot of fun,” the 40-year-old Atkins says during a telephone interview from his home near Nashville. “It’s a lot more work, but a lot more satisfying to sing that much for folks.”

Atkins signed his first record deal in 1997 and hit the charts with “In a Heartbeat.” His second single, “Sing Along,” wasn’t released until 2002, and his first album, “Honesty,” came out in 2003. Its follow-up put Atkins on the country map; “If You’re Going Through Hell” was released in 2006, hit No. 1 and went platinum.

His third album, “It’s America,” was released Tuesday, and the title single has reached No. 5 on the Billboard country chart.

Atkins was top new male vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards last year. But he’s skipping Sunday’s ceremony at the MGM Grand and heading home.

“I’m going to be there and do some media stuff, but I’m not going to be part of the show this year,” he says. “My little boy is on spring break next week and we’re going to take him to Disney World for the first time. It’s family time.”

Family is important to Atkins, who was put up for adoption at birth but had difficulty finding a home because of his fragile health.

“I was taken by a couple of different families, put in foster care, but they brought me back,” he says. “The third family adopted me — they’re my parents, the folks I’ve been with the whole time.”

He had respiratory problems at birth caused by a staph infection, and the workers at the orphanage wore gloves when they handled him. He believes being deprived of direct human touch may have had an effect on him.

“It has to affect you somehow,” Atkins says.

Perhaps that’s why he is so devoted to his family.

“I go to a lot of extra effort to spend time with my family,” he says. “After ‘Going Through Hell’ was such a hit it got really tough. It was a big adjustment from being at home all the time to being gone a lot.”

He raises money for the Holston Children’s Home in Greenville, Tenn., and he’s national spokesman for the National Council for Adoption.

“Adoption is so important,” he says. “Foster care is great, but it’s important for kids to be raised in a permanent family situation.”

Atkins says a lot of his music is inspired by kids, parents and family.

“My situation definitely had an impact on my songs,” he says.