EUTAWVILLE -- Gold and platinum recording artist Aaron Tippin, known as "the hardest working man in country music," will appear in concert at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at Rocks Pond Campground in Eutawville.

"Wear your seat belt! It is going to be fun," said Tippin, who grew up in Travelers Rest and made his reputation with such hard-core honky tonk performances as "Working Man's Ph.D.," "Kiss This," "You've Got to Stand for Something" and "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong with the Radio." "This isn't going to be stand-behind-the-microphone-and-tap-your-toe kind of music. This is going to be having fun with country, and we have fun. So wear your seat belt, and be prepared to be surprised."

After parting ways with Lyric Street records in 2004, Tippin began recording a new CD and released it on his own label, Nippit Records ("Tippin" spelled backwards). The album, titled "Now & Then," is a mixture of new songs with some of Tippin's greatest hits. Included is a song Aaron and his wife, Thea, wrote about his father, who passed away a couple of years ago. Tippin said the song, "He Believed," holds a special place in his heart.

"When my dad left here, I was sad for about 15 minutes," he said. "But I had a wonderful relationship with my dad. Two days before he died, I got to tell him I loved him, and we turkey hunted together and we hung out together.

"When I was growing up, I was always working for my dad. I had a great relationship with him, so I have no regrets. I am sad he's gone, and I miss him, but, man, every time I am sad, I think back to another great moment I shared with him, and I get another great big smile on my face."

Aaron and Thea married in 1995. In 1997, their son Theodore was born, and son Thomas arrived in 2000. Aaron also has a grown daughter, Charla, from his first marriage. Charla is married to Kenneth, a Black Hawk pilot in the S.C. Air National Guard, and they live in Greenville.

Tippin said he is proud of his son-in-law, Kenneth.

"I'm really proud that he is flying helicopters for the National Guard. He has been overseas for two tours," the singer said, adding that he is no stranger to visiting the troops overseas. "I go every year around Thanksgiving. I've been eight times to the battlefield."

In an interview Monday, Tippin said he's excited about performing at Rocks Pond.

"It will be fun ... back to the homeland," he said, adding that he has a sister who still lives in Williams.

Tippin said he still puts together bikes for Toys for Tots at every show, and he never grows weary of singing the same songs each night.

"I love it! I love seeing the expression on the people's faces when they clap and cheer for a song. It is exciting and thrilling," he said.

He said the lyrics always come first for him when he's putting together a song.

"Melody will follow the lyrics to me," Tippin said. "I never start out with a tune and put words to it. To be a great country song, you have to be saying something."

Although Tippin is a commercial pilot, he said most of the time, he'll ride the bus with the band from show to show.

"On the bus, I catch up with the guys and what is going on. We work on the show every night, so most of the time, I am riding with the guys," the entertainer said. "Being on the road is just part of the job. Everybody just can't come to my house."

Tippin said he enjoys recording in the studio as well as singing on the road.

"They are both a lot of fun to do -- recording new stuff and re-recording some old stuff," he said. "But (the most fun is) being on the road with my guys and delivering the show to the people who mean the most, and those are the folks who come out to the show."

Tickets to see Tippin perform live at Rocks Pond are $30 in advance and $35 the day of the concert. For more information, call 803-492-7711. Rocks Pond Campground & Marina is at 108 Campground Road in Eutawville.

T&D Correspondent Julie Campbell Sohm can be reached by e-mail at sohm23@embarqmail.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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