Edwin McCain: The Song That Saved His Career & The Story He Can Finally Tell

Dale Earnhardt Jr. welcomes Top-40 music artist and longtime NASCAR fan Edwin McCain to the Download to chat about his journey from a humble, local music scene to writing one of the most memorable songs in history. Edwin also shares how Dale Jr.'s 2001 July Daytona win had a profound impact on his life. After being born in Greenville, South Carolina, Edwin was put up for adoption but admits he has never sought out much information about his biological mother. Dale and Edwin relate on the experience of asking parents hard questions at the end of their lives to get the real picture of their upbringing. Edwin explains he began playing music at an early age after struggling in school due to dyslexia. He and Dale chat about the music they enjoyed growing up and what musicians were a major influence on Edwin, and led him to pick up a guitar. Edwin gives listeners an idea of what the music scene was like in the mid-90s, when he, Dave Matthews and Hootie and the Blowfish were finding their way to major record label contracts. Edwin admits that his signing was largely thanks to the kindness of Hootie, who asked Atlantic Records to give him a shot. After an underperforming debut, in part due to Edwin’s disconnection from the project, Edwin saved his career with the smash hit “I’ll Be,” which remains one of the greatest love songs ever written. Edwin talks candidly about developing an addiction problem and his journey to rehab. Today, he is on the other side of hardship and celebrating the release of his new album “Lucky,” which is his first new release in almost 15 years. Dirty Mo Media is launching a new e-commerce merch line! They’ve got some awesome Dale Jr. Download merch on the site. Visit shop.dirtymomedia.com to check out all the new stuff. And for more content check out our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts, or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.