Country star Chris LeDoux says his current tour actually started a decade ago.
"The tour will end when people get tired of me," LeDoux said during a telephone interview from his home in Kaycee, Wyo. "I don't have the luxury the Rolling Stones have. They can make an album and decide when to tour. They can take time off."LeDoux's tour will find its way to the Delta Center on Oct. 24. Show time is 7:30 p.m. Sawyer Brown will also be playing.
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"Really, I do about 100 shows a year," LeDoux said after a chuckle. "It's because I need it. I get a fix, and then I get to satisfy it."
LeDoux's idols include Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings and Charlie Daniels. But he remembers always having music in the home as a child. "It was back in the '50s." "Mom always had her records on. Daddy was a Frank Sinatra fan. And, to tell you the truth, I didn't get into country music until I was about 11 or 12."
But it was country music that would help LeDoux make ends meet, especially while he rode the rodeo circuit early in his career.
"Music was a side thing then," he explained. "We did a lot of mail-order (album) sales, and, yes, I did sell some albums while in the parking lots of the rodeos.
"But I didn't really decide to pursue music until I found ranchin' wasn't going to cut it alone. I had just got married and I always loved writing songs. Then Garth (Brooks) threw my name in his song (`Much Too Young'), and things really took off."
Before that, LeDoux was booking his own gigs and managing himself. "It was tough back then. I was writing hundreds of letters to all these booking agents, and I learned to play anywhere I could."
LeDoux is starting another phase of his life with his new album, "One Road Man," which features not only his idol Charlie Daniels (on a remake of Daniels' "Caballo Diablo"), but also Willie Nelson ("On the Borderline") and Jon Bon Jovi.
Whoa! Jon Bon Jovi?
Yes, for those who haven't heard, the major news on the country music scene is that Bon Jovi, the bigwig who fronted his self-named '80s heartthrob band, sings a duet with LeDoux - "Bang a Drum." (Bon Jovi wrote the song for the "Young Guns II" soundtrack.)
"I heard the song and I really liked it," LeDoux said. "My manager called Jon's manager and set everything up."
Bon Jovi and LeDoux's vocals were recorded separately, and the two singers didn't even meet until about a month ago for the video shoot. "He's a nice and really savvy guy. And I love the way the song sounds. It was interesting how things worked out. I never would have called him. I'm glad my manager did."
Things seem to be going well and steady for LeDoux, who always draws huge crowds to his performances, especially in Salt Lake City.
"My future goal is more of the same that I've been doing for the last couple of decades," he said. "I'm just going to be rolling down this highway.
"But I do want to keep myself - if you know what I mean. The fans are what got me here. And they are what's important. They make you feel special, even if you're just a regular guy. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I get on stage.
"It feels real good to feel loved. I think everyone can relate to that. Everyone loves to feel loved."