Courtesy Photo National country star Aaron Tippin will come to Alpena to perform at the APlex in March. Tickets go on sale on Oct. 20 at APlex.org.

ALPENA — If you happen to hear that Aaron Tippin is coming to Alpena in March, “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with the Radio.”

The national country star will perform on March 1 at the APlex, and tickets go on sale Oct. 20 at APlex.org.

The announcement was made official on Saturday night during the Brenda Loomis Band concert at the APlex.

Of the 38 singles Tippin has released, 34 have hit the Billboard Hot Country Song charts, and three became number-one hits: “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with the Radio” (1992), “That’s As Close as I’ll Get to Loving You” (1995), and “Kiss This” (2000).

Tippin has performed for 25 years, marking his silver anniversary as a recording artist this year. In a written bio, he admits that he looks at his career longevity with a bit of amazement.

“I think about it and go, ‘Wow. What am I doing still here?’ I look at the flight that we took off in,” Tippin stated, referring to his fellow newcomers at the time of his career launch. “A lot of them are gone, it seems. Some quit by choice. Some ran out from under it, but to be here 25 years doing it, I am the luckiest hillbilly that ever lived.”

Tippin said that nobody was more surprised than him that he got an invitation to join the roster of Nashville powerhouse RCA back in 1990. In fact, at the time he inked his deal, he had almost given up hope of success as a vocalist, concentrating on his budding career as a songwriter — with cuts from the likes of The Kingsmen, Mark Collie, and Charley Pride.

“I thought my chances were gone,” he said. “I came to town when I was about 25 years old. I had been seriously trying to get a record deal for about three or four years. I just thought, ‘Man, this ain’t gonna happen.’ I really had settled into songwriting, and my songs started to get recognized. One of the gals down at RCA — Mary Martin — heard me singing my demos. She said, ‘Who is that?’ They said, ‘That’s that Tippin guy down there who writes for Acuff/Rose — the muscle guy.’ She said, ‘That’s hillbilly. That’s country. Let me hear what else he’s got. I want to meet him.'”

Tippin recalls that walking into the RCA office to meet with label head Joe Galante definitely had a magical vibe.

“The label was on fire,” Tippin said. “Clint Black was on top of the charts, along with the Judds and Keith Whitley. What a great team to fall into there. I’m so thankful that Joe took a chance on me. It sure worked out, and I had a great run there.”

He also couldn’t believe that his first single, “You’ve Got To Stand For Something,” hit the Billboard Country Singles chart, eventually peaking at number six. The success of that record also brought him a career opportunity that completely blew his mind.

“When the song started to get played in Los Angeles, we got a call from Bob Hope’s daughter, Linda,” Tippin recalled. “She heard the song and asked if I’d be interested in going over and entertaining the troops. It didn’t take him long to give her an answer … I never in a zillion years dreamed I would be on the Bob Hope Show.”

More hits continued from Tippin: “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio,” “My Blue Angel,” and “Workin’ Man’s PhD,” among them. He built his brand on songs that appealed to his blue-collar audience — and that was true country.

“You either liked it or you hated it. I is what I is,” he said. “I think several times during my record career, we tried to change and follow trends and stuff. But, it never seemed to work for me. The most success I had in the business was with songs that I crafted. I’m very proud of that. I think it makes a fan able to identify with me easier because these songs are about me — my life, who I am, and how I was raised. I tell people I get recognized a whole lot faster in a truck stop than I do in my tuxedo walking into the back of the Opry. You better check my credentials when I have a tuxedo on, because it don’t look right.”

Tippin’s 1995 smash, “That’s As Close As I’ll Get To Loving You,” showcased a more dramatic side to his vocal approach, something that continued into his next label affiliation as the flagship artist for Lyric Street Records.

“Everybody saw that with ‘That’s As Close As I’ll Get To Loving You’ that I could do other things,” Tippin said. “So, when they were pitching songs to Aaron Tippin, it was with a lot broader range. A lot of times, it would be songs that I particularly couldn’t write.

“It was a new place for my career, and to kick things off at a new label — I think it was a big success,” he recalls of “For You I Will,” his debut single for the label.

Signing with Lyric Street was like a family reunion for Tippin, with many people he had worked with before — such as Greg McCarn, Randy Goodman, Doug Howard, and Kevin Herring, as well as promotional guru Dale Turner — who had helped to build the Tippin brand at RCA.

“I was happy to be one of the first people they signed. I enjoyed my time there, as well.”

Another important piece of the Tippin story is his wife and business partner, Thea.

“She is as much Aaron Tippin as I am,” he says. “She’s only six months behind me in my record deal. I signed with RCA, and then six months later, I signed with Narvel Blackstock and Trey Turner. She was Trey’s assistant, so she started working the Aaron Tippin career six months after it started. She’s got as much stake in this game as I do. She saw me at my lowest days, stood right there and stayed — even when things weren’t great and I wasn’t having hit records. She listened to me whine all through it all. I owe her everything.”

It’s not just his 25th anniversary as a recording artist in 2015 that Tippin is celebrating, but also his and Thea’s 20th anniversary as husband and wife. Family is the center of Tippin’s universe — with two teenage sons, Ted and Tom, a grown daughter, Charla, and a granddaughter. As the new millennium dawned, Tippin returned to the top of the charts with “Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagle Fly,” a song that became part of the American soundtrack during the aftermath of 9/11.

“I wanted to talk to Americans about who we are at heart, and the fact that when the going gets tough, that’s when we really stand up,” Tippin said. “We may have a lot of differences when everything is calm and fine, but when it hits the fan, I think we’re the best in the world at sticking together, and rallying around the cause. That song served that purpose very well. I wanted us to be proud as Americans, and get back on with living free.”

When he comes to Alpena, Tippin won’t be a stranger to fans. He’s the kind of guy who signs autographs and poses for selfies with concert-goers at the merch table, said Norm Sommerfeld, who owns Synchronizations, the company bringing Tippin into the APlex.

“This has been a dream of mine, to bring national acts into Alpena,” Sommerfeld said. “Last year we had the Collin Raye concert. It was hugely successful. We sold 850 of the 1,000 tickets. And Aaron’s agent is the exact same agent as it was for Collin, so it was very easy to work with them again. It’s been absolutely wonderful.”

Sommerfeld talked to Tippin about coming to Alpena.

“He’s excited,” Sommerfeld said. “I don’t believe he’s ever been here … He’s only been in Michigan 12 times,” as far as his concert schedules over the years have shown.

Sommerfeld said Tippin sees his fans as family, and truly enjoys spending time with them.

“He’s a great, great guy,” Sommerfeld said. “He takes selfies with you. There’s a fan meet-and-greet. After the show, he stands by his merchandise and signs stuff for people. Not a lot of artists do that. He’ll stay there till it’s all done.”

He added that Tippin’s wife sings on stage with him.

“His wife actually is a background singer with the band, and she’s a really nice lady with a wonderful voice,” Sommerfeld added. “And the other thing that really appealed when getting him, for me, was he is very patriotic … He’s quite a guy. Very impressive.”