Rick, the eldest of the two, definitely inherited athleticism from his dad.  But an intense love of music beckoned him.  “Sure, I played basketball,” Rick laughs, “but it’s kind of hard to go to practice when you’d rather be making money playing music at the clubs.”  As a college student, Rick made decent grades but he knew that music was his true calling.  “One of the hardest conversations I ever had was to tell my dad that I was going to pursue music as a profession.  I guess Dad knew it too, because he supported my move to Nashville.”  Rick’s passion and determination to “be the best” and his competitive spirit led him to songwriting success and ultimately, a recording contract with Warner Brothers-Nashville in 2002.  (Note: The singer simplified his surname from Huckabay to Huckaby to create a separate identity from his father and eliminate confusion in pronunciation.  However, the father-son connection figures prominently in his blossoming career.)

Andrew (Andy), on the other hand, excelled at both sports and college, playing basketball at both East Tennessee State University and at Marshall under his father’s regime, where he graduated in 2001 with a degree in Business marketing and sports management.  After college, Andy stumbled into a career with Global Options, the 2nd largest insurance fraud and investigations firm in the United States.  His “play hard or go home” attitude earned him the position of the youngest Regional Manager in the company.  He had also gotten married and started a family.  His older brother jokingly called him “The Can’t Miss Kid.”  And for the time being, it seemed like both Huckabay sons had it all. 

But 2004 brought bad news for the Huckabay family—their father had cancer and it had already spread throughout his body.  Despite the news, Coach Huckabay continued to coach at Simsboro High School in Louisiana until he was too weak to stand. Over the next two years, the sons traveled between Nashville and Louisiana to spend remaining precious time with their father.  Rick Jr. was also growing increasingly frustrated as his album release with Warner remained “On Hold,” buried in a sea of other booming artists.

Perhaps Coach Huckabay could see the frustration and felt he had still more coaching to do…or possibly it was some sort of divine vision, but as he lay in the hospital, he told his sons, “Last night, I dreamt that I heard ‘Ain’t Enough Blacktop’ on the radio and that you two would work together someday.”  In 2006, Richard David Huckabay, Sr. succumbed to cancer. 

Inspired by their father, the Huckabay boys were determined to bring this dream to reality.  With Andy’s marketing acumen and “can’t miss” abilities and Rick’s immense musical talent, Andy and Rick sat down and mapped out a strategy to get the music in the mainstream on an independent label—appropriately named, HeadCoach Music.  The logo of label is the familiar image of Coach Huckabay kneeling on the sidelines inspiring those that are still in the game.

Despite the odds, Rick broke with Warner Brothers but fought with the tenacity of one of his father’s sideline rants to retain the rights to “Ain’t Enough Blacktop.”  It was the country winner of the 2008 Billboard World Song Contest and became the cornerstone song of Rick Huckaby’s debut album, Call Me Huck.  The album is receiving critical acclaim.    

“I wish my father could be here to see this,” said Rick prior to walking onto the riverfront stage at this year’s CMA Music Festival.  If the "go-for-broke" performance was any indication for those in the crowd, it would seem his father was there in spirit rooting for the "home" team and continuing to inspire his kids.