Clay Walker is back in the top five with his latest single She Won’t Be Lonely Long. The album of the same name also entered the charts in the top five recently.

It would seem that all is well in Clay’s life and career, but as he recently told CMT (Clay Walker Regaining Ground With Hit Single, New Album), things are always a little rocky with the record label bosses:

In February, Curb Records released a five-song CD — also titled She Won’t Be Lonely Long — which hit the charts briefly and then disappeared. Three of the songs on the EP were from Walker’s previous Curb album, Fall. Only two — the title cut and “Jesse James” — are on the new album.

“That’s a pretty sore subject with me,” Walker admits. “I just try to avoid talking about it.” Other Curb artists — notably Tim McGraw and Hank Williams Jr. — have railed at the label for the ways it paces and handles their records.

Although the release of the EP distressed him, Walker is lavish in his praise of Curb for its song-finding skills and promotional muscle.

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His next single, he says, will probably be “Where Do I Go From You.” He confesses he thinks “Summertime Song,” one of his own compositions, might be a better choice. But he’s resigned to reality.

“There can only be one boss,” he says, “and we know who that is. But it’s OK. That’s the way it goes.”

Clay’s current label, Curb Records has been around a long time. The label has had numerous successes with its roster of country artists including the mentioned Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Rodney Atkins, and many others.

And while artists including Clay have had their battles with the way things are handled at the label, as Clay mentions, there is reason to listen to the label’s suggestions and direction since they’ve had so much success.

This is Clay’s second album for Curb. The first album was released in 2007 and included the top five hit Fall. The album of the same name didn’t sell as well as Clay’s albums have in the past, but it seems like most artists are struggling to sell records these days.

The album She Won’t Be Lonely Longis full of great songs. There appear to be at least two more hits on the album. No matter what song is released next as a single you can probably expect to hear both of the songs on the radio in the next year.

Curb Records has always done things a little different than other labels. The label seems to put a lot of faith in having a hit first single. Artists on the label’s roster frequently release singles, but don’t release an album until at least one of those singles starts climbing the charts.

Clay is back on top of the country world with his new single and album and it’s great to have him back making new music. He takes his band out on the road each year and he says the crowds are getting bigger as the new music catches on with radio.

Hopefully Clay and Curb can find more success together despite a few disagreements in strategy.

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