The Strange Case of Craig Campbell's 'Kisses' — rollingstone.com

Last month, Craig Campbell was watching the highest-charting single of his career, "Keep Them Kisses Comin'," inch its way closer toward the coveted Top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It was Number 13 and rising. Prior to releasing the compact, uptempo tune (a radio-ready two minutes, 39 seconds), the singer's best chart showing was his debut single, 2010's "Family Man," which peaked at Number 14. A Nashville journeyman by way of Georgia — a hotbed for today's country chart-toppers — Campbell, one of the few singers to still sport a cowboy hat, has found the sweet spot between good ol' boy and mature artist. Aside from the unfortunate "Fish," a too bawdy for its own good lark in 2011, his songs have stood out from today's homogenized country radio fare, especially the workingman's prayer "Family Man" and the haunted love dream "Outta My Head." The latter had a near record-breaking 54-week run on the charts.

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