How Chris Tomlin’s Daughter Helped Him Stay Humble: ‘You Write…Songs?’
Movieguide® Contributor
Grammy Award winner Chris Tomlin got a piece of humble pie last year when his daughter asked him a question he never expected.
“How do you stay humble?” Tomlin was asked on the “Dadville” podcast earlier this year.
“This last year…I get a FaceTime call. I’m on the road,” he explained. “FaceTime call from Lauren, and it’s Ashlyn, our oldest, and Lauren’s in the picture, and Ashy’s like, ‘I just want to call you, Dad, and let you know that…I kind of figured out what I want to do…I want to be a songwriter.”
Ashlyn, who was 11 or 12 at the time, knew that Tomlin was a singer but didn’t know he wrote music.
“I thought she’s calling me to talk to me about this, and she’s like ‘…Do you know anybody that can help me do this?’ No, I’m not lying. She seriously said… ‘Dad, do you know anybody [who can] help me do this?’ She goes, ‘Do you know anybody [who] like teaches this or how they do this or like do you know do you know anyone?” Tomlin recalled.
Tomlin’s wife, Lauren, knew perfectly well that Tomlin wrote songs and teased him by telling their daughter the names of other people and places that could help her.
“Lauren’s back there…listing all these [things]. She goes, ‘There’s Roots Academy…I think this person writes songs.’ I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m right here. I am right here. I’m going to hang up. Sounds like you guys have figured it out. I’m gonna go play my show to thousands of people. I have a concert tonight,’” he joked.
“I said, ‘Well Ashy, I write songs,” Tomlin said. “I’m on a bus right now. I write songs, and she said, ‘You write those songs?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah. I’ve actually written those songs.’ She goes, ‘Wow. I had no idea. That is really cool.’”
Even though Tomlin thought a lot of people knew about him and his music, finding out his daughter didn’t know he wrote songs knocked him down a peg.
Chris Tomlin recently shared the details behind his upcoming album, Always, and what he hopes the music does for its listeners…
READ MORE: CHRIS TOMLIN DISCUSSES NEW ALBUM: ‘THIS RECORD IS THE HEART AND CORE OF WHO I AM’
Tomlin’s daughters have a lot of influence on him. They even help him decide who to sing with when he goes on tours.
“Whoever my daughters love, that’s who comes on tour,” he told Worship Leader. CAIN is one of their current favorites.
His kids also influence his songwriting. Many of Tomlin’s songs are inspired by his daughters and family, including “Surprise of All Surprises!” and “Miricle of Love,” which were both inspired by his youngest, Elle Grace. “O Lord, You’re Beautiful” and “Home Church” were both inspired by his time with family amid the coronavirus pandemic.
