Chris Stapleton‘s signature bluesy-rock guitar licks might be fiery, but his hot chicken order? Perhaps not so much.
As part of a cover story for Billboard‘s Country Power Players issue, Stapleton and actor Josh Brolin spent time at the musician’s studio in Nashville, but also took time to eat at Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, one of Music City’s most beloved restaurants. The eatery offers its signature chicken in an array of spicy sauce levels, but it seems the 11-time Grammy winner can’t take the heat when it comes to spicy poultry.
During their visit, Brolin asked Stapleton, “What’d you get? Medium?”
Stapleton replied, “No, mild. I don’t mess with that medium stuff. It’s not real medium anyway. Somebody’s temperature gauge must have broke.”
“What about the hot?” Brolin asked.
Stapleton then offered a rundown of the chicken’s various heat levels. “There’s mild, medium, hot, ‘damn hot’ and ‘shut the cluck up!’” he shared. “I stick with mild.”
Hattie B’s was launched by father-son duo Nick Bishop Sr. and Nick Bishop Jr. in August 2012 just off Broadway in downtown Nashville. Now, the business has more than a dozen locations across cities including Memphis, Dallas and Birmingham, with more locations in Austin and Chicago set to open.
In the Billboard cover story, Brolin spent time with Chris and Morgane Stapleton, blending conversation and jam sessions to dig deep into the inspirations and spaces that propel Stapleton’s music.
In addition to continuing with his headlining shows, Stapleton also recently picked up his fifth male artist of the year win at the ACM Awards and contributed the song “Bad As I Used to Be” to F1 The Album, the soundtrack to the film F1. Meanwhile, his 2015 album Traveller leads Billboard’s list of the Top Country Albums of the 21st Century retrospective.
