Obviously, Tucker Beathard’s dad was a big influence on him and his music. Casey Beathard has written a long, long list of country hits for so many country greats.

From the time this newcomer was a little boy, his dad was writing. And when Tucker was just about 5, his dad’s song "Right Where I Need to Be" for Gary Allan was a massive hit -- the first Top 5 song of his career, in fact.

That was back in 2000. And in the 16 years since, Tucker grew up watching his dad craft the songs that would keep Eric Church, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins and more on the charts for years.

Beathard even remembers when his dad went to the Academy of Country Music Awards, and he and his siblings watched for him on TV.

This year, though, it was Tucker’s first turn to head to Vegas for the ACM Awards, which is where we had a chance to catch up on everything that’s been going on behind the scenes since he debuted his own first country song, “Rock On.”

The song is one he wrote with his dad and Marla Cannon-Goodman, and the hook is so good, Beathard told me, “Some songwriters have told me they heard it and thought, ‘Why did I not think of that,’ so I’m glad I stumbled onto that idea before anyone else did.”

But it’s not just his dad who is backing his career. The whole Beathard family is right there beside Tucker, along for the whole ride.

They’re there for all of it, too, and aren’t afraid to tell Tucker if whatever he’s working on just isn’t working.

“My dad, my mom and my four siblings have already become this family fan base for me. The cool thing is that they have no problem telling you if a song is dumb,” Tucker admitted. “We’re all best friends.”