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Tim McGraw said his nephew, Timothy Wayne, did a “great job on a classic,” with his cover of a classic country song.
Earlier this month, Wayne debuted his rendition of “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” Country artist Ed Bruce wrote the song with his then-wife, Patsy Bruce, in 1975. He recorded and released the song the same year, and it’s since been released by Chris LeDoux, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (including with The Highwaymen), Tanya Tucker and more.
“This one is special,” Wayne said when he released his version earlier this month. “I have so much respect for the original creators. I hope I did it and them justice.”
The rising country artist has previously released “That’d Be You,” “God Made A Country Boy,” “Louisiana Saturday Night” and more. In September, he joined McGraw on stage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival, which returned to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Other artists who performed throughout the genre-spanning festival include Jelly Roll, BigXthaPlug, Bryan Adams, Ed Sheeran, Diplo, GloRilla, John Fogerty, Justice, LL COOL J, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Sammy Hagar, Tate McRae, The Offspring, and Bailey Zimmerman.
“I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had a lot of father figures in my life, him being one of them, so I get a lot of life advice from him and musical advice,” Wayne said of McGraw on the iHeartRadio Music Festival red carpet. “I take a lot of stage presence advice from him to make sure the crowd feels involved in the show, feels involved in the music. That way, that when they’re there [at the show], they’re there. They’re not worried about anything outside. So, that’s one of the biggest pieces of advice [from McGraw].”
Listen to Wayne’s live version of “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” here: