A pretty shocking revelation. It’s hard to understate just how much of a force to be reckoned with Chris Stapleton has become throughout his music career. With 11 Grammys, 19 CMA Awards, 11 ACM Awards and a plethora of other hardware from the likes of Billboard, the Americana Music Association, ASCAP and more, the Kentucky native is arguably the biggest and most critically-acclaimed country artist this century. Among all the awards, last week, Stapleton made history as the only artist to capture a double-diamond song from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as his cover of David Allan Coe’s “Tennessee Whiskey” officially sold over 20 million units in the U.S. Of course, there’s so much to talk about when discussing Stapleton’s career as a whole. From his iconic breakout during the 2015 CMA Awards that signaled the death of bro-country, to his laundry list of hits, to his long history as a songwriter in Nashville before his fame as a solo artist, the Chris Stapleton lore runs incredibly deep. Though I’d say it’s fairly common knowledge for hardcore Stapleton fans (and dedicated country fans in general), one piece of information that is oftentimes overlooked is the fact that he was a prominent member of The SteelDrivers. In case you’re not familiar with The SteelDrivers, they’re a Nashville-based bluegrass band founded back in 2005 by Mike Henderson. In the early days of the band, it was comprised of Henderson on mandolin, Stapleton himself as lead vocals/guitar, Tammy Rogers on fiddle, Richard Bailey on banjo and Mike Fleming on bass. It’s hard to truly overstate just how much success they had right out of the gate. In addition to scoring early hits with the likes of “If It Hadn’t Been For Love,” “Heaven Sent” and “Where Rainbows Never Die,” The SteelDrivers would also receive multiple Grammy nominations within their first few years as a band, with “Blue Side of the Mountain” receiving a nod for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2009 and Reckless receiving a nod for Best Bluegrass Album in 2011. As we know by now, Stapleton ended up leaving the band in 2010. At the time, it was reported that he departed in favor of focusing on raising his kids in addition to his incredibly successful songwriting career at the time. In turn, he was replaced by Gary Nichols, who performed with the band from 2010 to 2017. If you’ve paid close attention to the “Starting Over” singer over the past decade or so, however, it became quite apparent that he’s rarely spoken about his time with the band. While it would have been a bit reckless to say that there was bad blood between Stapleton and the group, there always seemed to be an air of uncertainty surrounding the exact reason for his departure. As it turns out, the reason for Stapleton’s departure from The SteelDrivers was actually MUCH different than originally stated back in 2010. In a recent appearance on the podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the Kentucky native dove into the strange argument that ultimately led to him leaving. As Stapleton described, one of the original members of the band, whom he wouldn’t name, developed a fear of flying at some point during his tenure, which seemingly led to disagreements over the direction of the band. “One of the guys in the band developed a fear of flying, and I had an opinion about what we needed to do. And everybody else in the band had a different opinion, so they got somebody else.” Shepard would then ask Stapleton if he was fired and/or kicked out of the band, and the “White Horse” singer didn’t deny it: “Technically, yes. I probably shouldn’t be saying that on here, but that’s technically the truth.” When asked if he was hurt by the firing, Stapleton would ultimately say yes. However, he seems to allude to the fact that he believed that they weren’t setting themselves up for the success he believed they could have had. “Well, sure, but I also didn’t believe that we were [setting the right course]. I was like, ‘Okay, well, I’ll do something else.'” Though Stapleton keeps this entire situation a bit vague, when you read between the lines, it seems as if he wanted the band to stay the course and become much bigger than they ultimately have been over the past decades. What’s fascinating is that this is the first confirmation we’ve gotten that he was outright fired from the band, which is obviously a huge departure from the original reports of him leaving the band due to his family and songwriting career. As of now, none of the original members of The SteelDrivers have commented on Stapleton’s newest revelations about his final days in the band. Watch the full podcast here: All-American Road Show Tour Dates May 23 – Nashville, Tennessee – Nissan Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone June 11 – Jacksonville, Florida – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena with Allen Stone June 13 – Tampa, Florida – Raymond James Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone June 17 – Burgettstown, Pennsylvania – The Pavilion at Star Lake with Allen Stone June 20 – Charlotte, North Carolina – Bank of America Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone June 24 – Hershey, Pennsylvania – Hersheypark Stadium with Grace Potter June 26 – North Charleston, South Carolina – North Charleston Coliseum with Grace Potter July 8 – Mountain View, California – Shoreline Amphitheater with Molly Tuttle July 10 – Chula Vista, California – North Island Credit Union Amphitheater with Molly Tuttle July 17 – Portland, Oregon – Providence Park with Grace Potter July 22 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Rogers Arena with The Teskey Brothers July 24 – George, Washington – The Gorge with Grace Potter July 29 – Shakopee, Minnesota – Mystic Lake Amphitheater  with Allen Stone August 1 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Paycor Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone August 6 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Stadium with Zach Top & Allen Stone August 8 – Detroit, Michigan – Ford Field with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone August 14 – Boston, Massachusetts – Fenway Park with Zach Top & Allen Stone August 18 – Virginia Beach, Virginia – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater with Maggie Rose August 21 – Atlanta, Georgia – Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Ashley McBryde August 26 – Wantagh, New York – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater with Carter Faith August 28 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion with Carter Faith October 2 – Bristow, Virginia – Jiffy Lube Live with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs October 7 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Pinnacle Bank Arena with Nikki Lane October 9 – Kansas City, Missouri – Morton Amphitheater with Nikki LaneThe post “Technically Kicked Out”: Chris Stapleton Reveals The Real Reason He Left The SteelDrivers first appeared on Whiskey Riff.