The year was 1980 when eight-year-old Brad Paisley knew that his grandfather would be giving him a guitar for Christmas. And while it became a life-changing gift, young Brad really had his heart set on other things under the tree that year. You might say he was a little more focused on flying the Millennium Falcon than playing in the Cantina Band. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• You never know where the gift of music may lead a child, or how it may lift up someone in your life. Whether it’s an instrument, music lessons, a CD, an mp3 player, a gift card, or whatever seems right, think about the gift of music this Christmas as something special that could last a lifetime.
• Brad’s newest album is This Is Country Music, featuring the hit title track, as well as “Remind Me,” “Old Alabama,” and his current favorite, “Camouflage.”

  Brad Paisley had his mind set on other Christmas gifts the year that he got his first guitar from his grandfather. (1:06)
“That’s just like my kids now and any other kid. Your priorities are…all they care about, I know, is the right toy. They get obsessed with a certain toy. They might get into Batman or Cars or Transformers, and for those weeks where that is the focus, they save-up a little money, or when they have a birthday or anything come up, all that matters is one strange thing. They’ll get it in their mind that they need a certain Transformer, you know, that they need Starscream — and that’s a lot like me. I’m that way. I mean, I get obsessed with things, and maybe that’s why I have such a good work ethic. I think somebody who’s obsessive that way can really work hard. But for me, at eight years old, it was, you know, the Millennium Falcon or Battlestar Galactica or something. It wasn’t a guitar. I knew I was getting a guitar ’cause he had told me he was gonna do that, but, you know, I was not that excited about it.”