When Chris Cagle parted ways with Capitol Records more than three years ago in a particularly difficult time of his life, he didn’t know what the future would bring for his country music career. Now, the Louisiana native is back full force, with his single ‘Got My Country On’ sitting in the Top 20 and a new record, appropriately titled ‘Back in the Saddle,’ due out on May 29 with Bigger Picture Group.

‘Back in the Saddle’ will mark Cagle’s first release of original songs since 2008′s ‘My Life’s Been a Country Song.’ In addition to his upcoming record, Cagle is also on tour now through August 11, making stops all over the US. In an interview with Taste of Country at the end of last year, the country talent opened up about his painful part with his label and life on the other side of what seemed an impossible feat.

“Three years ago, I really thought that I was done [with music], and I was okay with it,” he said. “I was not a happy individual. The business of this thing just didn’t work out the way I thought it would. Just being onstage and having fun cannot be enough. I was super, super angry in my career. I just got to a place where I thought. you know what … it ain’t worth it, man. The guy that I’ve become and the person who I was, I just wasn’t happy with him. I was embarrassed to look in the mirror. I thought, you know what, nothing in this world is worth your moral compass, so I quit.”

Speaking of the music he was just then starting to cut in the studio, Cagle said, “We’ve cut some great stuff! Some of it I’ve written. Some of it we found. There is some very typical stuff like the new single. I think that’s what people would absolutely expect from me. Then there’s some stuff on there that’s absolutely not what people would expect from me. That’s the stuff I’m really excited for them to hear.”

More From KLAW-FM