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Tucker
Tim McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is a country music
singer who has achieved many number one singles on
the country charts, six multi-platinum albums and
sales of over 25 million albums. He is married to
country singer Faith Hill. He was born in Delhi,
Louisiana. His mother was a waitress named Betty
Trimble (née D'Agostino; McGraw later received
awards as an Italian-American) and his father was
Tug McGraw, a famous relief pitcher for the New York
Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.
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* * *
Early career
Tug
McGraw had a brief affair with Tucker Tim's mother,
and he was originally named Samuel Timothy Smith.
Trimble raised Tim in Start, Louisiana, near Monroe.
He didn't discover that McGraw was his father until
he was 11. As a child, he was torn between a career
in music and a career in athletics. While attending
Northeast Louisiana University, he was drawn to a
musical career and started playing in clubs around
Louisiana. Dropping out of college in 1989, he left
for Nashville and played in clubs in that city
hoping to be discovered.
He
signed with Curb Records in 1990 but it wasn't until
1992 that he had his first minor hit "Welcome to the
Club" off his self-titled debut album which failed
to make much of a dent on the charts. He achieved a
couple of minor hits, "Memory Lane" and "Two Steppin
Mind", off the same album in 1993.
Success
The
second album Not a Moment Too Soon went on to become
the best selling country album in 1994. The first
single written by John D. Loudermilk called "Indian
Outlaw' caused considerable controversy as critics
argued that it presented native Americans in a
patronizing way. As a result of the controversy,
some radio stations refused to play it, but among
some Indian tribes, the song was popular, going to
the top of the playlist at the clear channel KTNN,
the radio voice of the Navajo Nation. The
controversy helped spur sales and the song became
McGraw's first top ten country single and reached
top 20 on the pop charts.
The
second track "Don't Take the Girl", a ballad,
reached the top of the country charts as did the
title track in 1995. "Down on the Farm" reached
number two and "Refried Dreams" reached the top 5.
The album sold over 5 million copies, topping the
Billboard 200 as well as the country album charts.
He won Academy of Country Music awards for album of
the year and top new male vocalist in 1994.
Continued success and home life
All I
Want released in 1995 continued his run of success
debuting at number one on the country charts. The
album sold over two million copies and reached top 5
on the Billboard 200. "I Like It, I Love It" reached
number one on the country charts as the leadoff
single while "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart"
also went to number one in 1996. "Can't Really Be
Gone" reached number two and "All I Want is a Life"
and "Maybe We Should Just Sleep On It" reaching top
5.
In
1996, Tim McGraw toured the US on the “Spontaneous
Combustion” tour, which was the most successful
country tour of that year. Faith Hill was his
support act and the title of the tour turned out to
be prophetic as the singers married late in the
year. The couple have had three daughters – Gracie
Katherine born May 5, 1997, Maggie Elizabeth born
August 12, 1998 and Audrey Caroline born December 6,
2001.
His
happy family life is in contrast with his father who
had a reputation as a hell raiser. Tug McGraw once
famously said: "Ninety percent I'll spend on good
times, women, and Irish Whiskey. The other ten
percent I'll probably waste."
Tim
McGraw also produced the debut album by Jo-Dee
Messina with long-time associate Byron Gallimore. He
has co-produced all three of her albums with
Gallimore.
Everywhere continued his golden run topping the
country charts and reaching number two on the album
charts in 1997. The album sold 4 million copies. The
first single "It’s Your Love", a duet with Faith
Hill, reached number one on the country charts,
reached the top ten in the pop charts and became the
most played single in the history of the Billboard
country charts. Three more singles "Everywhere",
"Where the Green Grass Grows" and "Just to See You
Smile" reached the top of the country charts from
the album. "Just to See You Smile" set a new record
spending 42 weeks on the Billboard charts. The
Country Music Association awarded Everywhere its
album of the year award for 1997.
A Place
in the Sun in 1999 was another huge hit topping the
US pop and country album charts and selling three
million albums. It featured another four chart
topping singles on the country charts including
"Please Remember Me" with Patty Loveless “Something
Like That”, “My Best Friend" and "My Next Thirty
Years". By 1999, he had taken over from Garth Brooks
as the most popular singer in country music.
Faith
Hill's career was also going well. Another duet
between the pair "Just to Hear You Say You Love Me"
reached the top five of the US country charts. Faith
reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 with lead
single "This Kiss" reaching number 7 on the
Billboard Hot 100 pop charts and also making the pop
charts in other countries including Australia and
Canada. Faith also made number 11 on the Canadian
album charts. Her follow up album Breathe
consolidated her success reaching number one on the
Billboard 200 upon release on November 21, 1999 with
the title track reaching number 2 on the Billboard
Hot 100. The Way you Love Me also reached number 7.
The album also featured another duet between the
couple called "Let's Make Love" which won a Grammy
in 2000 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. By the
end of 1999, Tim McGraw was the most popular country
male singer and Faith Hill was one of the most
popular singers along with Shania Twain.
During
summer 1999, Tim McGraw toured the US with the Dixie
Chicks as the support artist as well as appearing as
the headline artist at the George Strait Country
Music Festival. In 2000, he released a "Greatest
Hits" album which again topped the charts spending
nine weeks on top of the country charts. He and his
tour support artist Kenny Chesney got involved in a
scuffle with police officers when Chesney attempted
to ride one of their horses - Tim McGraw was later
cleared of the charges.
In the
latter half of 2000, he and Hill went out on the
"Soul 2 Soul 2000" tour playing to sellout crowds in
64 venues including Madison Square Gardens. It was
one of the top tours of any genre in the US and the
leading country tour during 2000.
Set
This Circus Down was released in 2001 featuring four
number one country hits - "Grown Men Don't Cry",
"Angry All the Time", "The Cowboy in Me" and
"Unbroken." A duet with Jo-Dee Messina "Bring on the
Rain" also topped the country charts. "Things
Change" made the history as the first country song
to chart from a downloaded version following his
performance of the song at the CMA Awards Show.
Tim
McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors
In
2002, Tim McGraw bucked country music traditions by
recording his album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall
Doctors with his tour band the Dancehall Doctors in
the Catskill Mountains. Unlike rock music where it
is commonplace for touring bands such as the E
Street Band or Crazy Horse to play on albums with
the artist they support, country albums are normally
recorded with session musicians.
Tim
McGraw states on his web site that he felt he owed
it to the musicians who had been an integral part of
his success. "My previous albums were done in pretty
much the Nashville way—the session guys came in and
laid down their tracks and then I sang. I'm proud of
all of those records, but I wanted to capture some
of the feel and groove that I loved in my favorite
records when I was growing up. It's almost unheard
of for a country artist to record with his road
band, but my guys have been with me for a long time,
and they're an important part of what I do. And it
was time to get that on a record."
All of
the Dancehall Doctors had been with Tim McGraw since
at least 1996. They include:
-
Darran Smith - lead guitar;
-
Denny Hemington - steel guitar;
-
Bob Minner - acoustic guitar;
-
John Marcus - bass guitar;
-
Dean Brown - fiddler;
-
Jeff McMahon - keyboards;
-
Billy Mason - drums; and
-
David Dunkley - percussion.
Tim
McGraw and the Dance Hall Doctors was released on
November 26, 2002 reached number 2 on the country
charts with "Real Good Man" reaching number one.
"She's My Kind of Rain" reached number 2 in 2003 and
"Red Rag Top" reached the top 5. The album also
features a faithful cover version of "Tiny Dancer"
from Elton John's album Madman Across the Water. The
artist also features appearances by Kim Carnes on
"Comfort Me" - a response to the September 11, 2001
attacks - and Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of
the Eagles on "Illegal".
Over
and Over
In late
2004, his unlikely duet with rapper Nelly on "Over
and Over", a soft ballad of lost love, became a
crossover hit.
"Over
and Over" brought McGraw a success he had never
previously experienced on contemporary hit radio,
and brought both artists success neither had
previously experienced in the hot adult contemporary
market.
Fraternity Life
While
enrolled at Northeast Louisiana University, McGraw
joined the Eta Omicron Chapter of The Pi Kappa Alpha
Fraternity. Two Fraternity brothers from the Eta
Omicron Chapter are still with him today, working as
his personnel manager on the road and his
merchandising manager. At The Pi Kappa Alpha
Fraternity's 2002 International Convention in Palm
Springs, CA, McGraw was awarded the Distinguished
Achievement Award. The Award is one of the highest
honors The Fraternity can give to an alum.
Politics
In a
2004 interview, McGraw said he would like to run for
public office in the future. In the same interview,
he praised former President Bill Clinton, unusual in
the traditionally conservative country music
industry.
McGraw
also participated in the "Live 8: The Long Walk to
Justice" concert series, performing along with Faith
Hill at the Rome, Italy concert on July 2, 2005 as
part of the effort to get G8 leaders to address the
humanitarian crises in Africa. McGraw's performance
of "Live Like You Were Dying" was one of the most
re-played performances in Live 8 television recaps.
*
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Date Article Copied:
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