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Tracy Darrell (Trace) Adkins (born January 13, 1962 in Sarepta, Louisiana) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He made his debut in 1996 with the single "There's a Girl in Texas", which reached Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud, which also included his first Number One single in 1997's "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing".
Between 1996 and the present, Adkins has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard country music charts. In addition, he has recorded seven studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations, with all but two of his albums certified gold or higher by the RIAA.
Trace Adkins: Biography
Trace Adkins - Early life
Adkins's musical interest came at an early age, when his father taught him to play the guitar. In high school, he joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. Later, Adkins went on to study at Louisiana Tech University; after graduation, he took up work at an oil rig. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident, and asked doctors to re-attach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar. Adkins then moved on to playing in honky tonk bars around Nashville, Tennessee in the early 1990s. An executive of Capitol Records spotted Adkins playing at a honky-tonk, and soon signed him to the label.
Trace Adkins - Injuries
As well as losing his finger as a child, Trace Adkins has experienced a number of serious injuries as an adult. He was involved in a number of bar room incidents, and was also shot in the heart and lungs by his second wife. Adkins denies abusing her but comments that the relationship was marked by excessive alcohol use. He has also been stabbed and beaten severely
Trace Adkins - Career
Adkins's first single, "There's a Girl in Texas", was released in 1996, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of his debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud, later that year. The album produced several hit singles, including his first Number One in "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing". His second album, Big Time, produced a Top 5 in "The Rest of Mine", but subsequent singles proved less successful. A change in management delayed the release of Adkins's third album, but the album (titled More...) was eventually released in late 1999. Although the album's title track reached Top 10, More... failed to achieve gold status.
Trace Adkins - 2001-2004
On July 5, 2001, Adkins was charged with driving under the influence in Nolensville, Tennessee. The singer pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 months in jail; however, the sentence was suspended after 48 hours. In addition, he had to pay $350 in fines, and his driver's license was suspended for one year. Shortly afterward, he was injured in a tractor accident and had to temporarily cancel touring. He later entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in Nashville, shortly after the release of his Chrome album. Chrome was the first album of Adkins's to reach the Top 5 on the country albums charts; its title track reached Top 10 in late 2002.
In 2003, Adkins released two albums: a Greatest Hits collection and Comin' on Strong. The same year, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He also made appearances as the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares, and did voice-overs in commercials for fast-food chain KFC. Only one single, "Then They Do", was released from the Greatest Hits compilation. Comin' on Strong, which succeeded the Greatest Hits album, produced two singles: the Top 5 single "Hot Mama", and "Rough & Ready", which peaked at #13.
Trace Adkins - 2005-Present
In 2005, Adkins released his Songs About Me album. The album's second single, "Arlington", generated controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery); as a result, the song was withdrawn from radio. It was followed by "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which became a highly successful crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
2006 saw the release of Adkins's seventh studio album, Dangerous Man. "Swing", the album's lead-off single, peaked at #20, while the follow-up "Ladies Love Country Boys" became Adkins's first Number One single on the country charts since "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" in 1997. The album's final release, "I Wanna Feel Something", proved unsuccessful on the charts; as a result, Adkins announced that he would stop supporting the single.
In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled "I Got My Game On". Originally, the song was planned to be the lead-off to a new album, tentatively titled Game On; however, Adkins stated that the album has been cancelled, and a second Greatest Hits compilation, titled American Man: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 was released instead, on December 4, 2007, with "I Got My Game On" serving as its lead-off single. He also released his first book, entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck.
Adkins was also a contestant on the NBC television series The Celebrity Apprentice during the 2007-2008 season. |
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