Tim McGraw

Background information
Birth name Samuel Timothy McGraw
Born May 1, 1967 (1967-05-01) (age 40)
Origin Delhi, Louisiana
Genre(s) Country
Occupation(s) singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) vocals
Years active 1993–present
Label(s) Curb Records
Associated
acts Faith Hill, The Dancehall Doctors
Website Tim McGraw official web site

Tim McGraw (born Samuel Timothy McGraw on May 1, 1967) is an American country music singer who has achieved many number one hits on the country singles and album charts, with total sales in excess of 25 million units. He is married to country singer Faith Hill and is the son of baseball player Tug McGraw. His trademark hit songs include "Indian Outlaw", "Don't Take the Girl", "I Like It, I Love It", "It's Your Love" (featuring his wife, Faith Hill), and "Live Like You Were Dying".

As of his 2006, McGraw has had nine consecutive albums debut at Number One on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and has sold a combined 35 million records, with twenty-six of his singles reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country 100 chart, with three of them being named the #1 country song of the year ("It's Your Love", "Just To See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying"). He has won 3 Grammys, 11 Academy of Country Music awards, 10 Country Music Association (CMA awards, 9 American Music Awards and 3 People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II tour with Faith Hill in 2006 became the highest-grossing tour in country music history, and ranked as one of the top five in all genres of music.[1]

McGraw has ventured into acting, with a supporting role in the Billy Bob Thornton film Friday Night Lights and a lead role in 2006's Flicka. He is also a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats.

 Early life

McGraw was born in Delhi, a town in Richland Parish, the son of waitress Elizabeth D'Agostino Trimble and Tug McGraw, a relief pitcher for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. McGraw is of Italian-Irish descent on his mother's side and Scots-Irish descent on his father's side.[2]

Raised by his mother, in Start east of Monroe, McGraw grew up believing his stepfather, Horace Smith, was his birth father. While searching his mother's closet when he was eleven to see if he could find hidden Christmas presents, McGraw discovered his birth certificate. After his discovery his mother revealed that his birth father was Tug McGraw, and brought him to meet his father for the first time.[2] Tug denied being Tim's father until Tim was 18 years old, when Tug first noticed how similar Tim looked to him when he was that young, and the two remained close until Tug's death in 2004.

As a child, McGraw loved to play competitive sports, including baseball, even though he did not know Tug McGraw was his father.[2] He studied sports medicine at Northeast Louisiana University on a baseball scholarship, and roomed with former NFL quarterback Doug Pederson[3] where he became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.[4] During this period, he learned to play guitar and would frequently perform and sing for tips, although he claims that his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad. In 1989, on the day his hero Keith Whitley died,[3] McGraw dropped out of college to head to Nashville and pursue a musical career.[2]

 1990s

 1990-1992

McGraw came to the attention of Curb Records in 1990 through chance circumstances and his father's connections. After cutting a demo single, McGraw gave a copy to Tug McGraw. A man who was friends with Curb Records executives heard the demo while driving with Tug McGraw one day and recommended that Curb contact the young singer. Several weeks after he was able to play his tape for Curb executives, they signed him to a recording contract.[2] Two years later, in 1992, he had his first minor hit "Welcome to the Club" off his self-titled debut album. Although the album failed to make much of a dent on the charts, McGraw did have two other minor hits from it in 1993, "Memory Lane" and "Two Steppin Mind."[3]

 1994-1995

His second album, Not a Moment Too Soon, was much more successful, becoming best selling country album in 1994. The first single, "Indian Outlaw", caused considerable controversy as critics argued that it presented Native Americans in a patronizing way.[3] Some radio stations refused to play it,[5] but the controversy helped spur sales and the song became McGraw's first top ten country single (getting as high as #8) and reaching #15 on the pop chart.[6]

The second single from the album, "Don't Take the Girl", became McGraw's first #1 country hit and "helped cement his image as a ruggedly good-looking guy with a sensitive side."[5] The following year, the album's title track became a #1 country single, while "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.[3] On the strength of this success, McGraw won Academy of Country Music awards for Album of the Year and Top New Male Vocalist in 1994.[7]

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 the 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", "All I Want is a Life", and "Maybe We Should Just Sleep On It" were all top 5 hits.[3]

 1996 (marriage)

In 1996, McGraw headlined the most successful country tour of the year, with Faith Hill as his supporting act. The tour's name, The Spontaneous Combustion Tour, turned out to be prophetic as the singers married in October 1996 The couple have since had three daughters, Gracie Katherine (born 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (born 1998) and Audrey Caroline (born 2001).[8]

 1997-1999

McGraw's next album, 1997's Everywhere, again topped the country charts and reached number two on the album charts, selling 4 million copies.[3] The first single, "It’s Your Love", a duet with Faith Hill, became the first single in twenty years to spend six weeks on top of Billboard's country singles chart (the previous such song had been Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson's "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" in 1977). The single reached #7 on the pop chart (and gained platinum status); and became the most played single in the history of the Billboard country charts. Five more singles "Everywhere", "Where the Green Grass Grows", "One of These Days", "For a Little While", and "Just to See You Smile" reached the top of the country charts from the album, with the last of these setting a new record by spending 42 weeks on the Billboard charts.[9] The Country Music Association awarded Everywhere its Album of the Year award for 1997.

A Place in the Sun in 1999 continued McGraw's streak, debuting atop both the US pop and country album charts[7] and selling three million albums. It featured another four chart topping singles on the country charts including "Please Remember Me", "Something Like That", "My Best Friend", and "My Next Thirty Years"; "Some Things Never Change" reached #7 on the country chart.[3] He also contributed a song for the Grammy-winning tribute album to Bob Willis, Ride With Bob. His song, a cover of "Milk Cow Blues", was recorded as a duet with Asleep at the Wheel, whom he had met while performing together at the George Strait Country Music Festival.[7]

McGraw recorded two more duets with his wife in the late 1990s, both of which appeared on her albums. "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me" off her multi-platinum 1998 album Faith, reached the top five of the US country charts,[3] while her follow-up and 1999 album Breathe featured "Let's Make Love", which would win a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.[7]

 2000s

 2000-2001

In 2000, McGraw released his Greatest Hits album which topped the charts for nine weeks and sold almost 6 million copies, making it one of the biggest selling albums in the modern country market. In the latter half of the year, he and Hill went out on the Soul2Soul Tour, playing to sellout crowds in 64 venues including Madison Square Garden. It was one of the top tours of any genre in the US and the leading country tour during 2000.[9]

While in New York, McGraw and Kenny Chesney became involved in a scuffle with police officers after Chesney, who had permission from the sheriff's daughter, attemped to ride a police horse. McGraw came to Chesney's aid after police officers nearby believed the horse was being stolen and tried to arrest him. The two were arrested and charged with assault, but were later cleared. During a concert with the George Strait Country Music Festival several weeks later, Hill, dressed as a police officer, made an unscheduled appearance at the end of McGraw's set and led him off the stage.[10]

McGraw's next album, Set This Circus Down, was released in April 2001 and spawned four number one country hits - "Grown Men Don't Cry", "Angry All the Time", "The Cowboy in Me", and "Unbroken". He also provided harmony vocals for the Jo Dee Messina song "Bring on the Rain", which he also produced. The song topped the country charts.[7]

Hungry for more of his music, fans downloaded a version of his performance of the song "Things Change" from his appearance at the Country Music Association Awards Show. The song was played extensively on radio, becoming the first country song to appear on the charts from a fully downloaded version.[9]

 2002-2003

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. Unlike rock music, where it is commonplace for touring bands to provide the music on albums recorded by the artist they support, country albums are typically recorded with session musicians.[11] McGraw chose to use his own touring band in order to recognize their part in his success and to capture some of the feel of a real band.[9]

All of the Dancehall Doctors have worked with McGraw since at least 1996. They include:

* Darran Smith - Lead Guitar, Acoustic guitar
* Bob Minner - Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic guitar, Banjo, Mandolin
* Denny Hemingson - Steel Guitar, Electric, Baritone, and Slide Guitars, Dobro
* John Marcus - Bass guitar
* Dean Brown - Fiddle, Mandolin
* Jeff McMahon - Piano, Organ, Synthesizer, Keyboards
* Billy Mason - Drums
* David Dunkley - Percussion.[9]

The album debuted at number 2 on the country albums charts,[2] with the single "Real Good Man" reaching number one on the Hot Country Songs chart. "She's My Kind of Rain" reached number 2 in 2003 and "Red Rag Top" reached the top 5. The album also featured a cover version of Elton John's early 1970s classic "Tiny Dancer", as well as 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".

 2004-2005

2004's Live Like You Were Dying continued McGraw's record of commercial success. The title track, dedicated to his father Tug McGraw who died of brain cancer earlier in the year, was a soaring ode to living life fully and in the moment,[12] while the second single "Back When" was a paean to an easy nostalgia. 'Live Like You Were Dying' spent seven non-consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard (10 weeks on Radio & Records) and went on to become the biggest hit single of the year. It also became one the most awarded songs/records by winning ACM Single and Song of the Year, CMA Single and Song of the Year and a Grammy.

In late 2004, his unlikely duet with rapper Nelly on "Over and Over", a soft ballad of lost love, became a crossover hit[13] spending 10 weeks atop the Top 40 chart. This made Tim the first modern country artist to have two 10 week number one hits in a single year. "Over and Over" brought McGraw a success he had never previously experienced on contemporary hit radio, rap radio, and brought both artists success neither had previously experienced in the hot adult contemporary market. The song also spent a week at the top of the UK single charts, and was McGraw's first visit to the UK hit countdown. Unlike fellow country artists Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, each of whom have had significant crossover success, McGraw is still well-respected by the country music industry.[11]

Throughout the 2005 NFL season McGraw sang an alternate version of "I Like It, I Love It" every week during the season. The alternate lyrics, which changed each week, would make reference to plays during Sunday's games and the song would be played alongside video highlights during halftime on Monday Night Football.[14] Later in the year McGraw became a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats when majority owner Bud Adams (owner of the NFL's Tennessee Titans) was awarded the expansion franchise.[15] It was dedicated to Tug McGraw..

 2006-present

In April 2006 McGraw and Hill began their 73-concert 55 city Soul2Soul II Tour 2006, again to strong commercial acceptance. The tour grossed nearly $89 million and sold almost 1.1 million tickets, making it the top grossing tour in the history of country music.[16] It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigious Pollstar Magazine, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. In a special gesture, the couple donated all of the profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief.[17]

Tim, along with Kenny Chesney, contributed to a version of Tracy Lawrence's song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on Lawrence's album For the Love. Although the official single version features only Lawrence's vocals, many stations have opted to play the version with McGraw and Chesney instead.

McGraw released his eleventh album, Let It Go, on March 27, 2007. The album's debut single, "Last Dollar (Fly Away)", reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, marking Tim's first No. 1 single since "Back When" in late 2004. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart, marking his 4th #1 top 200 album and 9th #1 country album (Source: Billboard Magazine).

During the Academy of Country Music awards show on May 21, 2007, McGraw performed a song titled "If You're Reading This", which he co-wrote with the Warren Brothers.[18] Several radio stations began to play the live recording of the song; as a result, it entered the Hot Country Songs chart at #35.[19]

 Acting

McGraw's first acting appearance came in a 1995 episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, where he played Foxworthy's rival.

In 2004 McGraw played a sheriff in Rick Schroder's independent release Black Cloud. Later in the same year, McGraw received good notices as the overbearing father of a running back in the major studio Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the role was "played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw."[20] The movie went on to gross over $60 million dollars worldwide at the box office[21] and sold millions in the DVD market. Most recently it was named one of the top 50 high school movies of all time (number 37) by Entertainment Weekly.

McGraw's first lead role was in the 2006 film Flicka, which was released in theatres October 20, 2006. In the remake of the classic book "My Friend Flicka", McGraw played the father, Rob, costarring with Alison Lohman and Maria Bello. The family-friendly movie debuted in the top 10 list and has grossed over 25 Million dollars at the box office.[22] McGraw again achieved critical acclaim for his acting.[23][24]

Shortly before Flicka opened McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. near stars in the sidewalk honoring Julie Andrews, William Shatner and the late Greta Garbo. One of his Flicka co-stars, Alison Lohman, attended the ceremony that included comments from Billy Bob Thornton, McGraw's co-star in the film, Friday Night Lights.[25]

In addition to acting in Flicka, McGraw served as executive producer of the soundtrack album, which was released by his record label, StyleSonic Records, in association with Curb Records and Fox 2000 films. It featured the closing credit song "My Little Girl", the first song McGraw has recorded that he co-wrote. The song was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics for "Best Song" in a film, and the movie was nominated in the category "Best Family Film (Live Action). The movie proved to be another huge success in the DVD market and has sold over a million copies, debuting at number 3 on the DVD sales chart.[22]

McGraw will also be appearing in the new Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner movie The Kingdom produced by Peter Berg and due out in September 2007.

 Charitable efforts

As his success has grown, McGraw has become increasingly interested in giving back to the community. When McGraw first reached fame in 1994 he established his annual Swampstock event. Begun as a charity softball game to raise money for hometown little league programs, the event now includes a celebrity softball game and a multi-artist concert that attracts over 11,000 fans per year. The combined events have funded new little league parks and equipment and established college scholarship funds for students in the Northeast Louisiana area.[26]

From 1996-1999 McGraw also hosted an annual New Year's Eve concert in Nashville with special guests including Jeff Foxworthy, the Dixie Chicks, and Martina McBride. The 1997 show raised over $100,000 for the Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum. Beginning in 1999, McGraw would pick select cities on each tour, and, the night before he was scheduled to perform, would choose a local club and host a quickly-organized show. This tour within a tour became known as "The Bread and Water Tour", and all proceeds from the show would go to a charity from that community.[26]

In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, McGraw and his wife, who was raised in Mississippi, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm.[27] Later in the year the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services in the event of a natural disaster or for desperate personal circumstances.

McGraw is also a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, in which various celebrities donate their time, skills, and fame to help the Red Cross highlight important initiatives and response efforts.[28]

McGraw, a Democrat, has stated that he would one day like to run for public office in the future, possibly for Senate or governor of his home state of Tennessee. In the same interview, he praised former President Bill Clinton.[29]

 Discography

 Awards

[30]
Year Awards Award
2006 People's Choice Awards Top Male Performer
2006 Grammy Award Country Vocal Collaboration - "Like We Never Loved At All" (with Faith Hill)
2005 American Music Awards Album of the Year -Live Like You Were Dying
2005 American Music Awards Male Artist (country genre)
2005 Academy of Country Music Song of the Year -"Live Like You Were Dying"
2005 Academy of Country Music Single of the Year -"Live Like You Were Dying"
2005 People's Choice Awards Favorite Country Male Artist
2005 Grammy Award Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Live Like You Were Dying"
2005 Country Music Television Most Inspiring Video - "Live Like You Were Dying"
2004 People's Choice Awards Favorite Country Male Artist
2004 Radio Music Awards Country Male Artist
2004 CMA Single of the Year - "Live Like You Were Dying"
2003 American Music Awards (January) Favorite Country Male Artist
2003 Radio Music Awards (January) Country Male Artist
2003 American Music Awards (November) Favorite Country Male Artist
2002 American Music Awards Best Country Album - Set This Circus Down
2002 American Music Awards Favorite Male Country Artist
2001 American Music Awards Favorite Male Country Artist
2001 Grammy Awards Vocal Collaboration - "Let's Make Love (with Faith Hill)
2001 CMA Entertainer of the Year
2001 Billboard Awards Country Artist
2001 Billboard Awards Male Country Artist
2001 Billboard Awards Country Albums Artist
2001 Billboard Awards Country Single Artist
2001 Billboard Awards Country Album - Greatest Hits
2000 CMA Male Vocalist
2000 National Fatherhood Initiative Father of the Year
2000 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist
2000 Billboard Awards Male Artist of the Year
1999 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist
1999 Academy of Country Music Vocal Collaboration - "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me" (with Faith Hill)
1999 CMA Male Vocalist
1999 CMA Album of the Year - A Place in the Sun
1998 Billboard Awards Country Single of the Year - "Just To See You Smile"
1998 CMA Album of the Year - Everywhere
1998 Academy of Country Music Single of the Year - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1998 Academy of Country Music Song of the Year - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1998 Academy of Country Music Video of the Year - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1998 Academy of Country Music Top Vocal Event - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1997 Billboard Magazine Single of the Year - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1997 Country Music Television Video of the Year - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1997 Country Music Television Male Artist of the Year
1997 Playgirl Margazine Top Ten, Sexiest Men of the Year
1997 CMA Vocal Event - "It's Your Love" (with Faith Hill)
1995 American Music Awards Favorite New Country Artist
1994 Country Music Television Male Video Artist of the Year
1994 American Music Awards Album of the Year - Not a Moment Too Soon
1994 American Music Awards Top New Male Vocalist
1994 Billboard Awards Top New Country Artist
1994 Billboard Magazine Top New Country Album - Not a Moment Too Soon

 
 Notes

1. ^ Tim McGraw (English). Curb Records. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
2. ^ a b c d e f Interviews with Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel, Tim McGraw, Larry King Live: CNN, December 10, 2002
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tim McGraw Biography", VH1. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
4. ^ What's different about Pike?. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Kappa Psi Chapter. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
5. ^ a b Gerome, John (April 13, 2007). Growing Strong - McGraw's reach encompasses country music, more (English). San Angelo Standard Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
6. ^ Controversy: Episode "Indian Outlaw" (English). Country Music Television (2003). Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
7. ^ a b c d e Tim McGraw Biography. CMT. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
8. ^ Faith Hill (English). InternationalSpeakers.Com. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
9. ^ a b c d e Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors - Bio, Liner notes for album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors: Curb Records, 2001
10. ^ Ryan, Harriet. "The singers, the deputies, and a horse", CourtTV, March 14, 2001. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
11. ^ a b Tyrangiel, Josh. "The Clinton of Country", Time Magazine, September 13, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
12. ^ McNary, Dave (December 12, 2004). 'Dying' for a deal. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
13. ^ Nelly's 'Over & Over' Jumps To #1!. SixShot (November 9, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
14. ^ Kelley, Austin (October 10, 2005). Pigskin Poet. The New Yorker. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
15. ^ Tim McGraw owner of Arena Football Team. USAToday (November 2, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
16. ^ "Tim, Faith set tour mark", Country Standard Time, September 14, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
17. ^ "Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert to benefit Katrina relief", Country Standard Time, May 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
18. ^ Tim McGraw's Special Tribute
19. ^ Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This” Is In High Demand -- The 9513
20. ^ Wilonsky, Robert (October 7, 2004). Hell of a Catch. The Dallas Observer. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
21. ^ Weinstein, Joshua L. (May 22, 2006). Hollywood via Nashville. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
22. ^ a b Flicka. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
23. ^ McCarthy, Todd (October 17, 2006). Flicka. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
24. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (October 20, 2006). McGraw alone can't rein in unruly 'Flicka'. The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
25. ^ "Tim McGraw Receiving Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame", CMT, September 14, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
26. ^ a b Awareness. TimMcGraw.Com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
27. ^ Gordon, Dan; Buck Wolf (March 8, 2006). Faith Hill, Tim McGraw Blast 'Humiliating' Katrina Cleanup. ABC News. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
28. ^ American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet Members. The American Red Cross (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
29. ^ "Tim MCGraw Likes the sound of Gov. McGraw", MSNBC, January 13, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
30. ^ Tim McGraw Awards. Curb Records (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-15.

 Further reading

* Brown, Jim, and Susan Sparrow. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw: Soul 2 Soul. Quarry Music Books, 2002. ISBN 1550822934
* Gray, Scott. Perfect Harmony: the Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Story. 1st ed. Ballantine Books, 1999. ISBN 0345434129
* McGraw, Tim. Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors: This is Ours. Atria Books, 2002. ISBN 074346706X
* Nichols, Tim, and Craig Wiseman. Live Like You Were Dying. Rutledge Hill P, 2004. ISBN 1401602126
* Trimble, Betty "McMom". A Mother's Story. D'Agostino/Dahlhauser/Ditmore Pub, 1996. ISBN 1886371326

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