Tracy Lawrence

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Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Lawrence, a native of Foreman, Arkansas, began performing at the age of 15 and then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1990 to begin his country music career.

In 1991, he signed to Atlantic Records Nashville and made his debut with the album Sticks and Stones in late that year.

Five more studio albums, as well as a live album and a compilation album, were released in the 1990s and 2000 on Atlantic before the label's country division was closed in 2001.

He appeared on Warner Bros.

DreamWorks Records, Mercury Records, Mercury Records Nashville, and his own brands, Rocky Comfort Records and Lawrence Music Group, have all released music. Lawrence has sold a total of fourteen studio albums.

Alibis (1993) and Time Marches On (1996), two-platinum albums that have been rated by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

"Sticks and Stones", "Can't Break It to My Heart," "My Second Home," "If the Good Die Young," "Time Moves On," and "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" are among his more than forty hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, with eight songs debuting, including eight songs that have risen to the top of the charts: "Alibis," "Can't Break It to My Heart," "You're Young," "If the Young"

Of these, "Time Marches On" is his longest-lived at three weeks, while "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" set a record for the slowest ascension to the top of the chart.

His musical style is largely influenced by neotraditional country and honky-tonk influences, but he has also performed country pop, Christmas music, and Christian country music.

He has received Top New Male Vocalist from Billboard in 1992 and 1993, and Vocal Event of the Year from the Country Music Association in 2007.

Personal life

Lawrence was charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful firearms possession after arguing and following two teenagers on a highway in Wilson County, Tennessee, in April 1994. Despite being put on probation for a year, the charges were later dismissed.

Lawrence has been married three times. Frances Weatherford, a former rodeo actress, married his first wife in 1993. Weatherford was injured by broken glass and suffered a miscarriage after a gas fire explosion in 1996, and the two were divorced in 1996. Stephenie "Stacie" Drew, a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, married him in March 1997. The wedding reception attracted over 500 guests, as well as performances by Toby Keith, Tracy Byrd, and Kenny Chesney. Lawrence was investigated in October 1997 after allegations that he had assaulted Drew after a concert at Bill Bill's hotel and casino in Primm, Nevada. This happened less than a month after the couple had filed for divorce. Lawrence was found guilty of battery misdeed and impounded by the Las Vegas courts and ordered to give $500 to a Nevada-based women's shelter. Billboard later announced that Lawrence Johnson had been barred from recording any new material until he decided to seek counseling, but later denied these allegations. Becca, his third wife, was married in a private wedding ceremony right after Christmas 2000. The couple had a baby named Skylar in June and it was born in June. Mary Keagan, their second daughter, was born two years ago.

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Musical career

Lawrence began recording his debut album Sticks and Stones after signing to Atlantic Nashville. Lawrence was hurt while walking a high school friend named Sonja Wilkerson to the door of her hotel room at a Quality Inn in downtown Nashville on May 31, 1991, after completing the album's vocal tracks. Three men threatened to rape Wilkerson and rob both of them, confronting him. Lawrence resisted and fired four times, allowing his friend to flee. Two of the wounds were major and necessitated surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and one bullet remained embedded in his hip. The shooting and subsequent surgery postponed the album's arrival, meaning he'd have time to recover before promoting it.

On their late-1991 debut, Sticks and Stones became the first singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. First was the album's title track, which debuted at number one on the charts in January 1992. "Today's Lonely Fool," "Runnin' Behind," and "Somebody Paints the Wall" were among the top-ten hits after three more: "Today's Lonely Fool," "Runnin' Behind," and "Somebody Paints the Wall." Josh Logan's last version of the same chart had appeared in the lower regions of the same chart in 1989. John Scott Sherrill, Mark D. Sanders, Tim Menzies, Lawrence himself, and Kenny Beard, who would go on to write several of Lawrence's other songs, were among the contributing songwriters on the album. "Paris, Tennessee," another cut from the album, was also released by co-writer Dennis Robbins on his 1992 album Man with a Plan, and Kenny Chesney on his 1995 album All I Need to Know. Bruce Bouton, Mark Casstevens, and Milton Sledge of Garth Brooks' studio band The G-Men, as well as session musicians Brent Rowan and Glenn Worf were among the musicians on the album. The album was produced by James Stroud, who also performed drums on the track "Between Us." The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had a platinum award for one million copies of Sticks and Stones. Entertainment Weekly's writer Alanna Nash said he "pairs a poised and confident baritone with witty and well-crafted songs that shed soft light on the human race's dark corners." In 1992, Billboard magazine named him Top New Male Vocalist.

Lawrence's second album, Alibis, received a double-platinum RIAA Award for two million copies in 1993. "Can't Break It to My Heart," "My Second Home," and "If the Good Die Young" were all four of its singles on the Hot Country Songs charts from early 1993 to early 1994: the title track, "Can't Break It to My Heart," "My Second Home," and "If the Good Die Young" appeared on the Hot Country Songs charts. The title track debuted on Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at number 72. Don Schlitz, Randy Boudreaux, and Craig Wiseman co-authored songs on the album, which was also produced by Stroud. Lawrence co-wrote "Can't Break It to My Heart" with "Sticks and Stones" co-writer Elbert West and "My Second Home" with Beard. Lawrence said on the website Taste of Country in 2018 that he "fought" with Atlantic executives over the recording of "Can't Break It to My Heart" because the label wanted him to record more ballads akin to those of then-labelmate John Michael Montgomery. A analysis of Alibis in Cash Box magazine praised the title track, "I Throw the Rest Away," and "It Only Takes One Bar (To Make a Prison)" as the best cuts, as well as the "conviction and authenticity" in Lawrence's voice. Lawrence "settles for clichéd themes and mawkish delivery," Nash reported in Entertainment Weekly, a less optimistic version of his. Lawrence performed on tour with George Jones and announced a new line of hats from the Stetson hat company. The Academy of Country Music named him as the Best New Male Vocalist by 1993.

I See It Now, Lawrence's 1994 album I See It Now had its title track as the lead single. Larry Boone, Paul Nelson, and Woody Lee (who also worked for Atlantic Nashville at the time) co-authored the book, which ranked second on the country charts and 84 on the Hot 100. The successor to "As Any Fool Can See" reached number two on the chart, while "Texas Tornado," a Bobby Braddock-penned hit on Hot Country Songs in mid-1995 and its B-side "If the World Had a Front Porch" to number two afterward, climbed to the top of the charts. The John Anderson duet "Hillbilly with a Heartache" was released on Anderson's 1994 album Country 'til We Die, and the song "I Got a Feelin'" was also included on the album, which was later released by him on his 1997 album Twice Upon a Time. I See It Now had seven of his songs recorded by Stroud, while three others were accounted for Lawrence's first co-production credits, "As Any Fool Can See" with Flip Anderson of his touring band, and "Hillbilly with a Heartache" with both Flip Anderson and Stroud. Throughout 1995, Lawrence hosted I See It Now, a tour that attracted over 200 shows. Lawrence "returns to the honky-tonk sound of his debut," Nash says, balancing melodic ballads of regret with kick-butt rhythms and lively wordplay. Allmusic rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, with an uncredited review praising the album's honky-tonk appearance as well as the "cute lyrical twists for which country music is well-known." "I'd Give Anything to Be Your Everything Again" as "lovely, bittersweet accounts of romance lost," an uncredited study in People praised the title track and closing track, but criticised "If the World Had a Front Porch" lyrics. I See It Now has been given the RIAA Platinum Award by the Royal Institute of British Agricultural Association.

Tracy Lawrence Live, acoustic album released in 1995, also in 1995. The album contained live recordings of nine of nine previous singles as well as Alibis' album track "I Threw the Rest Away." Lawrence compiled the collection from 40 different live shows from the six months leading up to the disc's launch, as well as with Flip Anderson. The album was supposed to be titled Tracy Lawrence Live and Unplugged, but it was renamed on MTV due to MTV's assertion of a copyright on the word "unplugged."

Time marches On, his fourth album, was released in January 1996. In 2000, it was his second double-platinum album. The lead single on the Hot Country Songs charts was "If You Loved Me." Lawrence described the song as "a typical Tracy Lawrence ballad about love gone wrong" and that it was one of his best singles. Following this song was the album's title track; Braddock's contribution made it Lawrence's longest-liver on Hot Country Songs, where it debuted for three weeks. The Country Music Association has also named it as Single of the Year. "Stars Over Texas" (which Lawrence co-wrote with Boone) and "Is That a Tear" followed this album, with both number one and two peaking. Don Cook (best known for his work with Brooks & Dunn) was in charge of five tracks on the album, while Lawrence and Anderson were in charge of five tracks. Lawrence and Anderson's tracks were more traditional in their sound than Cook's, according to Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time, highlighting "Is That a Tear" and "Somewhere Between the Moon and You" as the best and most country-sounding cuts. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said the album was "another crowd-pleasing set of contemporary country." The song picks are similar to his previous albums, with only half of them making a lasting impression. Lawrence is, of course, one of the country's most well-known entertainers." Billboard named Lawrence as the tenth most-played radio artist in any segment this year.

The Coast Is Clear, Lawrence's fifth studio album, was released in March 1997 and received an RIAA gold certification two months later. It featured some songs by Cook and others by Lawrence and Anderson, as well as others by Lawrence and Anderson. The first two singles on Hot Country Songs, "Better Man, Better Off" and "How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye," both made it to the top ten, but the follow-ups were less popular: the title track became his first single to fall outside the top ten when it reached number 26, and "While You Sleep" fell outside the top 40. The Tennessean's Tom Roland said the album had a theme of "attempts to undo what's done," but criticised the music as "restrained" and "middle-of-the-road." Sarah Rodman of Country Standard Time shared a similar view of the album, calling "While You Sleep" the "most emotive and touching song," while also referring to "How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye" as "lively" in the title. In 1998, Atlantic released The Best of Tracy Lawrence Lawrence, the most hits package. This set featured thirteen previous singles as well as the debut of "Her Old Stompin' Ground." This compilation was awarded gold by the Royal Institute of British Architects three years since its introduction.

Lawrence and his family returned to the charts in late 1999 with "Lessons Learned." This was the lead single on his 2000 album of the same name, which was produced by Anderson and Anderson with audio engineer Butch Carr. In 2000, the song reached number three on the country charts, with his highest Hot 100 peak at number 40. In "Lonely" and "Unforgiven," the album ranked two more singles. In a review for The Tennessean, Tom Roland rated Lessons Learned three out of five actors, noting that Lawrence "repetitionly sings of flaws and omissions and the obstacles of overcoming them." Erlewine said of the album that it is "clearly pleasant, yet it tends to fade into the background." According to Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time, the album had a definite country sound and had well-witted songs.

Atlantic Records ceased its Nashville division in late 2000 and relocated all artists, including Lawrence, to the Nashville branch of parent company Warner Bros. Records. In "Life Don't Have to Be Bothered" and "What a Memory," Tracy Lawrence's only release for the brand Tracy Lawrence is responsible for two low-charging singles. Lawrence and Anderson produced the album and wrote several songs about it, as well as Michael White, Casey Beathard, Billy Yates, and frequent collaborator Larry Boone. Both Country Standard Time and Allmusic praised the album for having a more consistent and conventional sound than its predecessors, with former Scott Homewood referring to it as "quite his best album" and Liana Jonas lauding both singles' lyrics along with the "scaled down" production. "Despite some excellent reviews, the album failed to halt his decreasing commercial momentum," Allmusic biographer Steve Huey said of it. Lawrence also stated that he regretted that the corporation did not invest in marketing of the album due to a lack of interest in his musical style and direction. As a result, he began seeking out new suppliers in an attempt to "reinvent [him] himself." Before deciding to reunite with Stroud, Buddy Cannon, Byron Gallimore, and Billy Joe Walker Jr. Lawrence was dropped from the label's roster in 2002, when the two bands began recording for what would have been a second album for Warner Bros.

Lawrence, who was dropped from Warner Bros., is now looking for a new record contract. He had considered RCA Records Nashville, but rather chose DreamWorks Records Nashville, of which Stroud was then president, and signed a contract with them in October 2003. "Paint Me a Birmingham" was his first appearance on the label, which had also been released by Ken Mellons on an independent label. Lawrence's version surpassed Mellons' in terms of airplay, debuting at number four on Hot Country Songs and number 42 on the Hot 100 in early 2004. In 2004, the sequel, Strong, debuted, and it featured a significant portion of Warner Bros' unreleased second project. "It's All How You Look at It" and "Sawdust on Her Halo," the album's sequels, were less popular on country radio. Lawrence discovered writer's block while trying to produce material for the album and, as a result, he turned to outside writers rather than his usual collaborators. He referred to the title track as "different than what I've done in the past," while still referring to "Stones" as the "most typical" song and ignoring the presence of "story songs" throughout. He also said that the album was almost named Stones, but that it was renamed to avoid confusion with his debut album Sticks and Stones.

Strong "ranks among his smoothest albums, a collection dominated by ballads, and a place where up-tempo songs are as polished as the slow ones," Erlewine wrote in Allmusic. Peter Cooper of The Tennessean said that the album had better-written songs than its predecessors, including "Paint Me a Birmingham" and "Sawdust on Her Halo"), but criticized Auto-Tune to Lawrence's singing voice. Lawrence's singing, according to Robert Woolridge of Country Standard Time, was more on the ballads like "Paint Me a Birmingham" as opposed to the more upbeat stuff, but criticized the "mainstream approach" in this regard.

Lawrence moved to Mercury Nashville in 2005 as a result of DreamWorks Nashville's closing in 2005. He released the collection Then & Now: The Hits Collection, which featured fifteen of his previous hits, but none of which (except "Paint Me a Birmingham") had to be re-released because the label did not have the rights to the original recordings made while on Atlantic, which was not presentable. Two new tracks were included as singles, as well as a cover of Mark Nesler's 1998 album "Used to the Pain" and "If I Don't Make It Back," which was co-witten by Bobby Pinson. "These latest iterations are a little more laid-back than the originals, and they're a bit slicker too," Erlewine said of the set. And while Lawrence's voice hasn't changed significantly over the years, it doesn't mean he hasn't been a bad listener, as well as Then and Now.

Lawrence's brother Laney formed Rocky Comfort Records, his own record label, in 2006. Chad Brock, Lawrence himself, was the first act signed to the company outside of Lawrence himself. Lawrence's first single for the label, "Find Out Who Your Friends Are," was released on August 6, 2006 from the studio album "For the Love." The song began to linger below the Top 40 of the Hot Country Songs charts, but following the album's debut, it piqued radio interest due to the album's inclusion of Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney on guest vocals. "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" became a top-one single on the charts in 2007, thanks to the success of the alternate version. The song remained at number 41 on the chart for the first time on the country charts, for the slowest ascension to the top of the country charts and the second on any Billboard chart. Lawrence's first award from the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Vocal Event of the Year (ACM) Awards was given to the re-recorded version of the year at the 2007 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, along with the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Vocal Event of the Year award. "Til I Was a Daddy Too" and "You Can't Hide Redneck" came after this album. The album's title track was a duet with Brad Arnold of the rock band 3 Doors Down, while the track "Speed of Flight" was Lawrence's first song in his career in which Lawrence wrote entirely by himself. "The music on the 11-track debut matches the label's traditional-sounding name," Michael Sudhalter wrote in Country Standard Time.

Lawrence released All Wrapped Up in Christmas in 2007, the title track of which peaked at number 57 based on Christmas season airplay. Both Zona Jones and Michael Scott signed to Rocky Comfort in 2008. In 2009, Jones first introduced Pro Pro Me Right on the record.

Lawrence made his last Hot Country Songs chart appearance with the single "Up to Him" in early 2009. It's the first single from a studio album titled The Rock, a Christian country album, which was released in June 2009. It received 3.5 stars out of 5 by Country Weekly magazine, whose study stated that it "emphasizes at all turns the common inabilities that we all strive to resolve in order to be successful individuals." Lawrence, according to Allmusic reviewer Todd Sterling, "he seems to be as content singing songs about the Lord as he does singing straight country," making it "a positive collection that will appeal to people of all faiths." Jessica Phillips, a country Standard Time reviewer, also agreed that the album's lyrics were "positive" and "uplifting," comparing the album to Randy Travis' gospel albums. The album received a Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album in 2009.

Lawrence stopped the Rocky Comfort brand after The Rock and formed Lawrence Music Group in 2011. The Singer was his first appearance for this brand in the same year. It was initially only available from his website and digital music retailers, a move that Lawrence took to determine the viability of online distribution rather than physical stores. Only acoustic instruments are included on the album, as well as acoustic re-recordings of "Paint Me a Birmingham" and "Find Out Who Your Friends Are." Lawrence said he included more songs that he had written himself because he felt he had become more comfortable with his own songwriting abilities. He also said that the album was "different" due to the increased popularity of songs that he had written and the acoustic sound.

In October 2012, Lawrence performed "Stop, Drop & Roll" on country radio. It was the first single from the album Headlights, Taillights, and Radios, and it was released on August 20, 2013. Lawrence purchased the album on Kickstarter. Kurt Allison (of Jason Aldean's road band and the production team New Voice Entertainment) and Kip Moore were among the contributing songwriters. Erlewine said that the album was more country pop than Lawrence's current body of work, but that "he looks safe, assured, and very charming on this enjoyable track." Michael Rampa of Country Standard Time said that the album was more country-pop, but that Lawrence's singing and lyrics were praiseworthy." "Lawrence is both looking back on his two decades of country music experience and also taking a big step forward." Lawrence supported the album through a tour of the same name, which culminated in 28 performances in 2014, beginning with a performance at the Holmes Theater in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, which was the subject of the year's first.

Lawrence released Good Ole Days, a compilation album in which nine of his hit songs were re-recorded as duets with other country singers, including Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, and Luke Combs. Two original songs appear on it: Brad Arnold and Big & Rich's "Finally Home" and Craig Morgan's "Finally Home" whose funds were donated to Operation Eventually Home, an organization that helps with the care of homeless veterans. In October 2018, there was a second Christmas album, Frozen in Time. The album contains a mix of original compositions and Christmas wrappers. In May 2019, he announced the debut of Made in America, a new studio album whose title track is also the lead single. "This album is clearly the most personal album I've ever seen," the musician said. Lawrence co-wrote most of the album, as well as other songwriters, such as Chris Stapleton, Mark Nesler, and Carson Chamberlain.

Hindsight 2020 will Lawrence's next project, a three-disc album. He revealed in February 2021 that each of the three discs would be released into 2021, beginning with Volume 1: Stairway to Heaven Highway to Hell. Lawrence co-wrote with Craig Wiseman on its first single, and it's first single is the title track. When the three albums are released, they will feature a blend of original songs as well as re-recordings of existing songs. In August, the second disc in this series, Volume 2: Price of Fame, was announced. "I See It Now," "Somebody Paints the Wall," and "If the World Had a Front Porch" were among the tributes, as well as Montgomery Gentry member Eddie Montgomery and Tracy Byrd. In January 2022, the third installment of Volume 3: Angelina was published. Lawrence said he would be touring in 2022 with Clay Walker, Randall King, and Alexandra Kay, as the project's title track was revealed as a single in the same month; in addition, Lawrence announced that he would tour with Larry Walker, Randall King, and Alexandra Kay.

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