One of the most successful of the new breed of country artists who rose to fame in the 1990s,
Tracy Lawrence brings an honesty and intensity to his music that even many non-country fans appreciate. He was born on January 27, 1968 in Atlanta,
Texas, and grew up in Foreman, Arkansas. He began performing publicly in his teens, and after several years performing at local honky-tonks, packed up his belongings and moved to Nashville in 1990. After knocking around a bit, Lawrence earned a showcase at a legendary club and was soon after signed by Atlantic. Released in late
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1991, the singer’s debut album, Sticks and Stones exceeded all expectations as its first single, "Sticks and Stones," hit #1 on the national country chart. Lawrence followed this up with three additional Top Ten country singles. His second album, 1993's Alibis, established him as a true star and not just a honky-tonk flash in the pan. It went platinum and produced four chart topping Tracy Lawrence songs including "Can't Break It to My Heart" and "If The Good Die Young."
Lawrence continued to record with varying success throughout the 90s, but after a much publicized assault conviction and divorce from his second wife in 1998, he stepped back a bit. His comeback album, released in 2000 was called Lessons Learned and was a moderate success. When Atlantic closed its country division, Lawrence signed on with Warner
Brothers, but that was unproductive and short-lived. After leaving Warner
Bros., he reunited with James Stroud, who produced Lawrence's early hits before becoming the chief of DreamWorks Records' country division. Stroud signed him to the DreamWorks artist roster in 2003, and he soon after came out with the album Strong, which included the hit, "Paint Me a Birmingham." In 2006, Lawrence started his own record label, Rocky Comfort Records. His hit single off the album, "
Find Out Who Your Friends Are", was released to radio in August 2006 and went to number one, forty-one weeks later in June 2007. For the Love, the first album on the label, was released in January 2007. Lawrence may not be a household name to those unfamiliar with contemporary country music, but it’s only a matter of time before that changes for good.
