Chris Stapleton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Stapleton
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Stapleton in 2019
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Alvin Stapleton |
| Born | April 15, 1978 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Origin | Staffordsville, Kentucky, U.S. Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2001−present |
| Labels | Mercury Nashville |
Christopher Alvin Stapleton, born on April 15, 1978, is an American country singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was born in Kentucky and moved to Nashville in 1996. He started studying engineering at Vanderbilt University but decided to follow his dream of making music instead. Soon after, he signed a deal with Sea Gayle Music to write and share his songs.
Chris has written many hit songs for other famous singers. These include "Never Wanted Nothing More" for Kenny Chesney and "Your Man" for Josh Turner. He also wrote "Love's Gonna Make It Alright" for George Strait and "Drink a Beer" for Luke Bryan. He has also worked on albums for artists like Adele, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift. Chris has written songs with other well-known musicians such as Vince Gill and Ed Sheeran.
Before becoming a solo artist, Chris sang in two bands. He was part of a bluegrass group called the SteelDrivers. He also sang in a rock band named the Jompson Brothers. His first solo album, Traveller, came out in 2015. It became very popular, reaching the top of the US Billboard 200 chart. His cover of "Tennessee Whiskey" also became a huge hit.
His second album, From A Room: Volume 1 (2017), won him a Grammy Award for Best Country Album. His third album, From A Room: Volume 2 (2017), also did very well. His fourth album, Starting Over (2020), won him another Grammy for Best Country Album.
Chris Stapleton has won many important awards. These include eleven Grammy Awards, eleven Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, and fifteen Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. In 2019, he was named the ACM's Artist-Songwriter of the Decade. Rolling Stone magazine also listed him as one of the greatest singers of all time in 2023.
Contents
Growing Up in Kentucky
Chris Stapleton was born in Lexington, Kentucky. His mom, Carol, worked at the local health department. His dad, Herbert, was an engineer in coal mines. Chris comes from a family where many people worked in coal mining. He has an older brother, Herbert Joseph III, and a younger sister, Melanie Brooke.
Chris grew up in a small town called Staffordsville. This town is near Paintsville and Paintsville Lake. He went to Johnson Central High School in Paintsville. There, he played football and was the best student in his class.
Music Career
Starting Out and Bands
In 1996, Chris moved to Nashville to study engineering. He later switched to business. However, he soon found out that writing songs could be a job. He then decided to focus on songwriting. After moving to Nashville, he signed a deal with Sea Gayle Music. He became known as a talented songwriter who could write many different kinds of songs. Over the next ten years, he wrote more than a thousand songs.
In 2007, Chris started a bluegrass band called the SteelDrivers. He wanted to perform his own songs. The band had two popular albums. Chris left the band in 2010 to form a Southern rock band called the Jompson Brothers. This band included Chris on vocals, Greg McKee on guitar, J.T. Cure on bass, and Bard McNamee on drums. They played shows in their region until 2013. They even opened for the Zac Brown Band. The band released their own album in 2010. After that, Chris decided to go solo.
In 2013, Chris signed with Mercury Nashville as a solo artist. His first solo song, "What Are You Listening To?", came out in October 2013. It was not as successful as hoped. Chris also helped write the theme song for a radio show called The WSM All Nighter with Marcia Campbell. Songs written by Chris have been used in movies like Valentine's Day and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.
In 2013, Chris and his wife, Morgane, sang the song "Amanda" at the Grand Ole Opry. They also performed for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert in 2015. At a 2014 event, Chris performed with Lady Antebellum. They sang Chris's song, "Drink a Beer", which Luke Bryan had recorded.
Solo Albums
Chris Stapleton's first solo album, Traveller, was released on May 5, 2015. He recorded it in Nashville. Chris worked with producer Dave Cobb on the album. Chris played guitar and sang with a live band. The band included J.T. Cure on bass, Derek Mixon on drums, and his wife Morgane Stapleton singing harmonies. Chris said that having his bandmates, especially J.T. Cure, who he had known for over 20 years, made the album special.
Chris wrote the song "Traveller" while on a road trip with his wife. They were driving through New Mexico in an old Jeep. His wife helped him choose nine songs from 15 years of his songwriting to put on the album.
Chris won three awards at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards. He won for Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. At the awards show, he sang "Tennessee Whiskey" with Justin Timberlake. This performance made him very famous across the country. Traveller also won a Grammy Award for Best Country Album and was the top-selling country album of 2016.
In 2016, Chris and Morgane sang "You Are My Sunshine" for a special album. Chris also worked with Jake Owen on the song "If He Ain't Gonna Love You". Chris performed at the Country to Country festival in Europe. He was also the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in January 2016. He sang "Parachute" and "Nobody to Blame" from Traveller.
In January 2016, Chris performed "Either Way". This song was on his second album, From A Room: Volume 1, which came out on May 5, 2017. This album was named after the studio in Nashville where it was recorded. Chris also started his All-American Road Show Tour that month. Volume 1 became the best-selling country album of 2017. His third album, From A Room: Volume 2, was released on December 1, 2017. Both Volume 1 and Volume 2 were very popular on the Billboard 200 charts.
Chris was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live again in January 2018. He sang songs from From A Room: Volume 2. In March, his song "Broken Halos" became a number one hit. It won him awards for Song and Single of the Year. He also won Male Vocalist of the Year for the fourth time.
On August 28, 2020, Chris released a new song called "Starting Over". This was the main song from his album of the same name. He released another song, "Cold", in September 2020. He won Male Vocalist of the Year again in 2021. In 2022, he won Male Artist of the Year and performed "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" with Patty Loveless.
Other Music Projects
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Chris Stapleton helped write three songs for Justin Timberlake's album Man of the Woods (2018). One of these songs, "Say Something", became a top ten hit. In the same year, Chris recorded a cover of "I Want Love" for a tribute album to Elton John.
On August 6, 2019, John Mayer invited Chris to sing with him at a concert. They performed a new song they had written together. Chris also stayed on stage to sing Mayer's song "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room".
On July 5, 2019, Chris, along with Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran, released the song "Blow". Chris helped write the song and sang on it.
In 2019 and 2020, Chris recorded songs with Mike Campbell. Campbell was the guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Campbell and another band member, Benmont Tench, played on Chris's album Starting Over. Chris also sang on Campbell's band's album.
On August 5, 2021, Chris was featured on Taylor Swift's re-recorded album, Red (Taylor's Version). He sang on the song "I Bet You Think About Me". Chris also covered the Metallica song "Nothing Else Matters" for a charity album. He was also a singer on Adele's album 30, on a different version of "Easy on Me".
Chris worked with Tom Morello, a guitarist from Rage Against the Machine. They wrote and performed the song "The War Inside" for Morello's 2021 album.
On February 12, 2023, Chris Stapleton sang the United States' national anthem at Super Bowl LVII. An actor named Troy Kotsur signed the lyrics in American Sign Language.
Chris also joined Cindy Blackman Santana and Snoop Dogg to record a cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight". This song became the opening theme for Monday Night Football in 2023.
Music Style
Chris Stapleton's music is influenced by many styles. These include outlaw country, bluegrass, rock and roll, and blues. People have described his sound as a mix of country, classic rock, and Southern soul. Before going solo, Chris led a bluegrass band and a rock band.
His first solo album, Traveller, had an old-school country, Southern rock, and bluegrass sound. His second album, From A Room: Volume 1, focused on country, blues, and roots rock. He plays both acoustic and electric guitar on his albums.
Chris is known for his powerful voice. A writer for the Los Angeles Times said his singing sounds like country legends like Merle Haggard and blues singers like Ray Charles. His guitar playing reminds people of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Chris has said that Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Freddie King are some of his musical heroes. He also looks up to Kentucky country artists like Keith Whitley and Patty Loveless.
Personal Life
Chris Stapleton is married to Morgane Hayes, who is also a singer and songwriter. They met while working at music publishing companies next to each other. They got married in 2007. Chris and Morgane have five children: a son born in 2009, a daughter born in 2010, twin sons born in 2018, and another son born in 2019. They live in Nashville.
Awards and Achievements
Chris Stapleton has won many awards. He has received eleven Grammy Awards, eleven Academy of Country Music Awards, and fifteen Country Music Association Awards. He also has five Billboard Music Awards and two iHeartRadio Music Awards. For his songwriting, he has won nine ASCAP Country awards. In 2019, the Academy of Country Music named him the first-ever ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Decade. His album Traveller was named Billboard's Top Country Album of the decade.
Music Albums
- Traveller (2015)
- From A Room: Volume 1 (2017)
- From A Room: Volume 2 (2017)
- Starting Over (2020)
- Higher (2023)
Concerts and Tours
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Headlining Tours
- Chris Stapleton's All-American Road Show Tour (2017–present)
Co-headlining Tours
- Hank Williams Jr. and Chris Stapleton Live in Concert (with Hank Williams Jr.) (2016)
- A Concert for Kentucky, An Outlaw State of Kind Benefit (with Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Madeline Edwards) (April 23, 2022) — the first concert ever at Kroger Field
Opening Act for Other Artists
- Outsiders Tour (Eric Church) (2015)
- The Ashes and Dust World Tour (Warren Haynes) (2015)
- Not in This Lifetime... Tour (Guns N' Roses; one show) (2016)
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 40th Anniversary Tour (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; three shows) (2017)
- An Evening With the Eagles (Eagles; two shows) (2018)
More to Explore
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. country chart
- List of country rock musicians
- List of country music performers
- List of southern rock bands
See also
In Spanish: Chris Stapleton para niños
