Tracy Lawrence facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tracy Lawrence
Lawrence performing at a private concert in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Tracy Lee Lawrence
Born	(1968-01-27) January 27, 1968 (age 57) Atlanta, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Neotraditional country honky tonk
Occupation(s)	Singer Songwriter Record producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Atlantic Nashville Warner Bros. Nashville DreamWorks Nashville Mercury Nashville Rocky Comfort Lawrence Music Group

Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is a famous American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was born in Atlanta, Texas, and grew up in Foreman, Arkansas. Tracy started performing when he was 15 years old.

In 1990, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to begin his country music career. He signed with Atlantic Records Nashville in 1991. Later that year, he released his first album, Sticks and Stones. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he released many more albums with Atlantic. After Atlantic's country music part closed, he recorded music with other labels. These included Warner Bros. Records, DreamWorks Records, Mercury Records Nashville, and his own labels.

Tracy Lawrence has released 14 studio albums in total. His most popular albums are Alibis (1993) and Time Marches On (1996). Both of these albums sold over two million copies. He has had more than forty songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Eight of his songs reached the number one spot. These include "Sticks and Stones", "Alibis", and "Time Marches On". His song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" took a long time to reach number one, setting a record at the time.

Tracy's music style is mostly neotraditional country and honky-tonk. He has also recorded Christmas and Christian country music. He has won several awards, including Top New Male Vocalist from Billboard in 1992. He also won Vocal Event of the Year from the Country Music Association in 2007.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Tracy Lee Lawrence was born in Atlanta, Texas, on January 27, 1968. His mother, JoAnn Dickens, and stepfather, Duane Dickens, raised him. He has two brothers and three sisters. When Tracy was four, his family moved to Foreman, Arkansas.

Growing up, Tracy sang in his local Methodist church choir. He also learned to play the guitar. While his mother hoped he would become a minister, Tracy wanted to be a musician. He started performing in local clubs when he was 15. By age 17, he joined a local honky-tonk band.

In 1986, he went to Southern Arkansas University to study mass communications. He was also part of the Sigma Pi group. However, he left college two years later to sing for a band in Louisiana. When that band broke up, Tracy moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1990. He worked odd jobs to support himself. He also performed regularly at Nashville nightclubs and bars. He won local talent competitions, which helped him.

In January 1991, Tracy performed at the Bluebird Café in Nashville. There, talent manager Wayne Edwards discovered him. This led to him signing with Atlantic Records' Nashville division. This happened just seven months after he moved to Nashville.

Tracy Lawrence's Music Career

First Album: Sticks and Stones (1991–1993)

After signing with Atlantic Nashville, Tracy Lawrence started recording his first album, Sticks and Stones. In May 1991, after finishing the songs, Tracy was injured in a shooting incident. He had surgery and needed time to recover. This delayed his album's release so he could get better before promoting it.

When Sticks and Stones was released in late 1991, it had four hit songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The first was the album's title track. It reached number one in January 1992. After that, three more songs made it into the top ten: "Today's Lonely Fool", "Runnin' Behind", and "Somebody Paints the Wall."

Many talented songwriters helped with the album, including John Scott Sherrill and Kenny Beard. Kenny Beard would later write many of Tracy's other hit songs. The album was very successful and sold over one million copies. Billboard magazine named Tracy Top New Male Vocalist in 1992.

Big Success with Alibis (1993–1994)

In 1993, Tracy released his second album, Alibis. This album was even more successful, selling over two million copies. All four of its songs reached number one on the Hot Country Songs charts. These hits were the title track, "Can't Break It to My Heart", "My Second Home", and "If the Good Die Young". The song "Alibis" was also his first song to appear on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Tracy himself helped write "Can't Break It to My Heart" and "My Second Home." He even told the blog Taste of Country in 2018 that he "fought" with Atlantic executives to record "Can't Break It to My Heart." They wanted him to record more slow songs, but he believed in this one. In 1993, he also won Top New Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music.

More Hits: I See It Now (1994–1995)

Tracy's 1994 album, I See It Now, also had many popular songs. The title track reached number two on the country charts. "As Any Fool Can See" also went to number two. Then, "Texas Tornado" became his sixth number-one hit in mid-1995. Its flip side, "If the World Had a Front Porch", also reached number two.

The album included a duet with John Anderson called "Hillbilly with a Heartache." Tracy also started producing some of his own songs on this album. He toured a lot in 1995, performing over 200 shows to promote I See It Now. This album also sold over one million copies.

In 1995, he released a live acoustic album called Tracy Lawrence Live. It featured live versions of nine of his previous hit songs.

Time Marches On and Continued Success (1995–1997)

Time Marches On, Tracy's fourth album, came out in January 1996. It became his second album to sell over two million copies. The first song from the album, "If You Loved Me", reached number four on the country charts. Tracy said it was a "typical Tracy Lawrence ballad about love gone wrong."

The album's title track, written by Bobby Braddock, became his longest-lasting number-one song. It stayed at the top for three weeks. This song was also nominated for Single of the Year by the Country Music Association. After this, "Stars over Texas" and "Is That a Tear" both reached number two. In 1996, Billboard ranked Tracy as one of the most played radio artists of the year.

The Coast Is Clear and Greatest Hits (1997–1998)

Tracy's fifth studio album, The Coast Is Clear, was released in March 1997. It quickly sold over 500,000 copies. The first two songs from this album, "Better Man, Better Off" and "How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye", both made it into the top five.

In 1998, Atlantic Records released a collection of his best songs called The Best of Tracy Lawrence. This album included thirteen of his previous hits and one new song. Three years later, this collection also sold over 500,000 copies.

New Labels and Albums (1999–2004)

In late 1999, Tracy released "Lessons Learned". This song was the first from his 2000 album of the same name. The song reached number three on the country charts and was his highest song on the Hot 100 chart at number 40. The album also had two more songs, "Lonely" and "Unforgiven".

In late 2000, Atlantic Records closed its Nashville office. Tracy and other artists moved to Warner Bros. Records. His only album for Warner Bros. was Tracy Lawrence. It had two songs that did not chart as high. Tracy felt the label did not promote the album well. He then looked for new producers to try and "reinvent" himself.

After leaving Warner Bros., Tracy signed with DreamWorks Records Nashville in October 2003. His first song for them was "Paint Me a Birmingham". This song became a big hit, reaching number four on Hot Country Songs in early 2004. The album, Strong, came out in 2004. Tracy said he had trouble writing songs for this album, so he used songs from other writers.

Compilations and New Ventures (2005–2008)

After DreamWorks Nashville closed in 2005, Tracy moved to Mercury Nashville. There, he released a collection called Then & Now: The Hits Collection. This album had fifteen of his previous hits, but they were all newly recorded. This was because Mercury did not own the rights to his original recordings. The album also included two new songs.

In 2006, Tracy started his own record label called Rocky Comfort Records with his brother Laney. His first song for this label was "Find Out Who Your Friends Are". This song became a number-one hit in 2007. It took 41 weeks to reach the top, setting a record for the slowest climb to number one on the country charts at that time. The song won Musical Event of the Year at the 2007 Country Music Association Awards. This was Tracy's first award from that group.

Later in 2007, Tracy released a Christmas album called All Wrapped Up in Christmas.

Later Albums and Projects (2009–Present)

Tracy's last song to appear on the Hot Country Songs chart was "Up to Him" in early 2009. This song was from his Christian country album, The Rock, released in June 2009. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2009.

Because of money problems, Tracy closed Rocky Comfort Records. In 2011, he started a new label called Lawrence Music Group. His first album for this label was The Singer. He made it available only on his website and through digital music stores. This was to see if online sales could work instead of physical CDs. The album featured only acoustic instruments and included new acoustic versions of his hits.

In 2013, Tracy released the album Headlights, Taillights and Radios. He raised money for this album through Kickstarter. He toured to promote the album in 2014.

In 2017, Tracy released Good Ole Days. This album featured nine of his hit songs re-recorded as duets with other country singers. These included Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean. It also had two new songs. A second Christmas album, Frozen in Time, came out in October 2018. In May 2019, he announced a new album called Made in America, released in August 2019. Tracy helped write most of the songs on this album.

Tracy's most recent project is a three-disc album called Hindsight 2020. The first disc, Volume 1: Stairway to Heaven Highway to Hell, was released in April 2021. The second disc, Volume 2: Price of Fame, came out in August 2021. It included new versions of "I See It Now" and duets with other artists. The third part, Volume 3: Angelina, was released in January 2022. Tracy also announced a tour for 2022.

Other Music Work

Tracy Lawrence has worked with many other artists. In 1992, he was one of several singers on George Jones' song "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair". This song won a Country Music Association award. In 1994, Tracy recorded "Renegades, Rebels, and Rogues" for the movie Maverick. This song became a top 10 hit. He also sang on a version of "Amazing Grace" for the same movie.

In 1996, Tracy was part of a charity song called "Hope: Country Music's Quest for a Cure." The money from this song went to cancer research. It was nominated for a Grammy Award. Tracy also started producing music for other artists in 1997.

Music Videos

Many of Tracy's songs had music videos that played on TV channels like CMT. In 1996, his videos were shown more than any other artist's on CMT. Some of his videos, directed by Marc Ball, told a story about time travel. Tracy would appear in different time periods and wear clothes from that time. This idea started with the video for "If the Good Die Young" and continued in several other videos.

Tracy Lawrence's Music Style

Tracy Lawrence is known as a "rock-tinged honky-tonk singer." He became famous in the early 1990s for mixing modern and traditional country sounds. His music style is often described as "polished, modern-day honky-tonk." He has a nice twang in his voice that works well with country music.

His singing voice is often called a "smooth baritone" or a "warm baritone." People say he delivers songs with "effortless, emotional delivery." Tracy says his main musical influences are Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley, and George Strait.

Personal Life

Tracy Lawrence has been married three times. His first wife was Frances Weatherford, whom he married in 1993. Their marriage ended in 1996. In March 1997, he married Stephenie "Stacie" Drew. Their wedding had over 500 guests and performances by other country stars. This marriage ended in 1997.

He married his third wife, Becca, in a private ceremony in late 2000. They had their first child, a daughter named Skylar, in June 2001. Two years later, they had a second daughter, Mary Keagan.

Discography

Studio albums

• Sticks and Stones (1991)
• Alibis (1993)
• I See It Now (1994)
• Time Marches On (1996)
• The Coast Is Clear (1997)
• Lessons Learned (2000)
• Tracy Lawrence (2001)
• Strong (2004)
• For the Love (2007)
• The Rock (2009)
• The Singer (2011)
• Headlights, Taillights and Radios (2013)
• Good Ole Days (2017)
• Frozen in Time (2018)
• Made in America (2019)
• Hindsight 2020 Volume 1: Stairway to Heaven Highway to Hell (2021)
• Hindsight 2020 Volume 2: Price of Fame (2021)
• Hindsight 2020 Volume 3: Angelina (2022)

Christmas albums

• All Wrapped Up in Christmas (2007)
• Frozen in Time (2018)

Compilations

• Tracy Lawrence Live (1995)
• The Best of Tracy Lawrence (1998)
• Then & Now: The Hits Collection (2005)
• The Very Best of Tracy Lawrence (2007)

Number-One Hits

Tracy Lawrence has had eight songs reach number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart:

• "Sticks and Stones" (1 week, 1992)
• "Alibis" (2 weeks, 1993)
• "Can't Break It to My Heart" (1 week, 1993)
• "My Second Home" (1 week, 1993)
• "If the Good Die Young" (2 weeks, 1994)
• "Texas Tornado" (1 week, 1995)
• "Time Marches On" (3 weeks, 1996)
• "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" (1 week, 2007)

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

Academy of Country Music Awards

Country Music Association Awards

Images for kids

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  Lawrence aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), May 2007

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  Tim McGraw

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  Kenny Chesney