Play It Loud

Background:

“Here’s what I know. Nothing’s handed to you in this world. You gotta get up every morning and fight for your place at the table. You gotta believe in your dream because nobody else will. And you have to keep going, no matter what, because it’s the only way you’re gonna get there. And if you’re smart, no matter how rough it gets, you need to enjoy whatever you find along the way. You’re only gonna pass this way once, so while you’re hitting it hard, have some fun too. If you're having fun, it’s a whole lot easier to stay in the game.” Chris Cagle

Hot new country star Chris Cagle rose to prominence with the re-release of his debut album, Play It Loud, in 2001. It spawned such hit tracks as “Laredo” and “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out.” He followed it up with a self-titled album in 2003 and a third album, Anywhere But Here, in 2005. He is the 2002 recipient of CMT Flameworthy Video’s Breakthrough Video of the Year.

Out side the spotlight, Cagle once was named CMT’s “The 19th sexiest man in country music.” He was married to Elizabeth Filer from 2001 to 2003. After divorcing, he dated Tammy Wheeler, who gave birth to a son named Cannon Dale in October 2005 while dating Cagle. The same month, he declared on his website that he was not the biological father of the baby his then-girlfriend had.


Divorcee

Childhood and Family:

Christopher Norris Cagle, who would later be famous as Chris Cagle, was born on November 10, 1968 in De Ridder, Louisiana. Chris and his family relocated to Houston, Texas, where he grew up, when he was four years old. Two years later, he started taking guitar lessons, but quit after a year. During high school, he learned the piano and returned to the guitar in his senior year. After graduating from Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, Texas, Chris attended the University of Texas at Arlington. He left his studies at age 19 to pursue a career in music.

On September 10, 2001, Chris married Elizabeth Filer, a schoolteacher. The two became romantically involved in late 1980s and got married nearly 12 years later after reconnecting. The marriage, however, ended in separation in 2003.


Anywhere But Here

Career:

Louisiana-born, Texas-raised Chris Cagle dropped out of university at age 19 to launch a full-time musical career. He moved to Nashville seven years later and took a variety of odds jobs to support himself while attempting to land a recording contract. He worked with renowned Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard to publish his early songs before acquiring a publishing deal and put some of his songs with David Kersh.

After several years of toiling, Cagle eventually was signed to a record deal following an encounter with the assistant to the president of Virgin Records Nashville at a restaurant where he was working. With Virgin, the country singer released his debut single called “My Love Goes on and On,” which tore up the country charts in July 2000, finally reaching the Top 20. Three months later, in October, his first album, Play It Loud, followed. The album was a chart hit, and its track, “Laredo,” peaked at No. 60 at US Hot 100 and No. 8 at US Country.

In 2001, Cagle moved from Virgin to Capitol Records that resulted in the re-release of Play It Loud in June that same year. One of two bonus tracks, “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out,” scorched through the country charts, landing at No. 1. The success of Play It Loud helped set Cagle’s career on the rise.

Cagle’s sophomore effort, a self-titled album, hit the music store in 2003. It spawned such hit singles as “What A Beautiful Day” (#41 at US Hot 100, #4 at US Country), “Chicks Dig It” (#53 at US Hot 100, #5 at US Country) and “I’d Be Lying” (#39 at US Country). But, in 2004, he was forced to take some break after being diagnosed with multiple anomalies on his vocal cords, including a polyp, lesion, cyst and granuloma. As a result, he had to cancel nearly 20 appearances that year, including opening for Rascal Flatts’ new tour.

“I had gone back to the studio where I did my first album. Same musicians, same engineer, everything. We were doing “Miss Me Baby” and I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, we really do have something.’ It was like the first time I heard “Laredo” after we mixed it and I thought, ‘I’ve got a shot.’” Chris Cagle

Cagle made his return to the business from vocal rest and a period of deep introspection, reflecting on the complex emotions to be found in living a modern life in the limelight with the release of his third album, Anywhere But Here, in 2005. Its first single,” Miss Me Baby,” reached the US Country chart in 2005 and became a Top 12. Other songs from the album include “Anywhere But Here,” “Wal-Mart Parking Lot,” “Maria,” “I Was Made For You,” “You Still Do That To Me,” “Hey Y’all” and “Might Wanna Think About It.”

“I’ve got a lot of high hopes for this record. I tried to make music that was better without necessarily making it different because I love the music that I’ve made in the past.” Chris Cagle on his newest album, Anywhere But Here


Awards:

- CMT Flameworthy Video: Breakthrough Video of the Year, 2002