Time Marches On

Background:

Country music singer and songwriter Tracy Lawrence has released numerous albums and singles since making his debut in 1991. Some of his most successful albums include “Alibis” (1993) and “Time Marches On” (1996), which were certified double platinum by RIAA. He produced No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with the songs “Sticks and Stones” (1991), “Alibis” (1993), “Can't Break It to My Heart” (1993), “My Second Home” (1993), “If the Good Die Young” (1994), “Texas Tornado” (1995), “Time Marches On” (1996) and “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” (2006).

Lawrence has been involved in a number of charities, including The Tracy Lawrence Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, Cysitc Fibrosis, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, CASA, The Guitar Town Project and the Greg Biffle Foundation.

Father of 2

Childhood and Family:

Tracy Lawrence was born on January 27, 1968, in Atlanta, Texas and grew up primarily in Foreman, Arkansas. He began performing as a teenager and attended Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas, in which he was a member of the Epsilon Kappa chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity. At age 22, he left Arkansas for Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a recording career.

Tracy was married to his first wife, Frances Weatherford, from 1993 until 1996. He then married Stacie Drew, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, on March 15, 1997, but they divorced in 1998. He is currently married to Becca. Tracy has two daughters, Skylar JoAnn (born June 2001) and Mary Keagan (born April 2003).

Find Out Who Your Friends Are

Career:

Tracy Lawrence played in his first band at age 16 and by age 17, had become a regular presence on the Arkansas honky-tonk circuit. After moving to Nashville in 1990, he worked as an ironworker and in phone sales before entering talent contests. He started collaborating with music publisher Wanda Collier and while at a performance at the Bluebird Café, met his future manager Wayne Edwards.

In 1991, Lawrence signed with Atlantic Records and launched his debut album, “Sticks and Stones,” on November 12, 1991. Produced by James Stroud, the album rose to No. 10 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 7 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums. It also charted on the Billboard 200 at No. 71. Released in November 1991, the title track “Sticks and Stones” went to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and the Canadian RPM Country Tracks charts. The second single, “Today's Lonely Fool,” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and No. 2 in Canada, while the third single, “Runnin' Behind,” peaked at No. 4 and No. 6 on the same charts. The fourth and last single, a remake of Josh Logan's “Somebody Paints the Wall,” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks. “Sticks and Stones” was eventually certified platinum by RIAA and gold by CRIA and Lawrence was named Billboard's Top New Male Vocalist in 1992.

Lawrence's second studio album, “Alibis,” followed on March 9, 1993. With the same producer as its predecessor, the album enjoyed success by peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and the Canadian RPM Country Albums and No. 25 on the Billboard 200. It received double platinum status in the U.S. and gold in Canada. The title track, “Alibis,” debuted at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks in February 1993 and peaked at No. 1 on May 1, 1993. The song also marked the singer's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 72. The second single, “Can't Break It to My Heart” (1993), which Lawrence co-wrote with Kirk Roth, Earl Clark and Elbert West, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and No. 2 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks. The album also produced two more No. 1 country hits with the songs “My Second Home” (1993), which Lawrence co-wrote with Paul Nelson and Kenny Beard, and “If the Good Die Young” (1994). In 1993, he won an Academy of Country Music in the category of Top New Male Vocalist.

In 1994, Lawrence recorded the song “Renegades, Rebels, and Rogues” for the soundtrack of the western “Maverick.” The song went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and No. 5 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks.

The third studio album, “I See It Now,” was released on September 20, 1994, which Lawrence produced with Stroud and Flip Anderson. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and went platinum in the U.S. and gold in Canada. “I See It Now” generated a No. 1 country hit single with “Texas Tornado” (1995) and three No. 2 hits with “I See It Now” (1994), “As Any Fool Can See” (1994) and “If the World Had a Front Porch” (1995), which Lawrence co-wrote with Kenny Beard and Paul Nelson.

On September 19, 1995, Lawrence released his first live compilation album, “Tracy Lawrence Live and Unplugged,” which he produced with Anderson and Stroud. It rose to No. 24 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, No. 151 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums.

Lawrence released his next album “Time Marches On,” on January 23, 1996, which became his first album without producer James Stroud. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and the Canadian RPM Country Albums and No. 25 on the Billboard 200. Produced by Don Cook, the single “If You Love Me” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and No. 13 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks. The title track was released as the second single from the album on March 18, 1996, and became his seventh No. 1 hit single of his career. “Time Marches On” debuted at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 23, 1996, and scored three weeks at No. 1 on the chart from June 22 to July 6, 1996. The album also produced the hit singles “Stars over Texas” and “Is That a Tear.”

The gold album “The Coast Is Clear” was released on March 18, 1997. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 45 on the Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles “Better Man, Better Off” (#2), “How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye” (#4), “The Coast Is Clear” (#26), “One Step Ahead of the Storm” and “While You Sleep” (#46). A compilation album called “The Best of Tracy Lawrence” was released on September 1, 1998. It peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, No. 92 on the Billboard 200 and No. 12 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums and was certified gold in the U.S.

After being convicted of misdemeanor battery, Lawrence was suspended from his record label and did not release an album of new material until 2000. “Lessons Learned” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 69 on the Billboard 200. The title track, which he wrote with Paul Nelson and Larry Boone, rose to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and the Canadian RPM Country Tracks and No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The singles “Lonely” (2000) and “Unforgiven” (2001) peaked at No. 18 and No. 35 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks, respectively. “Lessons Learned” became Lawrence's last album with Atlantic Records before the closing of its Nashville division in 2000.

On October 23, 2001, Lawrence released the album “Tracy Lawrence” on Warner Bros. Records. The album, which he produced with Flip Anderson, peaked at No. 13 on Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 136 on the Billboard 200. It yielded two singles with “Life Don't Have to Be So Hard” (2001), which went to No. 36 on the U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks, and “What a Memory.” He left the label soon after.

Following a break, Lawrence released the album “Strong” on March 30, 2004, through DreamWorks. The album, which reunited him with producer James Stroud, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. “Strong” produced three singles on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks with the songs “Paint Me a Birmingham” (#4), “It's All How You Look at It” (#36) and “Sawdust on Her Halo” (#46).

The second greatest hits collection, “Then & Now: The Hits Collection,” was released on October 18, 2005, under Mercury Records. It peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 35 on the Billboard 200. Apart from several hits from his previous albums, the album also contained the newly recorded tracks “Used to the Pain” (2005) and “If I Don”t Make It Back” (2006), which peaked at No. 35 and No. 42, respectively.

“For the Love” was released on January 30, 2007, via his personal label Rocky Comfort Records. It rose to No. 6 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 53 on the Billboard 200 and made #3 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums. Co-produced by Lawrence, the album generated the No. 1 country hit single “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” (2006). The album's second single, “Til I Was a Daddy Too,” went to No. 32 on the same chart. “You Can't Hide Redneck” was released in October 2008 and peaked at No. 56 on the U.S. Country chart. Also that year, the compilation album “The Very Best of Tracy Lawrence” was released through Rhino Records. He released his first Christmas album, “All Wrapped Up in Christmas,” on October 23, 2007, on Rocky Comfort.

Lawrence's first album of Christian music, “The Rock,” was released on June 9, 2009, under Rocky Comfort. It debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 104 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, “Up to Him,” peaked at No. 57 on the Hot Country Songs. The second single, “Somebody Who Would Die for You,” failed to chart.

Lawrence's new studio album, “Hard Times,” is set to be released in 2011.

Awards:

• Country Music Association: Musical Event of the Year, 2007

• Academy of Country Music: Top New Male Vocalist, 1993

• SRO: Best New Touring Artist, 1993

• Billboard: Top New Male Vocalist, 1992