On the Cover – Trace Adkins

4/11/2005 – April 2005 In Charge

Label: Capitol Nashville
Booking: William Morris Agency
Management: Vector Management
Producers: Scott Hendricks, Dann Huff
Current Single: “Songs About Me”
Current Album: Songs About Me
Current Video: “Songs About Me”

Birth Date: January 13, 1962
Interests: Landscaping, gardening, camping, hunting, politics, civil war buff and moviegoer
Interesting Facts: Trace wanted to play professional football but was sidelined by a bad knee injury while playing at Louisiana Tech University. He studied petroleum technology in college.
Awards: CMA Board of Directors, 2003 Grand Ole Opry inductee
Special TV/Film Appearances: King of the Hill, Yes, Dear, Orange Bowl Halftime Show, Soundstage, Best Damn Sports Show Period, Voice of KFC National television ads, ESPN’s Trace Adkins Chrome 300 Busch Series Race, Cold Pizza, Narrator of Food Network’s Cowboy Cook-off, Emeril Live, Fox & Friends, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Late Night with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Hits: “Rough & Ready,” “Hot Mama,” “I’m Tryin’”
RIAA Certifications: Comin’ On Strong (Platinum); Greatest Hits Collection, Volume 1 (Gold); Chrome (Gold); Big Time (Gold); Dreamin’ Out Loud (Platinum) Musical Influences: “Granddaddy was a great bass singer. I used to love to stand beside him in church and listen to him sing.” Others include Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Ronnie Milsap.

Trace Adkins is a workin’ man’s man. His music is known for being believeable and easy to relate to, and his latest effort, Songs About Me, is no different. The songs are an authentic, and Adkins says autobiographical, representation of his way of life. At 23 he worked on an off-shore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and in 1992 he moved to Nashville, where he worked construction jobs during the day, while singing at night. In the past year Adkins has reaped the rewards sown with a decade of hard work and working-class anthems such as his first hits “Every Light In The House Is On” and “This Ain’t No Thinkin’ Thing.” Songs About Me is filled with the kind of grit and passion for which he has always been known, and the title track is the fastest-moving single he’s had in several years. The recognition may be greater than ever, but the formula behind it hasn’t changed. “I record songs I can believe in and sing with conviction,” he says. “It’s that simple.”