Aaron Tippin

Biography

Aaron Dupree Tippin (born July 3, 1958) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, "You've Got to Stand for Something" became a popular anthem for American soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and helped to establish him as a neotraditionalist country act with songs that catered primarily to the American working class. Under RCA's tenure, he recorded five studio albums and a Greatest Hits package. Tippin switched to Lyric Street Records in 1998, where he recorded four more studio albums, counting a compilation of Christmas music. After leaving Lyric Street in 2006, he founded a personal label known as Nippit Records, on which he issued the compilation album Now & Then. A concept album, In Overdrive×In Overdrive3 February 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1East Bound and Down2:542Truck Drivin' Man4:283Drivin' My Live Away3:334Six Days on the Road3:045Chicken Truck3:226The Ballad of Danger Dave and Double Trouble3:197Prisoner of the Highway3:498Girl on the Billboard2:449Long White Line3:1010Movin' On3:2011White Knight4:2112Roll On3:4013Drivin' Fool3:2014Drill Here, Drill Now3:44, was released in 2009.
Tippin has released a total of eleven studio albums and five compilation albums, with six gold certifications and one platinum certification among them. In addition, he has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three Number Ones: "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong with the Radio" (1992), "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You" (1995), and "Kiss This×Kiss ThisSingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAKiss ThisBPeople Like Us" (2000), as well as the top ten hits "You've Got to Stand for Something", "I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way×I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAI Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way (edited single version)2:55BWhat I Can't Live Without2:39", "My Blue Angel×My Blue Angel1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAMy Blue Angel3:24BThe Sound of Your Goodbye (Sticks and Stones)3:04", "Workin' Man's Ph.D.", "For You I Will×For You I Will1998 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1For You I Will3:252Back When I Knew Everything3:05", and "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly×Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly3:522You’ve Got to Stand for Something2:58".

Biography

Aaron Dupree Tippin was born July 3, 1958, in Pensacola, Florida. He was raised on a farm in Greer, South Carolina, where he went to Blue Ridge High School. In the 1970s, he made a living as a singer, performing in various local bars. By the time Tippin was 20, he was working as a commercial pilot, truck driver and a pipe fitter. In 1986, he moved to Nashville, where he eventually became a staff writer at Acuff-Rose. He competed on You Can Be a Star, a televised talent show on the former TNN (The Nashville Network). This led to him earning a song publishing contract in 1987. During this time he wrote songs for The Kingsmen, David Ball, Mark Collie and Charley Pride.

1990–1997: RCA Records

Tippin performed his first Nashville nightclub show in 1990, and it earned him a contract with RCA Records Nashville. His first single, "You've Got to Stand for Something", was released in 1990. The song, with its message of standing up for one's personal beliefs, became popular as an anthem for soldiers fighting in the Gulf War at the time, and reached a peak of No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was also the title track to his debut album, released in late 1991. Although the album was certified gold in the United States, the next two singles performed poorly: "I Wonder How Far It Is Over You×I Wonder How Far It Is Over You1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAI Wonder How Far It Is Over You3:30BYou Should See Me Missing You3:04" peaked at No. 40, and "She Made a Memory Out of Me" at No. 54. Brian Mansfield of AllMusic, in his review of the album, said that "This exciting hardcore country comes from a man whose previous blue-collar experience as a farm hand, welder, pilot, and truck driver made him a publicist's dream." Giving it an "A", Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly praised Tippin's "humor" and "pointed language".
Tippin's second album, Read Between the Lines×Read Between the Lines1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Sound of Your Goodbye (Sticks and Stones)3:062My Blue Angel3:243If I Had It to Do Over3:544There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With the Radio2:465Read Between the Lines3:426This Heart2:557These Sweet Dreams3:378I Was Born With a Broken Heart2:509I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way3:1110I Miss Misbehavin’2:50, was released in 1992. Its first single was "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong with the Radio", which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Also released from this album were the singles "I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way×I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAI Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way (edited single version)2:55BWhat I Can't Live Without2:39", "I Was Born with a Broken Heart×I Was Born With a Broken Heart1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAI Was Born With a Broken Heart2:48BRead Between the Lines3:42" (previously a chart single in 1988 for Josh Logan), and "My Blue Angel×My Blue Angel1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAMy Blue Angel3:24BThe Sound of Your Goodbye (Sticks and Stones)3:04", which peaked at No. 5, No. 38 and No. 7, respectively, on the country charts. Read Between the Lines became Tippin's first platinum album.
In 1993, Tippin released his third studio album, titled Call of the Wild×Call of the Wild10 August 1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Call of the Wild4:352Honky‐Tonk Superman2:553Nothin’ in the World2:334Working Man’s Ph.D.3:305I Promised You the World4:546When Country Took the Throne2:267Let’s Talk About You2:478Whole Lotta Love on the Line3:459My Kind of Town3:0210Trim Yourself to Fit the World2:36. It produced three straight Top 40 country hits in "Workin' Man's Ph.D.", the title track, and "Whole Lotta Love on the Line", while "Honky Tonk Superman×Honky Tonk Superman1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAHonky Tonk Superman2:52BLet's Talk About You2:45", the final single, failed to make Top 40. One year later, Tippin released his fourth album, Lookin' Back at Myself×Lookin' Back at Myself8 November 1994 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I Got It Honest3:472Lovin' Me Into an Early Grave2:393She's Got a Way (Of Makin' Me Forget)3:484Country Boys Tool Box3:045Lookin' Back at Myself3:296Bayou Baby2:417Standin' on the Promises3:008Mission From Hank3:129She Feels Like a Brand New Man Tonight2:5310You Are the Woman3:12, which produced the No. 15 "I Got It Honest×I Got It Honest1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAI Got It Honest3:45BLookin' Back at Myself3:29" and the minor Top 40 "She Feels Like a Brand New Man Tonight×She Feels Like a Brand New Man Tonight1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAShe Feels Like a Brand New Man Tonight2:52BLovin' Me Into an Early Grave2:37".
Tool Box, his fifth album for RCA, produced his second Number One country hit in the ballad "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You"; the second single, "Without Your Love×Without Your Love1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAWithout Your Love3:29BCountry Boy’s Tool Box3:03", peaked at No. 22, while the album's last two singles both failed to make Top 40. Like Call of the Wild and Lookin' Back at Myself before it, Tool Box also earned a gold certification from the RIAA.
Tippin's final release for the RCA label, a compilation titled Greatest Hits... And Then Some, was issued in 1997. This album produced two chart singles which both failed to make Top 40.
In 1994 Tippin performed the National Anthem at Starrcade the annual Professional Wrestling Pay Per View Event for World Championship Wrestling.

1998–2005: Lyric Street

In 1998, Tippin moved to Lyric Street Records, then a newly formed subsidiary label of the Walt Disney Company. His first single for the label, the No. 6 hit "For You I Will×For You I Will1998 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1For You I Will3:252Back When I Knew Everything3:05", served as the lead-off to his 1998 album What This Country Needs×What This Country Needs6 October 1998 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1What This Country Needs3:092For You I Will3:323Her3:144I Didn't Come This Far (Just to Walk Away)2:565I'm Leaving3:226Nothing Compares to Loving You4:187Don't Stop (We're Just Gettin' Started)3:048Somewhere Under the Rainbow3:369Back When I Knew Everything3:0310Sweetwater4:1011You're the Only Reason for Me3:33 and became his first Top Ten hit since "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You". Following it were "I'm Leaving" at No. 17, "Her" at No. 33, and the title track at No. 48.
2000 saw the release of the single "Kiss This×Kiss ThisSingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAKiss ThisBPeople Like Us". Co-written by Tippin with his wife, Thea, the song went to the top of the Billboard country charts, becoming his third and final Number One hit. It served as the lead-off to his second Lyric Street album, People Like Us×People Like Us25 July 2000 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Kiss This2:562I Love You3:103People Like Us3:254Always Was4:035I'd Be Afraid (Of Losing You)3:386Lost Since You Found Me3:177Big Boy Toys3:148Twenty-Nine and Holding3:449Every Now and Then (I Wish Then Was Now)3:2610The Night Shift3:0911The Best Love We Ever Made3:57, and the David Lee Murphy-penned title track reached Top 20 in 2001. People Like Us was also certified gold.
In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, he released the patriotic-themed song "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly×Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly3:522You’ve Got to Stand for Something2:58". His biggest crossover hit, the song reached No. 2 on the country charts and No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was included on his album Stars & Stripes×Stars & Stripes10 September 2002 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly3:482I'll Take Love Over Money3:353I Believed4:134Honky Tonk If You Love Country3:195If Her Lovin' Don't Kill Me3:036Love Like There's No Tomorrow3:437At the End of the Day3:198We Can't Get Any Higher Than This2:389Five Gallon Tear4:2910This Old Couch3:2811Love Me Back5:56, which was released in early 2002 (following the release of his Christmas album A December to Remember×A December to Remember2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Jingle Bell Rock2:042Blue Christmas3:043It's a Good Thing Santa Ain't Single3:074Christmas Is the Warmest Time of the Year2:415He Said That He Was Jesus4:296Away in a Manger3:027The Year That Santa Never Came3:108Run Rudolph3:059It's Way Too Close to Christmas to Be This Far From You3:4610Mama's Gettin' Ready for Christmas3:2011A December to Remember3:4312Silent Night6:56). Stars & Stripes produced three more singles, including the ballad "Love Like There's No Tomorrow", a duet with Thea.
Tippin's last release for Lyric Street was a single, entitled "Come Friday×Come Friday2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Come Friday2:452Come Friday2:453Come Friday2:454It's Friday (For Friday Airplay)2:45", which was slated to be included on an album entitled I Believed. The single peaked at No. 42 on the country charts, and I Believed was not released; by 2005, he had exited Lyric Street.

2006–2012

In 2006, Tippin formed his own record label, Nippit Records, in a joint partnership with Rust Nashville. His first release for the album, Now & Then, produced the singles "Ready to Rock (In a Country Kind of Way)×Ready to Rock (in a Country Kind of Way)SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Ready to Rock (in a Country Kind of Way) (short version)2:532Ready to Rock (in a Country Kind of Way) (medium version)3:073Ready to Rock (in a Country Kind of Way) (long version)3:41" and "He Believed", the latter of which peaked at No. 55 on the country charts. On September 9, 2007, Aaron released a new single called "Drill Here, Drill Now" which was inspired by the "Drill Here" movement led by Newt Gingrich at his American Solutions organization.
Tippin signed to Country Crossing Records in 2008. His first album for the label, In Overdrive×In Overdrive3 February 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1East Bound and Down2:542Truck Drivin' Man4:283Drivin' My Live Away3:334Six Days on the Road3:045Chicken Truck3:226The Ballad of Danger Dave and Double Trouble3:197Prisoner of the Highway3:498Girl on the Billboard2:449Long White Line3:1010Movin' On3:2011White Knight4:2112Roll On3:4013Drivin' Fool3:2014Drill Here, Drill Now3:44, was released in February 2009. This album comprises covers of country songs that have truck driving themes.

Musical style

Tippin's singing voice is a baritone, characterized by a heavy, nasal Southern twang. His phrasing has been compared to Hank Williams for "the catch in the throat, followed by a sliding moan", as described by Entertainment Weekly reviewer Alanna Nash in her review of Tippin's debut.
Several of Tippin's songs, such as "Workin' Man's Ph.D" and "You've Got to Stand for Something", are mid-tempo anthems that address the working class, and are often patriotic in nature. Occasionally, Tippin records love-themed ballads, such as "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You". Other songs of his, such as "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong with the Radio" and "Honky Tonk Superman×Honky Tonk Superman1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAHonky Tonk Superman2:52BLet's Talk About You2:45", are honky tonk-influenced novelties.

Personal life

On July 15, 1995, Tippin married the former Thea Corontzos at a Greek Orthodox ceremony in Nashville. Along with his manager, Billy Craven, Aaron and Thea Tippin created Tippin's company, Tip Top Entertainment. They reside in Dowelltown, Tennessee. The couple have two sons. Tippin also opened two hunting supply stores called Aaron Tippin Firearms: one in Smithville, Tennessee, and the other was run by his late father, Willis Emory Tippin, in Oak City, North Carolina. (Willis died in 2005.) According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Tippin is an instrument rated commercial pilot with single and multi-engine ratings. He also has private pilot privileges for rotorcraft-helicopter. He is a certified airframe and power plant mechanic. He is also a longtime bodybuilder. His son, Thomas, has made recordings with his father.