Pat Green

Biography

Patrick Craven Green (born April 5, 1972) is an American country music artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded seven studio albums including three with Republic Records and two for BNA Records. Fifteen of his singles charted on Billboard Hot Country Songs. "Wave on Wave×Wave on Wave15 July 2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Guy Like Me3:302Poetry4:033Wrapped3:284Wave on Wave4:045California4:296Sing ’Til I Stop Crying3:557All the Good Things Fade Away3:178Run3:559I’m Tired4:0510Eden’s Gate3:5811Elvis3:4612Barricades4:0913If I Was the Devil7:25" (No. 3) from his gold-certified album of the same name performed the best.

Music career

Green began his music career as an 18-year-old at Texas Tech University in Lubbock playing small gigs at bars and clubs around the city. In 1995, he independently recorded and released a series of albums produced by Lloyd Maines using money borrowed from his parents. Green did not commit fully to a music career until 1997 when his stepfather fired him from his job as a fuel wholesaler. Green had been counting his money from a weekend of singing and his stepfather knew he would need motivation to fully involve himself in music.
After committing to performing, Green drew the attention of Willie Nelson and joined a tour featuring Nelson and several famous country musicians. Green's appearance at the 1998 Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic was his first step towards nationwide recognition, and he soon was playing sold out shows in Texas. He was sponsored by Miller Lite and sold more than 250,000 albums, even without signing a major label recording contract.
Green's first major-label recorded album, Three Days×Three Days16 October 2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Carry On4:582Threadbare Gypsy Soul4:533Three Days3:464Who's to Say4:455Galleywinter3:586Wrong Side of Town4:237We've All Got Our Reasons3:238Whiskey4:539Crazy5:2910Take Me Out to a Dancehall3:3911Count Your Blessings4:2112Southbound 355:1313Texas on My Mind4:40, repackaged his best pre-major songs and new tracks with modern sound engineering. The album was released to acclaim in 2001. The adventurous, Beatles-influenced "Wave on Wave×Wave on Wave15 July 2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Guy Like Me3:302Poetry4:033Wrapped3:284Wave on Wave4:045California4:296Sing ’Til I Stop Crying3:557All the Good Things Fade Away3:178Run3:559I’m Tired4:0510Eden’s Gate3:5811Elvis3:4612Barricades4:0913If I Was the Devil7:25" was released in 2003 and the title track reached No. 3 on the charts by the end of the year. The album featured pop flourishes and sound engineering which was incrementally more compressed than that of "Three Days" but dramatically more so than that of his independent releases. The Christian-tinged title track remains Green's top career hit.
Green's mid-2000s period aimed to capitalize on his album, Wave on Wave commercial achievement, written by Billy Joe Parton. Green achieved some critical and popular success but was unable to match his prior success and some labeled him a "sellout." In late 2004, "Lucky Ones×Lucky Ones2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Baby Doll3:402Lucky Ones3:293Somewhere Between Texas and Mexico2:594Don't Break My Heart Again4:505My Little Heaven3:356College3:417One Thing3:308Over and Over2:549Long Way to Go (Headed Home)3:5910Temporary Angel4:1311It's Time3:5112Sweet Revenge3:24" was Green's third and final CD release on the Universal/Republic Records label. Despite weak label support, the album peaked at No. 6 on the U.S. country charts. He joined popular country music artists including Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, Dave Matthews Band, and Kenny Chesney on major tours. Green released his album Cannonball×Cannonball2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Cannonball3:592Way Back Texas4:073Love Like That3:494Dixie Lullaby4:085Feels Just Like It Should3:476Missing Me3:287Virginia Belle3:168Finder's Keepers4:069Won't Let Love3:5210Lost Without You3:4911I'm Trying to Find It4:0712Love Had Something to Say3:4613Learn How to Live3:2314Sleeping With the Lights On3:43 in 2006. CMT questioned the album saying it was reaching for the "uninspired pop sound of today’s Nashville," with songs "starting to sound too much alike" and "crossing the line into Nashville pop" and perhaps not "honest and natural." Green acknowledged that he needed hits to sustain the career that he wanted.
In 2008, Green released "Let Me×Let Me15 July 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Let Me3:54", as the first single from what would become his final album released on a label, What I'm For×What I'm For23 January 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Footsteps of Our Fathers4:172What I'm For3:363Feeling Pretty Good Tonight3:574Lucky3:385In This World2:566Country Star3:447Let Me3:518In It for the Money3:409Carry On4:3310In the Middle of the Night4:41. The single was No. 12 on the country charts (his first Top 20 single since "Feels Just Like It Should" reached No. 13 in 2006.) Initially, "Country Star" was released as the second single, but it was withdrawn shortly after the title track ("What I'm For") began receiving airplay. "Country Star" peaked at No. 32, and "What I'm For" was No. 28 on the country charts in July 2009. He parted ways with BNA Records shortly afterwards.
Washed out in 2011, Green announced his return to Texas and independent music. On September 2, 2014, Taste of Country premiered the official lyric video for a new song, "Girls from Texas", featuring Lyle Lovett. On September 16, 2014, "Girls from Texas" was made available on iTunes. On May 18, 2015, Green released a new single, "While I Was Away". The video, an ode to long-distance parents, premiered on People.com on May 22. "While I Was Away" was inducted into Taste of Country's Showdown Hall of Fame after winning five consecutive fan-voted rounds against artists including Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Cassadee Pope, and David Nail.
Green's self-released Home debuted on digital media on August 14, 2015, and entered on the Top Country Albums chart at No. 5. The album has appearances from Lyle Lovett, Sheryl Crow, and more. The twelfth single from the album, "Day One" was released to Texas radio on May 2, 2016. Green released the single "Drinkin' Days" himself on May 26, 2017. On his 46th birthday, April 5, 2018, Dancehall Dreamin': A Tribute to Pat Green came out. The album features covers of 10 Pat Green hits along with commentary about each song. On July 20, 2018, he released the single "Friday's Comin'" worldwide.
On September 2, 2022, Green released his first album in seven years, "Miles and Miles of You×Miles and Miles of You2022 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1I'm Coming Home3:292Miles And Miles Of You4:013Build You A Bar3:484April 5th3:295If It Don't Have A Honky Tonk3:246Bad Bones4:067Steady3:478All In This Together3:389This Old Hat3:2910Echo3:1511If It Don't Have A Honky Tonk (PFG Version)", produced by Dwight A. Baker.

Personal life

Green was born in San Antonio to Craven Earl Green and Patricia Burgess. He grew up in Waco, Texas, where he attended Vanguard College Preparatory School for grades 7–12. His father was a former U.S. Air Force officer and stage actor who influenced his son's love of music. His parents divorced when he was seven. His mother later remarried. After high school, Green attended Texas Tech University where he was a member of the FarmHouse fraternity.
Green is an ardent fan of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers. "I Like Texas", a song from his 1995 self-released album, Dancehall Dreamer×Dancehall Dreamer10 December 1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Here We Go3:122Down to the River2:563I Like Texas4:034Dancehall Dreamer3:265The Bottle3:176Rain in Lafayette3:297West Texas Holiday3:478Goin' Down in Style4:319Family Man3:3710Southbound 353:4611One for the Road3:0912Pat & Jack's Blues0:59, has been adopted as the Rangers' victory song.
On July 4 2025, Green's younger brother, John, the latter's wife, Julia, and their two youngest children were killed in the Central Texas floods.