Trace Adkins

Biography

Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, he has released 10 more studio albums and two greatest hits compilations. In addition, Adkins has charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the number-one hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", "Ladies Love Country Boys", and "You're Gonna Miss This×You're Gonna Miss This14 January 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You're Gonna Miss This3:44", which peaked in 1997, 2007, and 2008, respectively.
"I Left Something Turned on at Home" went to number one on Canada's country chart. At least six of his studio albums have received gold or platinum certification in the United States; his highest-selling to date is 2005's Songs About Me, which has been certified double multiplatinum for shipping two million copies. Adkins is widely known for his distinctive bass-baritone singing and speaking voice.
He has also made several appearances on television, including as a panelist on the game shows Hollywood Squares and Pyramid, as a 2008 finalist and as the 2013 winner on The Celebrity Apprentice, as the voice for recurring character Elvin on King of the Hill, and the main role of Albie Roman on Monarch, as well as in television commercial voice-overs for KFC and Firestone.
Also, Adkins has written an autobiography titled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck, which was released in late 2007. He has appeared in numerous films, including The Lincoln Lawyer, Moms' Night Out, Old Henry and I Can Only Imagine.

Early life and education

Adkins was born in Sarepta, Louisiana, the son of Peggy Carraway and Aaron Doyle Adkins. His maternal uncle was the Christian musician James W. Carraway (1923–2008). His musical interest came at an early age when he was 10, and his father bought him a guitar and hired someone to give him lessons.
At Sarepta High School, since defunct, Adkins joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. He was also a member of the FFA. Later, Adkins attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. A walk-on offensive lineman on their football team, Adkins left the team after his freshman season due to a knee injury, without ever playing in a game. Adkins never graduated. After leaving college, he worked on an oil rig. He also played music in a band called Bayou. Adkins also worked as a pharmacy technician before pursuing a career in music. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident using a knife to open a bucket, and asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar. Adkins moved to play in honky-tonk bars for the next few years in the Ark-La-Tex area and eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1992. In late 1994, Adkins met Rhonda Forlaw, who was an executive at Arista Records Nashville. Forlaw had numerous music industry friends come out to hear Adkins over the next few years. Scott Hendricks of Capitol Nashville signed him "on the spot" one night while Adkins was playing at Tillie and Lucy's bar in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

Early career

Adkins's first single, which he wrote himself, "There's a Girl in Texas", was released in 1996, reaching the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of his debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud, later that year. The album produced several hit singles, including his first top-five single, "Every Light in the House", his first number one in "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", and another top-five hit in "I Left Something Turned on at Home". The latter single was also a number-one hit in Canada. His second album, Big Time×Big Time21 October 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Big Time3:512Took Her to the Moon2:473The Rest of Mine3:134Snowball in El Paso4:095See Jane Run2:556Twenty-Four, Seven3:327Hold You Now4:378Nothin' but Taillights3:169Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone3:0810Out of My Dreams3:1311Wayfaring Stranger3:35, produced a top five in "The Rest of Mine", but subsequent singles proved less successful. Adkins was named "Top New Male Artist" by the Academy of Country Music in 1997. In 1998, Adkins appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits (season 23). A change in management delayed the release of Adkins's third album, but the album (titled More...) was eventually released in late 1999. Although the album's title track reached top 10, More... failed to achieve gold status. Adkins's daughter, Mackenzie, was featured in the "More" video.

2001–2004

In 2001, Adkins was injured in a tractor accident and had to cancel touring temporarily. Shortly after the release of his Chrome album, he entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in Nashville. Chrome was his first album to reach the top five on the country albums charts; its title track reached top 10 in late 2002.
In 2003, Adkins released two albums—a greatest hits collection and Comin' on Strong. The same year, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He also made appearances as the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares, and did voice-overs in commercials for fast-food chain KFC. Only one single, "Then They Do×Then They Do10 March 2003 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Then They Do4:112Then They Do (with string intro)4:30", was released from this greatest hits compilation. This album, which succeeded the greatest hits collection, produced two singles: the top-five single "Hot Mama" and "Rough & Ready", which peaked at number 13.
Adkins and Travis Tritt played the roles of prison convicts in a February 2004 episode of the television series Yes, Dear (Greg and Jimmy's Criminals).

2005–2007

In March 2005, Adkins released his album entitled Songs About Me×Songs About Me22 March 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Songs About Me3:252Arlington4:073Find Me a Preacher3:434My Way Back3:515I Wish It Was You4:086Bring It On3:427My Heaven3:258Baby I'm Home3:599Metropolis3:2010I Learned How to Love From You3:0611Honky Tonk Badonkadonk4:01. The title track was released as its first single in December 2004. The album's second single, "Arlington", generated controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery). It was followed by "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk×Honky Tonk Badonkadonk27 March 2006 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Honky Tonk Babonkadonk (Eurofunk Version)3:362Hot Mama3:203Songs About Me3:254I Left Something Turned On At Home3:085(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing4:046Every Light In The House3:017I'm Tryin4:458Chrome3:239More3:0710Rough & Ready3:1011Can I Want Your Love3:3212Honky Tonk Badonkadonk (Country Club Remix)3:4413Honky Tonk Badonkadonk ('70 Groove Mix)4:5014Honky Tonk Badonkadonk (Radio Version)6:13", which became a crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.
Adkins's seventh studio album, Dangerous Man×Dangerous Man15 August 2006 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Dangerous Man3:192Ladies Love Country Boys3:433I Came Here to Live4:294Swing3:385Ain't No Woman Like You3:426Southern Hallelujah4:117I Wanna Feel Something3:508High3:519Fightin' Words4:0010The Stubborn One3:5311Ride3:5912Words Get in the Way4:1513Honky Tonk Badonkadonk (video mix)4:00, was released in 2006. "Swing", the album's lead-off single, peaked at number 20, while the follow-up "Ladies Love Country Boys" became Adkins's second number-one single on the country charts and his first since "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" in 1997. Adkins's daughter, Brianna, was featured in the "Ladies Love Country Boys" video. The album's final release, "I Wanna Feel Something", proved unsuccessful on the charts; as a result, Adkins announced that he would stop supporting the single.
In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled "I Got My Game On". Originally, the song was planned to be the lead-off to a new album, tentatively titled Game On, but Adkins decided not to release a full album, and instead released his second greatest hits compilation, American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II, for which "I Got My Game On" served as the lead-off single. The album has also produced Adkins's fastest-climbing single to date in its second single, "You're Gonna Miss This×You're Gonna Miss This14 January 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You're Gonna Miss This3:44". "You're Gonna Miss This" has also become his third number-one hit on the Hot Country Songs, as well as the most successful single to date on the Billboard Hot 100 (12), Billboard Pop 100 (19), and Hot Digital Songs charts (8).
Adkins released his first book, entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck.

2008–2009

In 2008, Adkins released the single "Muddy Water," the lead single from X, which was released on November 25. The video for "Muddy Water" has an appearance by fellow Celebrity Apprentice competitor Stephen Baldwin as a man being baptized in a muddy river, and later approaching Adkins as a friend. It reached the top 30 on the country charts, peaking at number 22. "Marry for Money" and "All I Ask for Anymore" were released as the album's second and third singles, and both peaked at number 14 on the country charts.
In November 2008, Adkins made an appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He rode with his family on the Jimmy Dean/Tyson Foods float and performed his famous song "You're Gonna Miss This×You're Gonna Miss This14 January 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You're Gonna Miss This3:44". In 2009, Adkins appeared in local Kansas City commercials to advertise season tickets and the 50th season of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs.
Adkins recorded a duet with country legend Ronnie Milsap called "My First Ride" to benefit firefighters and police officers in the U.S. and Canada. Then, after the song's release, the label said 'no' to radio stations playing it with no explanation given. Milsap led a protest at Capitol Records to "Free Trace" and allow the song to be played.
In November 2009, Adkins embarked on the Shine All Night Tour, a co-headline venture with fellow country artist Martina McBride. Also in 2009, he recorded a duet with Blake Shelton titled "Hillbilly Bone", which was released as the lead-off single from Shelton's upcoming sixth album. On October 18, 2009, Adkins made an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help Ty Pennington and his design team build a new home for the Marshall family.

2010–2014: Move to Show Dog-Universal Music

In January 2010, Adkins parted ways with his long-time record label, Capitol Nashville, and subsequently signed with Show Dog-Universal Music.
Adkins's first single with the label, "This Ain't No Love Song", was released on May 17, 2010, and served as the lead-off single to his ninth studio album, Cowboy's Back In Town. It debuted at number 54 on the chart for the week of May 29, 2010. The album's second single, "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow", released to country radio on January 10, 2011.
Two men in a small Dodge pickup truck died after crashing into one of Adkins's tour buses on February 13, 2010. The truck was believed to have crossed the "no passing" line in the center of the road, which resulted in the crash. Several members of Adkins's band were aboard the bus, but were not seriously injured. Adkins himself was not on board at the time. On October 10, 2010, Adkins sang the national anthem at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
On December 18, 2010, Adkins performed at WWE's annual extravaganza WWE Tribute to the Troops to amazing reception by the soldiers in attendance. He appeared once again in an episode of SmackDown live from Nashville, Tennessee, on May 13, 2011, as the special member of the WWE audience.
In March 2011, Adkins released "Just Fishin", which featured his youngest daughter, Trinity, in the video, which was shot at their farm. The song reached number six on Billboard. On June 4, 2011, around 3:35 pm, Adkins's home in Brentwood, Tennessee, burned down. On October 20, 2011, Adkins sang the national anthem at game two of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis.
In April 2011, Adkins revealed that he had a crush on the Baylor Lady Bears' head coach, Kim Mulkey, while the two were in college at Louisiana Tech, then dedicated his performance of "One in a Million You" to her.
Mulkey's sister arranged a phone call in December 2011 between the singer and coach, during which Kim Mulkey invited him to sing at Baylor's home game against Connecticut; Adkins, unable to attend, arranged to perform the national anthem at the Lady Bears' February 2012 home game against the Texas A&M Aggies.
In March 2012, Adkins visited the Lady Bears while on tour in Kansas City to encourage them before their NCAA Championships semifinal match; the team attended one of his concerts later that week.
In February 2012, Adkins appeared as a guest vocalist on Meat Loaf's album Hell in a Handbasket.
Adkins performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the West Virginia Mountaineers' home football game against the Baylor Bears on September 29, 2012; his was just the third live performance of the national anthem in the 32-year history of Mountaineer Field.
Adkins released a new album, Love Will..., on May 14, 2013. The album's first single, "Watch the World End", was released to country radio on May 13, 2013. In September 2013, he was announced to be no longer on the Showdog roster according to the official website.
Adkins released his first Christmas album, The King's Gift×The King's Gift29 October 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Wexford Carol3:552Tannenbaum3:503O' Come Emmanuel5:184Away in a Manger3:205I Saw Three Ships3:576Silent Night4:307We Three Kings4:188Carol of the Drum4:159Oh Holy Night4:4110What Child Is This3:40, on October 29, 2013.

2015–present: Move to Wheelhouse Records

On April 6, 2015, Adkins announced he had signed with Broken Bow Records, under the Wheelhouse imprint. In August 2015, Broken Bow announced that Adkins was one of the first artists signed to the label's new imprint, Wheelhouse Records. His first single for the label was "Jesus and Jones×Jesus and Jones8 January 2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Jesus and Jones3:43", which was released to country radio on January 18, 2016, and peaked at number 41 on the Country Airplay chart. "Lit" was released to country radio on July 25, 2016, though it failed to chart. Both singles are on the album Something's Going On, which was released on March 31, 2017, via Wheelhouse Records, and its title track became a video.
On July 4, 2016, Adkins made a surprise appearance at his hometown Independence Day celebration in Sarepta, Louisiana. He joined on stage the Backbeat Boogie Band with several unrehearsed songs.
In 2019, Adkins appeared on Hardy's new album, Hixtape Volume 1. On the album, he appears on the song "Redneck Tendencies" with Joe Diffie. also in 2019, Adkins later reunited with Blake Shelton in "Hell Right" in Shelton's compilation album Fully Loaded: God's Country.

Spokesperson

In 2012, Adkins signed a deal with truck stop chain Pilot Flying J to become the company's new spokesman. Adkins also lent his signature voice to Firestone as part of the "Drive a Firestone" campaign to revitalize the brand in 2012. He is the spokesman for Wounded Warrior Project.

Television career

Adkins was a January–March 2008 contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity contestant was playing for donations to their selected charity. Adkins played for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Adkins chose the charity because his daughter suffers from life-threatening reactions to peanuts, milk, and eggs. Ultimately, he was the runner-up of that season, losing to Piers Morgan.
Adkins returned for the All-Stars version of The All-Star Celebrity Apprentice. He was the project manager for his team, Plan B, in the first task, which was to sell meatballs and won $670,072, a Celebrity Apprentice record for a first task, for his charity the American Red Cross. Together with Vegas illusionist Penn Jillette, Adkins made it to the finals again (becoming the first and only person in the history of the show to do so), where Adkins won and became the All-Star Celebrity Apprentice. He also broke the record for the highest amount of money raised for his charity by any one person in the history of the show, with $1,524,072 raised for the American Red Cross.
In 2019, Adkins became the host of a new series on INSP, Ultimate Cowboy Showdown. The series has run for three seasons.

Personal life

Adkins has two daughters, Tarah and Sarah, with his first wife, Barbara Lewis, and three daughters with his third wife, the former Rhonda Forlaw: Mackenzie, Brianna, and Trinity. Adkins endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 United States presidential election and performed at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. He performed the national anthem at Tennessee governor Bill Haslam's second inauguration as governor of Tennessee in 2015 and a year later during presidential candidate Donald Trump's nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
At age 17, Adkins was in an automobile accident in which his 1955 Chevrolet pickup truck hit a school bus head-on. He broke some ribs, punctured both lungs and his nose was partially torn off. Adkins was forced to give up college football after a severe knee injury at Louisiana Tech. He has also experienced a number of serious injuries as an adult, including being shot by his second ex-wife Julie Curtis. In February 1994, Trace was married to his second wife Julie Lauren Curtis and was involved in a serious domestic incident. The confrontation occurred after an argument about Adkins's excessive drinking. During the altercation, Julie Curtis pointed a .38-caliber revolver at him. Adkins attempted to disarm her, reportedly trying to scare her into giving up the gun, but she fired, and the bullet passed through his left lung, heart, and right lung, nearly killing him.
Adkins was rushed to the hospital via helicopter and underwent emergency open-heart surgery. Doctors were able to save his life, though he required extensive medical treatment, including draining his lung and patching the hole in his heart. Despite the severity of the incident, Adkins did not press charges against Curtis, believing she was not intentionally trying to kill him. The shooting ultimately led to the end of their marriage, and they divorced later that year. Julie Lauren Curtis later stepped away from the public eye and lived a private life until her death in 2021 at the age of 59. In 1989, Adkins, along with nine coworkers, were stranded on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Chantal.
In 2001, Adkins entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation facility. After relapsing in early 2014, Adkins checked into rehabilitation for alcoholism after getting into an altercation on a cruise ship. In March 2014, Rhonda filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Rhonda and Trace then dismissed and expunged the divorce petition via T.C.A. Section 36-4-127 (Expunction of Divorce Records upon Reconciliation of Parties) due to an attempted reconciliation. Less than a month later, Trace filed for divorce. Since this time, the matter has been pending, with the parties awaiting finalization of their divorce. On August 24, 2023, the Tennessee Court of Appeals finalized said divorce. The case has now been remanded to the lower court.
On October 12, 2019, Adkins married Canadian actress Victoria Pratt in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Studio albums

1996: Dreamin' Out Loud
1997: Big Time
1999: More...
2001: Chrome
2003: Comin' On Strong
2005: Songs About Me
2006: Dangerous Man
2008: X
2010: Cowboy's Back in Town
2011: Proud to Be Here
2013: Love Will...
2017: Something's Going On
2021: The Way I Wanna Go

Compilation albums

2003: Greatest Hits Collection, Vol. 1
2007: American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II
2010: The Definitive Greatest Hits: 'Til the Last Shot's Fired
2012: 10 Great Songs
2013: Icon
2014: 10 Great Songs: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection

Billboard number-one hits

"(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" (1 week, 1997)
"Ladies Love Country Boys" (2 weeks, 2006–2007)
"You're Gonna Miss This×You're Gonna Miss This14 January 2008 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You're Gonna Miss This3:44" (3 weeks, 2007–2008)
"Hillbilly Bone" Featuring Blake Shelton (1 week, 2009–2010)