Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins was born on January 13, 1962. He learned to play guitar from his father and joined gospel music group while in high school. He later studied in Louisiana Tech University, joined football team and worked at an oil rig after finishing his study. His life seemed not to have connection with music, but he continued playing guitar in his spare time. When he lost his pinky finger on his left hand in an accident while using a knife to open a bucket, he asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar.

Working behind the desk apparently was not his goal as he immediately jumped to sign a deal with Capitol Records once he got the offer. He made his debut in the country music world in 1996 with a platinum-selling album "Dreamin' Out Loud". The record produced Top 5 singles in Country Songs chart including "Every Light in the House". He has since become an undeniable musical force, earning his place among the most identifiable artists of his generation.

A year later, Adkins dropped his sophomore set "Big Time" and was certified platinum. His career seemed to continue rising until 1999. He changed his management team, causing his third effort "More" to be delayed. When it was finally released in November the same year, he had to face the fact that it wasn't as successful as his two previous sets. It became his first album not to receive Gold certification.

After suffering lukewarm acceptance from his fans with "More", Adkins rushed "Chrome" in 2001, a year when he was entangled in legal problem for driving under influence, drugs addiction and tour cancellation due to injury. Despite his woes, he scored his first Top 5 country music album with the fourth set.

After seven years with four albums and some hit singles, he rolled out a greatest hits compilation "Comin' on Strong" in December 2003 while working on a new album. He needed around five years to finish a completely new album but it was all worth it. "Songs About Me" was released in March 2005 and probably became his most successful album by scoring double Platinum.

"Arlington", the first single from the album, sparked controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery). The second single "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", meanwhile, was a highly successful crossover hit, giving him a place at the Top 40 of Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

A year after, Adkins worked on enough songs to put it in a full-length album and decided to release "Dangerous Man". He put out three singles with this effort but the last one proved unsuccessful, forcing him to stop the promotion and move on to a new single. "I Got My Game On" was released a teaser for his next studio installment but due to its lukewarm acceptance, the album plan was scrapped. Instead, he released another compilation set with "My Game On" on the lead.

In between his schedule of finishing his new music, Adkins tried his hands at acting and reality TV world. In 2008, he competed in "The Celebrity Apprentice" and made it to the final two, unfortunately he lost the winner title to Piers Morgan. He also appeared in an episode of "The Young and the Restless".

Adkins released his last album "X" under Capitol Records in 2008. He then switched label to fellow country musician Toby Keith's Show Dog-Universal Music and toured with him ahead of his next album release "Cowboy's Back in Town" which is released on August 17, 2010 in United States.