McGraw, Tim

▪ 2006

 The success of singer Tim McGraw's single “Live like You Were Dying”—it spent multiple weeks atop country music charts, won best single and song at country music's two biggest awards shows, and captured best country song at the Grammy Awards—further certified McGraw's place as one of the major music stars of 2005. McGraw also won a Grammy for best country male vocal performance for that single. Though McGraw's sandy twang was decidedly Southern, his July 2 appearance in Rome on the stage of the multivenue Live 8 concert event and his vocal turn on rapper Nelly's crossover hit single “Over and Over” offered evidence that McGraw's appeal extended beyond traditional country boundaries. Since his recording career began in 1993, he had sold nearly 30 million albums and notched 20 number one country singles.

      McGraw was born Samuel Timothy Smith on May 1, 1967, in Delhi, La. Raised by a single mother, he was 11 years old before he discovered that his father was famed baseball pitcher Tug McGraw. The son dropped out of college and moved in 1989 to the country music hub of Nashville. He found work as a club performer before signing a recording contract with Curb Records in 1990. McGraw's 1993 debut recording was unsuccessful, but his follow-up, Not a Moment Too Soon, became the biggest-selling country album of 1994 (and the sixth best-selling album of the year in any genre). Not a Moment Too Soon featured such hit singles as the story song “Don't Take the Girl,” the rural celebration “Down on the Farm,” and “Indian Outlaw,” a song that critics complained portrayed Native Americans in a stereotypical manner. The controversy did not hurt sales, however, and McGraw ascended to country stardom. His celebrity spread with the 1995 release of All I Want and with his high-profile marriage in 1996 to country star Faith Hill. By 2000 he was well established enough to release a 15-song greatest hits package, and 2001 found McGraw and Hill accepting a Grammy for their duet “Let's Make Love.”

      In 2002 McGraw broke with Nashville convention by recording with his touring band, the Dancehall Doctors (most artists employed session musicians in the studio and road musicians in concert), and by releasing another single that raised controversy; a few country radio stations refused to play “Red Ragtop” because the song's story line involved an abortion. In August 2004 McGraw released the album Live like You Were Dying; its title song, penned by Nashville songwriters Craig Wiseman and Tim Nichols, was a tribute to his father, who died in January 2004 after battling brain cancer. In late 2004 McGraw's collaboration with Nelly, “Over and Over,” spent 12 weeks at number one on Billboard's Top 40 singles chart, making McGraw the only contemporary country singer to enjoy a vocal turn on a hit urban record.

Peter Cooper

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▪ American musician

original name  Samuel Timothy Smith 

born May 1, 1967, Delhi, La., U.S.

 

 American musician, whose melodic, heartfelt songs and sandy Southern twang made him one of the most popular country music singers in the 1990s and early 2000s.

      Raised by a single mother, McGraw was 11 years old before he discovered that his father was famed professional baseball pitcher Tug McGraw. After dropping out of college in 1989 to move to Nashville, he found work as a club performer and signed a record contract with Curb Records in 1990. McGraw's 1993 debut recording was unsuccessful, but his follow-up, Not a Moment Too Soon, became the biggest-selling country album of 1994 (and the sixth best-selling album of the year in any genre). His celebrity spread with the release of All I Want (1995) and with his high-profile marriage in 1996 to country star Faith Hill (Hill, Faith). By 2000 he was well-established enough to release a 15-song greatest hits package, and 2001 found McGraw and Hill accepting a Grammy Award for their duet "Let's Make Love."

 In 2002 McGraw broke with Nashville convention by recording with his touring band, the Dancehall Doctors (most artists employed session musicians in the studio and road musicians in concert), and by releasing the controversial single "Red Ragtop" ; a few country radio stations refused to play the song because its story line involved an abortion. In August 2004 McGraw released the album Live Like You Were Dying. Its title song, penned by Nashville songwriters Craig Wiseman and Tim Nichols, was a tribute to his father, who had died of brain cancer in January 2004. That same year McGraw's collaboration with rapper Nelly, "Over and Over," spent 12 weeks at number one on Billboard's Top 40 singles chart, making McGraw the only contemporary country singer to enjoy a vocal turn on a hit urban record. In 2007 he released the album Let It Go. In addition to his music career, McGraw also acted in several films, including Friday Night Lights (2004) and Flicka (2006).

 

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