Tracy Lawrence

The release of Strong serves as a potent reminder that Tracy Lawrence is one of the premiere voices of his generation. His first album for DreamWorks Records, Strong is what fans have come to expect from Lawrence – a rich tapestry of life in the hands of a sensitive and intelligent singer. It is a fresh and compelling piece of work from someone who continues to stretch both as an artist and a person.

“I think this album shows real growth from the last record,” Lawrence affirms. “A lot of that I owe to [album producer and head of DreamWorks Nashville] James Stroud, to my confidence in him. He urged me to challenge myself, to push myself musically. Then there’s the family I’ve started and the way they’ve helped me grow and achieve a perspective I’ve never had before.

“Songs like ‘Daddy Was A Strong Man’ and ‘Stones’ draw from new places, and there are songs like ‘Paint Me A Birmingham’ that I just wouldn’t have done five years ago. If you’re going to be successful, you have to adapt and evolve, and I think this record reflects how I’m striving to do that.”

Lawrence’s dedication to honesty and respect for tradition have enabled him to build one of the most respected careers in recent country history. Given his age and accomplishments, his success emerges in even greater relief: At just 35 – a milestone by which Brooks & Dunn had yet to have their first hit – he has posted more #1 Billboard country singles than greats like Glen Campbell, Keith Whitley, Ernest Tubb, Wynonna or Barbara Mandrell, to name just a few; more Top 5’s than Shania Twain, Faith Hill or The Judds; and more Top 10’s than Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Rich, John Michael Montgomery or Dwight Yoakam.

And though he may be too busy making music to boast of those achievements, he has never been shy about the place he seeks in music history. “My long-term goal,” Lawrence says, “has always been to get to that Haggard and Jones level, to be one of the elder statesmen who continues to influence people and leave his mark even when radio is no longer playing his current releases.”

Strong (due in the spring of 2004) is surely part of that developing legacy. Collaborating with a mix of established and promising new songwriters, Lawrence has crafted a vibrant album, rich in the real-life snapshots that have long moved country fans.

“I’ve always been drawn to songs about family and day-to-day life,” he notes. “I tend to search for songs with strong messages, songs that present an interesting perspective or put a different twist on a story, the ones that paint a picture and come to life in the mind of the listener. That’s the material I like to sink my teeth into and that’s what my fans have come to expect from me.”

Strong opens with “Think Of Me,” a look at present-day heroes, while the title song celebrates the heroic qualities of single mothers. Tracks like “That’s Your Memory,” “A Far Cry” and “The Questionnaire” are gripping explorations of relationships, and “Paint Me A Birmingham” is an evocative portrait of lost love.

The collection reflects both Lawrence’s reverence for country’s roots and his ability to bring something original to everything he does. He has nurtured these twin sides of his creativity to satisfying effect since he hit the national spotlight a dozen years ago. He was just 23, the product of a rough-and-tumble childhood in Foreman, Ark. A self-described “hellion” as a youngster, Lawrence found release in performing. He was playing at music jamborees at 15 and in honky-tonks at 17, learning, he says, “what it takes to keep them on the dance floor through four or five sets.”

He moved to Nashville in 1990 in a 10-year-old Toyota Corolla that had, he says, “about 250,000 miles on it, expired tags, no insurance, only three cylinders and a fan with a piece of wire around it to cool the car.” He was a huge fan of Keith Whitley, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, and he idolized George Strait, complementing those influences with an appreciation for Southern rock, which he knew held a special place in the hearts of his honky-tonk audiences. He was also taken by a country tradition that was then finding its chief manifestation in Randy Travis.

Lawrence adopted elements from all these sources, and his striking vocal instrument – distinctively country with a cutting edge – earned him attention from the beginning. While working a series of side jobs, he entered singing contests around town, regularly winning first prize. A live appearance on a Kentucky radio station and a showcase at Nashville’s famed Bluebird Café led to his 1991 signing to Atlantic Records.

Lawrence’s debut album, Sticks And Stones (1991) boasted an incredible four Top 10 country hits, thus launching him into the forefront of the decade’s young talent. Journalists praised his style and fans pushed sales of the album to platinum certification. He proved he had the goods on the road as well, being named SRO’s Best New Touring Artist in 1993.

As if that weren’t enough, his second album, Alibis (1993), spawned four straight #1 smashes – the title cut, “Can’t Break It To My Heart,” “My Second Home” and “If The Good Die Young” – and earned raves everywhere from GQ to Newsweek. “That got us past the sophomore jinx,” Lawrence says with a grin. During the mid-‘90s, he was #2 on the list of most-played artists in all genres.

Yet another quartet of major hits rose from the platinum I See It Now (1994), including “If The World Had A Front Porch” and “Texas Tornado.” Then, Lawrence hit a creative and sales peak with “Time Marches On,” a Bobby Braddock-penned blockbuster that led the 1996 album of the same name to double-platinum status and earned Lawrence nominations at all the major awards. He followed that with “Is That A Tear,” yielding back-to-back hits that have both remained radio staples.

Lawrence’s next album, 1997’s The Coast Is Clear, produced the trademark hit “Better Man, Better Off.” It preceded Lessons Learned (2000), which found the singer re-energized by his country roots. Both discs earned critical praise and kept Lawrence’s radio presence and catalog sales chugging along.

It’s no surprise that over the years Lawrence has received widespread recognition: He was named Billboard’s Top New Male Vocalist in 1992, garnering the Academy Of Country Music’s Top New Male Vocalist trophy a year later; he earned the Country Weekly Golden Pick Awards’ Video Artist Of The Year prize in 1995 and its Editor’s Choice Platinum Pick crown in 1996, among other honors. Lawrence has produced his own and others’ work and co-wrote a number of the songs he’s recorded, including “If The World Had A Front Porch” and “Can’t Break It To My Heart.”

Moreover, he has had considerable impact beyond the record industry. Lawrence contributed the song “Renegades, Rebels And Rogues” to the “Maverick” soundtrack and has starred in two CMT specials, one of which included footage from a USO tour that saw him entertain troops in Kosovo. He also co-produced nine of the 13 songs on The Civil War: The Nashville Sessions, a collection of songs written for the Broadway theater production “The Civil War: An American Musical Event.” It features Travis Tritt, Deana Carter, Trace Adkins, Kevin Sharp, Michael English, Trisha Yearwood and John Berry.

Though music is a consuming focus, Lawrence will tell you that his life revolves around his wife, Becca, and his daughters, Skylar JoAnn and Mary Keagan. “There is a great deal of peace and happiness in my personal life,” he confides, “and my wife and children contribute so much to who I am as a person right now. I believe in the importance of putting family first, not neglecting the people who love you and stand behind you. That’s the biggest priority in my life.”

Lawrence has always been active in charitable causes, and he is annually at the helm of two events that are especially meaningful to him: a homecoming concert in his hometown that funds the Tracy Lawrence Foundation and a golf tournament in Texarkana, Texas, benefiting both the Tracy Lawrence Foundation and CASA, a non-profit organization providing trained volunteer advocates to abused and neglected children caught up in the legal systems of Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas. Lawrence’s foundation has endowed scholarships and, most recently, provided funds to equip a high school computer science lab, a room that will be named after him.

Furthermore, Lawrence helped raise more than a million dollars for the fight against cystic fibrosis through his annual golf tournament, formerly held in Houston, and his participation in Hollywood’s annual “Sizzlin’ Country” events. “People have a duty to help each other out,” he says. “I’m happy I can give something back to society through my efforts to raise funds and awareness for these important causes.”

But the work that makes such largesse possible, of course, is never far from Lawrence’s mind. He takes very seriously his role in advancing country music, especially its tradition of songs about love and heartache, struggle and triumph, weakness and hope – reality in all its facets.

The people who do it well, who can wrench the emotion from their hearts and wring it into the lyrics of a song, are prized among all others. Lawrence has long since established himself in this exceptional group, but he is not one to rest on his laurels, and he has no desire to treat lightly the industry for which he continues to do so much.

“I’m very proud to be part of the country music business,” he attests. “I love what I do. I hope I can perform until they wheel me away.”

Part of the commercial rise of rock-tinged honky tonk in the early '90s, Tracy Lawrence was one of the decade's most reliable country hitmakers. Born in Atlanta, TX, in 1968, he grew up mostly in Foreman, AR, where he soaked up traditional and outlaw country as well as Southern rock. He started performing in public when he was 15 and was a regular presence on the local honky tonk circuit by 17. After college, he moved to Nashville in 1990 and worked day jobs while winning numerous talent shows. That led to a live radio performance and, in 1991, a showcase gig that netted him a deal with Atlantic.

In May 1991, just prior to the scheduled release of Lawrence's debut album, he was walking a girlfriend back to her hotel room when the two were mugged by several gun-wielding attackers. Lawrence fought back to allow his companion time to escape and was shot four times; two bullets only grazed him, but one had to be surgically removed from his knee, and the other remained deeply embedded in his pelvis. Fortunately, he progressed rapidly through physical therapy, and the album, Sticks and Stones, was released later in the year when Lawrence could return to promotional duties. Its lead single, the title track, went all the way to number one on the country charts, helped out by all the publicity. More hits followed in the Top Tens "Runnin' Behind," "Today's Lonely Fool," and "Somebody Paints the Wall," and Lawrence was on his way to stardom. He arrived there with Alibis, the platinum-selling 1993 follow-up that produced an astounding four chart-topping singles: the title track, "Can't Break It to My Heart," "My Second Home," and "If the Good Die Young."

In 1994, Lawrence contributed the Top Ten hit "Renegades, Rebels and Rogues" to the soundtrack of the movie version of Maverick and also released his third album, I See It Now. "Texas Tornado" became his sixth number one hit, and three more singles -- the title track, "As Any Fool Can See," and "If the World Had a Front Porch" -- all went to number two. Somewhat lost in all the success was Lawrence's arrest that same year on a weapons charge, but it didn't slow his career momentum at all. He tossed off the Live and Unplugged set in 1995, which compiled acoustic tracks and concert performances with his backing band, Little Elvis. In 1996, he returned with the proper follow-up album Time Marches On. The title track was a huge hit, topping the country charts, and "If You Love Me," "Stars Over Texas," and "Is That a Tear" all went Top Five. His hit streak continued with 1997's The Coast Is Clear, which contained two more Top Five singles in the title track and "Better Man, Better Off."

However, all was not well behind the scenes. In January 1998, Lawrence was convicted on charges stemming from an incident in which his wife accused him of hitting and threatening her; the couple soon divorced. Lawrence laid low for a while, putting his life back together, and returned in 2000 with the uneven but highly personal Lessons Learned. The title track was a Top Five smash, but it was the only major hit from the record, and Lawrence soon parted ways with Atlantic. He subsequently signed with Warner Brothers and debuted for them in 2001 with an album titled simply Tracy Lawrence. Despite some good reviews, it failed to halt his downward commercial momentum. Lawrence released the studio album Strong in 2004 and a greatest-hits set through Dreamworks Nashville a year later. For the Love arrived in the early 2007 on Lawrence's own label, Rocky Comfort Records. Two years later the singer was crossing over to the Christian music market with the album The Rock and its lead single "Up to Him". ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide