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Tim McGraw has spent the last decade in the upper reaches of the entertainment world. His is a career marked by superlatives--by record-breaking tours and multi-platinum albums, and more recently by an expanding presence in movies.
And yet, at bottom, McGraw's success is part and parcel of his Everyman status, of his ability to be known as husband and father as well as singer and actor, as citizen and friend as well as superstar. It is his believability, his knack for connecting with his audiences, whether he is singing a classic like "Live Like You Were Dying" or portraying the troubled father in Friday Night Lights, that have made his hard-won triumphs possible.
Now, McGraw carries that legacy forward with the release of his latest CD, Let It Go, a collection with all the passion and vitality his legions of fans have come to expect from him.
Let It Go, co-produced by McGraw with Byron Gallimore and Darran Smith, longtime lead guitarist and bandleader for McGraw's band, the Dancehall Doctors, showcases both his believability and the talent and charisma that have parlayed him into superstar status. Its themes are life and love, pain and joy, and the universal human striving for betterment, for rising above our surroundings and ourselves. The width of its 13 track spectrum can be gauged from two songs about freedom, "Last Dollar," the album‚'s debut single, with its light touch on the subject, and the title cut, a soul-searing look at the process of carrying on in the wake of the baggage the past can hang on us. It deals with the pain of regret in "Whiskey And You" and "Kristofferson," "I'm Workin'" and "Comin' Home," suspicion in the song of the same name, and even revenge, in "The River And Me." Faith Hill joins Tim on two of the album's tracks, "I Need You," a bit of passion and power in the tradition of their widely acclaimed duets, and "Shotgun Rider," which channels "Desperado," offering some of the hope and solace that the Eagles classic only hinted at. Tim also offers fans a rare glimpse at his songwriting skills, with the album's tenth track, "Train 10," a bit of classic country indecision in the face of a bad relationship.
Throughout, Tim reaffirms his position and triumphs as one of country music's premiere talents, a man with the ability both to select and to fully inhabit meaningful and compelling songs.
Those triumphs are by now as well-known as they are impressive:
His last album, Reflected: Greatest Hits V. 2, debuted at 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, his ninth consecutive album to do so;
He has now charted 26 1 singles and sold 34 million records;
His awards to date include 3 Grammy‚'s, 11 Academy of Country Music awards, 10 Country Music Association awards, 9 American Music awards and 3 People's Choice awards;
In 2006, McGraw and wife Faith Hill made history with the highest-grossing tour in country music - and one of the top five in all genres of music- with ‚"Soul2Soul II‚";
Following his acting debut in 2004's critically acclaimed Friday Night Lights, he appeared in the lead role in the 2006 film Flicka, which has grossed $21 million at the box office, garnered a Broadcast Film Critics nomination for Best Song for ‚"My Little Girl,‚" which was co-written by¬†McGraw. In 2007, McGraw will appear in the upcoming Spring 2006 Jamie Foxx movie The Kingdom.
The past year has provided more than ample evidence of McGraw's varied and impressive creative output. It saw the release of the Flicka soundtrack on StyleSonic Records, McGraw's new venture with long-time producer Byron Gallimore, something McGraw calls "a dream Byron and I have had for a long time," and the airing of his third NBC special, "Tim McGraw: Reflected."
McGraw‚'s musical genius is a testament to the instincts and tenacity of the man who claims the town of Start, Louisiana, as his home. He grew up loving music and sports, his father was baseball great Tug McGraw, but it was music that carried the day. McGraw played solo in regional nightspots, then headed to Nashville, where he joined the throng of young hopefuls vying for attention. His on-stage charisma helped land him a record deal, and his debut album hit the stores in April 1993. He and his band--some of whom are still with him--took to the road to hone the sound that continues to make his concerts among the industry's most exciting. Still, his assault on the national psyche was slow in starting, and when it came time for his second album, he took the reins himself. Not A Moment Too Soon won awards from Billboard and the Academy of Country Music, and helped earn him an armful of Best New Artist awards. He soon became used to songs and albums that were events; that took on bigger-than-life proportions, with multiple-week 1 singles and multi-platinum albums becoming the standard. A year after he and Faith Hill turned his ‚"Spontaneous Combustion Tour‚" into romance and then marriage, their duet "It's Your Love" was named Single of the Year by the ACM, Billboard, Radio & Records and received Video of the Year honors from CMT, which also named Tim "Male Artist of the Year.‚" Tim had similar sweeps with 1998's "Just To See You Smile" from the Everywhere album, with "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me," another duet with Faith, and with "Live Like You Were Dying" more recently. "It's Your Love" was voted CMT's top video of all time and was the most-played single since Billboard began monitoring airplay. Tellingly, Tim has had at least one 1 single every year since1994.
He remains an artist unafraid of breaking new ground, whether it is collaborating with Nelly on "Over And Over," which rode atop the pop charts for an incredible 13 weeks, or taking Ryan Adams' "When The Stars Go Blue" to the upper regions of the country charts or his ‚"Cold, Cold Heart‚" duet with Tony Bennett. In additional new territory, McGraw also turned his attention to business, both in his new record company (StyleSonic Records) and in his association with the Nashville KATS of the Arena Football League.
Day to day, though, his is a world where home and family dominate. He plans his tours around family life and his daughters school schedules, and home remains the bottom line for him, a way to anchor the heady triumphs and demands of a life in the spotlight. It is an approach fully appreciated by fans and peers alike, one that has earned him respect and affection as well as accolades, and one that keeps him in the front ranks of American entertainers.
