Tracy Byrd

Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist.

Tracy Lynn Byrd was born December 17, 1966.

He is the eldest child of Jerry Lynn and Brenda Vaughn Byrd.

Although it and follow-up "Someone to Give My Love To" (previously a single in 1971 for Johnny PayCheck ) both missed Top 40, he broke through in 1993 with the Number One hit "Holdin' Heaven".

After it came another Johnny PayCheck cover, this time of his 1971 single "She's All I Got."

Tracy Byrd graduated from Vidor High School in May 1985.

His first college experience was at Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas.

He began studying business at Texas State University (then called Southwest Texas State).

While studying he sang with a local band in Beaumont called Rimfire led by Jeffrey Adams and Dave Adams, a band that also featured acts such as Mark Chesnutt.

One of his friends coaxed him into singing a cover of Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" at a local mall recording studio.

The owner of the studio was so impressed with his version that he entered Byrd into a local talent contest.

Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven", which reached Number One on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks.

Byrd signed with MCA Records in 1992.

Byrd released his first single, "That's the Thing About a Memory", in 1992.

This song was the third release from his self-titled debut album, released by MCA on April 27, 1993.

Although the album earned RIAA gold certification, its final single ("Why Don't That Telephone Ring") peaked at No. 39.

Keith Stegall and Tony Brown shared production duties on the album.

No Ordinary Man was the title of Byrd's second album, which was produced by Jerry Crutchfield.

It was also his highest selling, earning a double-platinum certification for U.S. sales of two million copies.

All four singles from the album reached Top Five: "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous", "Watermelon Crawl" (also his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, at No. 81), "The First Step" and "The Keeper of the Stars".

This last song, a love ballad, became a popular choice for fans to use at their weddings.

Re-titled "Don't Take Her She's All I Got", Byrd's cover peaked at No. 4. The album's other singles ("Don't Love Make a Diamond Shine" and "Good Ol' Fashioned Love") reached No. 17 and No. 47 respectively, with the latter being his first single since 1993 to miss Top 40.

Big Love also became his third gold-selling album.

It also won Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music in 1995.

MCA had not originally planned to issue this song as a single, until Byrd commented that it had been receiving favorable reactions when he sang it in concert.

His third album, 1995's Love Lessons, showed a decline in both chart performance and physical sales, despite still earning a gold certification.

It was led off by the No. 15 "Walkin' to Jerusalem", followed by two ballads: the No. 9-peaking title track and No. 14 "Heaven in My Woman's Eyes", and finally the No. 21-peaking "4 to 1 in Atlanta".

This album also reunited him with Tony Brown, who would also produce all of his subsequent material for MCA.

Big Love, released in 1996, was the title of Byrd's fourth album and its first single.

"Big Love" returned him to the Top Five with a No. 3 peak.

Byrd released his final studio album for MCA, I'm from the Country, in late 1997.

Its title track, co-written by Richard Young of The Kentucky Headhunters and former MCA Records artist Marty Brown, became the first single.

This song was added to the album, which was originally to be titled Walkin' the Line, after the rest of the album had already been completed.

He was the on-air spokesman for the TNN Outdoors block from 1998 to 2000.

It also became his ninth Top 10 hit by reaching No. 3 in early 1998 and his first No. 1 on the RPM Country Tracks charts in Canada.

Only one other single, the No. 9 hit "I Wanna Feel That Way Again", was released from the album.

In 1999, Byrd then released a greatest-hits package entitled Keepers: Greatest Hits, which is certified gold.

This album was led off by the No. 31 single "When Mama Ain't Happy" before he left the label.

Although he did not land a second Number One until 2002's "Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo", Byrd has charted more than thirty hit singles in his career, including eleven additional Top Ten hits.

He has also released ten studio albums and two greatest-hits albums, with four gold certifications and one double-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.