Travis Tritt

James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country singer.

James Travis Tritt was born on February 9, 1963, in Marietta, Georgia, to James and Gwen Tritt.

He first took interest in singing after his church's Sunday school choir performed "Everything Is Beautiful".

He received his first guitar at age 8 and taught himself how to play it; in the fourth grade, he performed "Annie's Song" and "King of the Road" for his class, and later got invited to play for other classrooms in his school.

At age 14, his parents bought him another guitar, and he learned more songs from his uncle, Sam Lockhart.

Later on, Tritt joined his church band, which occasionally performed at other churches nearby.

Tritt began writing music while he was attending Sprayberry High School; his first song composition, entitled "Spend a Little Time", was written about a girlfriend whom he had broken up with.

He performed the song for his friends, one of whom complimented him on his songwriting skills.

He also founded a bluegrass group with some of his friends and won second place in a local tournament for playing "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys".

During his teenage years, Tritt worked at a furniture store, and later as a supermarket clerk.

He lived with his mother after she and his father divorced; they remarried when he was 18.

He worked at an air conditioning company while playing in clubs, but gave up the air conditioning job at the suggestion of one of his bandmates.

Tritt's father thought that he would not find success as a musician, while his mother thought that he should perform Christian music instead of country.

Through the assistance of Warner Bros. Records executive Danny Davenport, Tritt began recording demos.

The two worked together for the next several years, eventually putting together a demo album called Proud of the Country.

Davenport sent the demo to Warner Bros. representatives in Los Angeles, who in turn sent the demo to their Nashville division, which signed Tritt in 1987.

Davenport also helped Tritt find a talent manager, Ken Kragen.

At first, Kragen was not interested in taking an "entry-level act", but decided to sign on as Tritt's manager after Kragen's wife convinced him.

Tritt's contract with Warner Bros.

meant that he was signed to record six songs, and three of them would be released as singles.

According to the contract, he would not be signed on for a full album unless one of the three singles became a hit.

His first single was "Country Club".

He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999.

Recorded in late 1988 and released on August 7, 1989, the song spent 26 weeks on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, peaking at number nine.

It was the title track to his 1990 debut album Country Club, produced by Gregg Brown.

The month of its release, Tritt burst a blood vessel on his vocal cords, and had to take vocal rest for a month.

Second single "Help Me Hold On" became his first number one single in 1990.

The album's third and fifth singles, "I'm Gonna Be Somebody" and "Drift Off to Dream", respectively peaked at numbers two and three on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, and number one on the Canadian RPM country charts; "I'm Gonna Be Somebody" also went to number one on the U.S. country singles charts published by Radio & Records.

"Put Some Drive in Your Country", which was released fourth, peaked at 28 on Hot Country Songs.

In 1990, he won the Top New Male Artist award from Billboard.

The Country Music Association (CMA) also nominated him for the Horizon Award (now known as the New Artist Award), which is given to new artists who show have shown the most significant artistic and commercial development from a first or second album.

Brian Mansfield of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, saying that "Put Some Drive in Your Country" paid homage to Tritt's influences, but that the other singles were more radio-friendly.

Giving the album a B-minus, Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly compared Tritt's music to that of Hank Williams, Jr. and Joe Stampley.

Seven of his albums (counting the Greatest Hits) are certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the highest-certified is 1991's It's All About to Change, which is certified triple-platinum.

Tritt has also charted more than 40 times on the Hot Country Songs charts, including five number ones—"Help Me Hold On", "Anymore", "Can I Trust You with My Heart", "Foolish Pride", and "Best of Intentions"—and 15 additional top ten singles.

Tritt's musical style is defined by mainstream country and Southern rock influences.

Country Club was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 1991 for shipments of one million copies, and no medals since in 1996.

He has received two Grammy Awards, both for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals: in 1992 for "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'", a duet with Marty Stuart, and again in 1998 for "Same Old Train", a collaboration with Stuart and nine other artists.

He has received four awards from the Country Music Association and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1992.

In the 2000s, he released three studio albums on Columbia Records and one for the now-defunct Category 5 Records.