Josh Turner

Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter.

In 1996, Turner developed a lesion on his right vocal cord.

Turner was examined by the Vanderbilt voice clinic, where doctors advised him to let it heal on its own.

Surgery was not needed, but he did have to rest his voice for a year.

While Turner rested his voice back at home, he learned classical vocal technique and how to take care of his voice and avoid developing further problems.

Turner states that he "learned how to whistle really well during that year".

After Hannah-Pamplico High School, he spent some time at Francis Marion University before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, to enroll in Belmont University and pursue a career in music.

After college, his fledgling career got a boost on December 21, 2001, during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, when he performed a song he wrote titled "Long Black Train", which was inspired by Hank Williams.

He received a standing ovation in the middle of the song, then sang it again for an encore.

On December 21, 2001, Turner debuted on the Grand Ole Opry with the song "Long Black Train".

In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records.

That same year, his debut album's title track, "Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single release.

In 2003, Turner released his debut album, also entitled Long Black Train.

Prior to its release, Turner had released 7" vinyl singles of "She'll Go on You" and "Long Black Train". Both singles featured Long Black Train album track "Backwoods Boy" as a B-side. While neither "Backwoods Boy" nor "She'll Go on You" were successful (the latter peaking at No. 46 on the country charts), "Long Black Train" spent more than forty weeks on the Billboard country charts, reaching a peak of No. 13 and receiving a gold certification. The third single, "What It Ain't", was less successful, reaching No. 31.

The album's first single and title track, "Your Man", was written by Jace Everett, Chris DuBois and Chris Stapleton and released in late 2005.

His second album, Your Man (2006) accounted for his first two No. 1 hits, "Your Man" and "Would You Go with Me", while 2007's Everything Is Fine included a No. 2 hit, "Firecracker".

In early 2006, Turner released his second album, Your Man.

"Your Man" also climbed the charts slowly, eventually reaching No. 1 in early 2006.

Your Man was certified Gold by the RIAA four weeks after its release, and went Platinum six months later.

"Would You Go with Me" was the second single released from Your Man.

Like the album's title track, "Would You Go with Me" also reached the top of the country singles charts, holding that position for two weeks; it also reached No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Turner also performed it on the CMA Awards in November 2006.

Shortly after the album's release, a song called "Me and God" was released as a single to Christian radio.

A duet with bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley, the song also featured members of the band Diamond Rio on background vocals.

"Me and God" reached a peak of No. 16 on the country charts.

In December 2006, the 49th Annual Grammy Award nominations were announced.

Turner received nods for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and for Best Country Album.

That same month, a featurette on CMT Insider showed Turner in the studio working on the album.

Turner, along with veteran songwriters Brett James and Don Schlitz, wrote a song entitled "Say Yes"; recorded and released by singer Dusty Drake in 2007, the song was a minor Top 40 country hit for Drake, peaking at No. 36.

On September 29, 2007, while giving an award to Roy Clark on Clark's 20th anniversary on the Grand Ole Opry, Turner was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

He was inducted by Vince Gill on October 27, 2007.

At the time, he and Carrie Underwood were the youngest members of the Opry.

Turner's third studio album for MCA Nashville, titled Everything Is Fine, was released on October 30, 2007.

Haywire, released in 2010, produced his biggest hit, the four-week No. 1 hit "Why Don't We Just Dance" and another No. 1 song, "All Over Me".

It was followed by Punching Bag (2012), whose lead-off single, "Time Is Love", was the biggest country hit of 2012 according to Billboard Year-End.

Turner was born in Hannah, South Carolina.

Growing up in the church, he founded a gospel quartet called Thankful Hearts, where he sang bass, in addition to singing the bass part in choirs.

He mentioned that he wanted it to sound like music in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Turner performed at the Ryman Auditorium where a live album was recorded, singing a song called, "Church in the Holler".

Turner's album Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman was recorded in April and is available exclusively through Cracker Barrel restaurants.