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Biography All Music GuideWikipedia
All Music Guide:
When plans for a professional golfing career were derailed by an injury, country songwriter Jake Owen picked up a guitar and never looked back. A native of Vero Beach, Florida, Jake and his fraternal twin, Jarrod, grew up in the Florida sun playing sports like baseball and football before Jake turned to golf and Jarrod to tennis. They continued their respective sports together as students at Florida State University, until a water skiing accident resulted in reconstructive surgery for Jake. Off the golf team and struggling with depression, he borrowed a neighbor's guitar and passed time teaching himself to play by listening to childhood favorites like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Vern Gosdin, and Keith Whitley.
Ambitious but inexperienced, with good looks and a smooth baritone, Jake could next be found playing country covers in campus bars for free beer and a few bucks. Soon growing tired of covers, he began penning his own songs, which were met with a positive response. This motivated Jake even more to follow his new dream of becoming a singer, eventually causing him to skip out on his remaining college classes -- only nine credit hours remained on his English and political science degree -- and head to Nashville. He constantly wrote songs in his Bellevue apartment, and a chance lunch meeting had producer Jimmy Ritchey (Clay Walker, Mark Chesnutt) befriending the young musician. For over a year, the two wrote songs together, including a track called "Ghost" (also co-written by Chuck Jones) that Kenny Chesney almost wound up recording -- the track would later be included on Jake's own album.
Eventually, his friendship with Ritchey led to a meeting with Sony/BMG Nashville and resulted in a record contract for the determined 24-year-old, who already had his album basically finished. His debut, Startin' with Me, appeared in summer 2006 on RCA, spearheaded by the single "Yee Haw." As the song climbed higher in the charts, Jake supported the record on the road opening for Kenny Chesney. In 2007, the title track ballad became the album's second single, reaching number six and spending a whopping 35-plus weeks on the Billboard country charts. "Don't Think I Can't Love You" appeared in the summer of 2008, heralding the release of his second full-length, Easy Does It, in February of 2009. Easy Does It spawned a number two hit in "Don't Think I Can't Love You," and "Eight Second Ride" peaked at number 11 in early 2010. He delivered his third album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night, in the summer of 2011. Barefoot Blue Jean Night was his biggest hit to date, launching number one country singles in its title track and "Alone with You." As the summer of 2012 wound to its end, he released the Endless Summer EP; the collection of four new songs came out that September.
Wikipedia:
Joshua Ryan "Jake" Owen (born August 28, 1981) is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records Nashville in 2006, he released his debut album Startin' with Me that year. The album produced three singles, all of which reached Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart: "Yee Haw", "Startin' with Me", and "Something About a Woman". A second album, 2009's Easy Does It, has accounted for three more singles: "Don't Think I Can't Love You", "Eight Second Ride", and "Tell Me". In September 2011, Owen achieved his first number one on the country charts with the title track to his third album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night. He has also toured as an opening act for several country acts, including Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Sugarland, and Keith Urban.
Biography [edit]
Joshua "Jake" Owen and his fraternal twin brother Jarrod were born in Vero Beach, Florida on August 28, 1981. The brothers regularly participated in a variety of sports. Jake eventually took up golf, and began pursuing a career as a professional golfer, winning his first tournament at fifteen. After graduating from Vero Beach High School, they attended Florida State University. A wakeboarding accident which resulted in reconstructive surgery left Jake unable to continue playing the sport.
While recovering from his injuries, he borrowed a neighbor's guitar and began to teach himself how to play it. After seeing a guitarist perform at a campus bar, he asked the bar's owner if he could play a gig there. Eventually, he became a regular at the bar, and soon took up writing his own material as well. He then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, making his first stop at a bank to open a savings account; after telling the bank teller that he was a singer and songwriter, the teller then asked if he had any recordings available. He gave her a CD of his work, which she sent to the Warner/Chappell Music publishing company.
Musical career [edit]
Although Warner/Chappell did not sign him to a contract, Jake Owen eventually met the record producer and songwriter Jimmy Ritchey. They, along with songwriter Chuck Jones, wrote a song entitled "Ghosts", which they had intended for Kenny Chesney. Chesney, ultimately, did not record "Ghosts", although it drew the attention of Sony BMG Nashville executives, who signed Jake to their RCA Records label in 2005. Per their suggestion, Owen changed his first name to Jake, so as to avoid confusion with Josh Turner and Josh Gracin.
Startin' with Me [edit]
In early 2006, Jake Owen released his debut single, entitled "Yee Haw". He describes the song (an up-tempo party anthem in which the narrator expresses his enjoyment with a cry of "yee haw") as being written "to make people have a good time." It peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and served as the lead-off single on his debut album, Startin' with Me.
Released on July 25, 2006, the album featured 11 tracks, all co-written by him and his producer. Among them were his own recording of "Ghosts" and a duet with Randy Owen (no relation) of Alabama entitled "You Can Thank Dixie". After the album's release, Jake Owen was signed as an opening act for acts such as Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
The album's title track, a ballad in which the narrator expresses his desire to change everything in his life, was released as his second single. Spending more than thirty-five weeks on the Billboard country chart, "Startin' with Me" became his first Top ten hit, reaching a peak of No. 6. Also in 2007, he went on tour with Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn. "Something About a Woman" was released in late 2007 as the third single. In September 2007, he and country quartet Little Big Town joined country duo Sugarland's tour. During this tour, the three acts began performing "Life in a Northern Town" (a cover of British pop group The Dream Academy's hit single from 1985). A music video of their live performance was aired on CMT. In April 2008, a recording of this performance entered the Billboard country chart based on unsolicited airplay.
Easy Does It [edit]
Jake Owen released his second studio album, Easy Does It, on February 24, 2009. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No. 13 on the Billboard 200. The lead-off single to the album, "Don't Think I Can't Love You" became his first Top 5 country hit, reaching No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart in April 2009. "Eight Second Ride", a song which was originally on Startin' with Me and newly recorded for Easy Does It, was the album's second single; it peaked at No. 11 in January 2010. "Tell Me" was the album's third single, reaching number 35.
Barefoot Blue Jean Night [edit]
He released his third studio album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night, on August 30, 2011. The lead-off single and title track to the album, "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" has become his first Number One single on the country chart. A second single, "Alone with You", was released in October 2011, and like its predecessor, it reached Number One on the country chart in March 2012. "The One That Got Away" was the album's third single. It reached Number One on the Country Airplay chart. "Anywhere with You" is the album's fourth single and was released to country radio on February 11, 2013.
In 2011, he joined Keith Urban on his 2011 Get Closer world tour.
Endless Summer [edit]
Jake Owen released an extended play titled Endless Summer on September 25, 2012. It includes "Summer Jam", a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line, which charted within the top 40 of Hot Country Songs despite not being released as a single.
Personal life [edit]
Owen married model Lacey Buchanan on May 7, 2012, in Vero Beach, Florida. The couple had become engaged on April 7, 2012, after Owen proposed to Buchanan on stage in front of a hometown crowd in Vero Beach, Florida at his annual charity event. After proposing, he jokingly asked "You're probably wondering where your ring is, right?" referring to the fact that he proposed without a ring, and his single Don't Think I Can't Love You which he had performed prior to proposing. The couple has a daughter named Olive Pearl. She was born on November 22, 2012, Thanksgiving day.
