Little Big Town

All Music Guide:

The country vocal quartet Little Big Town began with Kimberly Roads and Karen Fairchild, two Georgia natives who began singing together in college. Arkansas-born and Alabama-raised Jimi Westbrook, a friend of Fairchild's husband, joined them to make a trio, and the group was completed by the addition of Arkansan Phil Sweet in 1998. From the outset, Little Big Town devoted their sound to harmony and multiple lead vocals, a combination that made the band a hard sell at first. They finally landed a deal at Mercury Records, but it fell through due to disagreements about musical direction. In the wake of the success of the Dixie Chicks, however, Little Big Town suddenly seemed a more likely commercial proposition, and they were taken up by the Dixie Chicks' label, Monument Records, in 2000.

Recording sessions lasted longer than usual for a country release, but Monument finally issued the band's debut single, "Don't Waste My Time," in the winter of 2002. The song was on its way up the charts when its accompanying album, Little Big Town, arrived in May. Although the debut produced several minor hits, Little Big Town didn't become a superstar act until 2005, when The Road to Here yielded four Top 20 singles (including the ballad "Bring It On Home") and earned the group its first platinum record. A Place to Land followed in 2007 and netted three singles, none of which made it into the Top 30, but the band's profile continued to grow due to incessant touring and supporting acts from Sugarland to Carrie Underwood. Fairchild also guested with John Mellencamp on his album Life Death Love and Freedom. In May of 2010 "Little White Church" appeared as a single that peaked at number 14 on the Billboard country chart; in August of that year, Little Big Town's fourth studio album, The Reason Why, was released by Capitol. The band returned in 2012 with the single "Pontoon," which wound up topping Billboard's country charts. Little Big Town's fifth full-length album, Tornado, followed in September 2012.

Wikipedia:

Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its inception: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet. The quartet's musical style relies heavily on four-part vocal harmonies, with all four members alternating as lead singers. Westbrook and Sweet also play rhythm guitar.

After a recording deal with the Mercury Nashville Records label which produced no singles or albums, Little Big Town released their self-titled debut on Monument Records in 2002. It produced two minor country chart singles before the group left the label. By 2005, the group had been signed to Equity Music Group, an independent record label owned by Clint Black. Their second album, The Road to Here, was released that year. Certified platinum in the US, it produced consecutive Top Ten singles on the country charts in "Boondocks" and "Bring It On Home". A Place to Land is the title of their third album, released in 2007. This album's first single, "I'm with the Band", was a Top 40 hit on the country charts. Shortly after its release, the group was transferred to Capitol Records Nashville, which acquired the rights to A Place to Land and released "Fine Line" and "Good Lord Willing" as its second and third singles, respectively. The latter song is new to the re-release. 2010's The Reason Why, their first release exclusively for Capitol, produced the Top 10 hit "Little White Church", while 2012's Tornado produced their first number 1 hit in "Pontoon".

Little Big Town have charted 14 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes a Christmas single which was made available only as a download, and a live cover of "Life in a Northern Town" (along with Sugarland and Jake Owen) which charted in 2008 based on unsolicited airplay.

Musical career [edit]

Early years [edit]

In the mid-90s, Karen sang with the Christian vocal group Truth and was featured as a lead singer in a few of their songs. She also formed a duo called KarenLeigh with Leigh Cappillino (from the group Point of Grace). KarenLeigh produced the singles, "Save it For a Rainy Day" and "This Love Has". In 1987, while attending Samford University in the state of Alabama, singers Kimberly Roads and Karen Fairchild met. Eventually, the two moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they reunited and began singing together. Jimi Westbrook, a friend of Fairchild's husband, joined Roads and Fairchild in 1998. The three singers began performing as a trio, eventually rehearsing with Gary LeVox and Joe Don Rooney, both of whom would eventually become members of the country pop group Rascal Flatts. By 1999, Phillip Sweet was added as the fourth member of the group, which by then had chosen the name Little Big Town.

2000-2002: Little Big Town [edit]

Little Big Town's first record deal was with Mercury Nashville Records. The quartet did not release any singles or albums on the label. In 2001, they sang backing vocals on Collin Raye's album Can't Back Down.

A second contract, this time with Monument Records Nashville, began in 2002. The band's first album, Little Big Town, was released that year. It produced the singles "Don't Waste My Time" and "Everything Changes", which respectively peaked at number 33 and number 42 on the US Billboard country charts. Westbrook's father died in 2002, just after the group's first album was released. Fairchild and Sweet both divorced their respective spouses shortly afterward, and the group exited Monument when the label's Nashville branch was dissolved. The four members all took up day jobs to earn additional money, although they continued to tour as well.

2005-2009: The Road to Here and A Place to Land [edit]

In 2005, Little Big Town was signed to Equity Music Group, a label started and partially owned by country music singer Clint Black. Their third single, "Boondocks", was released in May, peaking at number nine in January 2006. "Boondocks" served as the first of four singles from the group's second album, The Road to Here, which was released on October 4, 2005. "Bring It On Home," the second single from the album, became Little Big Town's first Top 5 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. It was followed by "Good as Gone" and "A Little More You", both of which were Top 20 hits. By the end of 2006, The Road to Here had been certified Platinum in the United States. Unlike their first album, the group's members co-wrote the majority of the songs on The Road to Here along with producer Wayne Kirkpatrick.

Little Big Town released A Place to Land, their third studio album and second with Equity, on November 6, 2007. Its lead-off single, "I'm with the Band," peaked at number 32 on the country charts. On April 23, 2008, Little Big Town announced it was leaving Equity for Capitol Nashville. Shortly afterward, they charted along with Sugarland and Jake Owen on a live cover of The Dream Academy's "Life in a Northern Town". This live recording, taken from Sugarland's 2007 tour, reached number 28 on the country charts based on unsolicited airplay. In October 2008, Capitol re-released A Place to Land, which added four new songs, and the label promoted two further singles from the album in "Fine Line" and "Good Lord Willing."

In the fall of 2008, Little Big Town opened up for Carrie Underwood on her Carnival Ride Tour to support the album, before starting their first headlining tour in 2009. Their tour began in January in Jacksonville, Florida and continued through April.

Fairchild recorded a duet with John Mellencamp on his 2008 album, Life, Death, Love and Freedom. The song, "A Ride Back Home," was released as the album's third single and is accompanied by a music video. Fairchild also duets with Mellencamp on "My Sweet Love" and appears in its music video, from the same album.

Little Big Town was nominated for Vocal Group Of The Year for the fourth year in a row on the 2009 CMA Awards.

2010-present: The Reason Why Commercial Success and Tornado [edit]

In March 2010, the group released a new single titled "Little White Church", as the lead-off single to their fourth studio album and first completely new album on Capitol Nashville, The Reason Why, which was released on August 24, 2010. "Little White Church" peaked at number 6 on the country charts. The album produced two additional singles in "Kiss Goodbye" and the title track, but both failed to reach the Top 40 and peaked at number 42 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

The album's title track was released as a digital single on July 27, 2010, to begin an iTunes countdown to the album release on August 24, 2010. Three further digital singles — "Kiss Goodbye", "Why, Oh Why", and "All the Way Down" — were released weekly leading up until the album release. Also, in promotion of The Reason Why, Little Big Town went on tour as an opening act for Sugarland on The Incredible Machine Tour, as well their own The Reason Why Tour.

Little Big Town's fifth studio album, Tornado, was released on September 11, 2012. It was produced by Jay Joyce, who is known for producing Eric Church. "Pontoon" was released as the album's lead single on April 30, 2012, and became their first Number One hit on the Hot Country Songs chart in September 2012. It also was Little Big Town's highest showing on the Hot 100, and their first single to receive a Platinum certification. The title track was released as the album's second single on October 1, 2012. The song debuted at number 47 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart one week before impact and reached number 2 on the Country Airplay chart in 2013. At the 55th Grammy Awards, "Pontoon" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2012.

The band joined Rascal Flatts on their Changed Tour, along with Eli Young Band and Edens Edge, for dates spanning summer 2012. They played at the C2C: Country to Country festival in London on March 16, 2013.

The album's third single, "Your Side of the Bed", was sent to country radio on April 8, 2013.

Tours [edit]

Personal lives [edit]

Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook married on May 31, 2006, although their marriage was not disclosed until two months later. The couple welcomed their first child, a son (Elijah Dylan Westbrook), on March 5, 2010, in Nashville.

Kimberly Roads was married to Stephen Schlapman on November 28, 2006, and gave birth to a daughter (Daisy Pearl Schlapman) on July 27, 2007. She now goes by her husband's last name, Schlapman. Kimberly was previously married to Steven Roads, who died from a heart attack in 2005. He was also the band's lawyer.

Phillip Sweet married Rebecca Arthur, a business owner and wardrobe stylist, on March 30, 2007. Arthur gave birth to a daughter (Penelopi Jane Sweet) at 5:47 p.m. CT on December 27, 2007, at the Baptist Hospital in Nashville.

Musical stylings [edit]

Little Big Town's musical stylings are defined by four-part vocal harmonies. Unlike most vocal groups, Little Big Town does not feature a set lead singer. Instead, their songs are either led by any one of the four members, or by all four in varying combinations (such as on "Boondocks" and "Life in a Northern Town").