Luke Bryan

All Music Guide:

Singer and songwriter Luke Bryan comes by his country influences naturally: he grew up in Leesburg, Georgia, a small town 100 miles from the Alabama border where his father grew peanuts and sold fertilizer for a living. Bryan helped his family work the farm when he was young, but in his early teens he developed a passion for country music, picking up his influences from his parents' record collection, listening to the likes of George Strait, Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap, Alan Jackson, and Merle Haggard. When he was 14, his folks bought him his first guitar, and a year later his playing and singing were strong enough that he started sitting in with local bands at a club featuring live country music. At 16, Bryan starting writing songs with the help of a pair of local tunesmiths who had enjoyed some success in Nashville, and he planned to head to Music City to try his luck after graduating from high school until his brother died in an auto accident. Wanting to offer emotional support to his family, Bryan opted to attend Georgia Southern University instead, though he didn't give up music; he continued writing songs, formed a band, and was playing gigs on campus or at nearby watering holes most weekends while pursuing his studies. He recorded a self-released album, which he sold at shows during this period, but was reluctant to take the plunge and devote himself to music full-time until he returned home to work in the family business after receiving his degree. Bryan's dad, confident of his son's talent, made him an offer: he could either move to Nashville or be fired. In the early fall of 2001, Bryan pulled up stakes and relocated to Nashville, where his heartfelt songs of country life earned him a contract with one of the city's many publishing houses. In his free time, Bryan continued to perform at local clubs, and after an A&R man from Capitol Records saw him perform a set of his original material, he was given a record deal. Capitol released Bryan's first widely distributed album, I'll Stay Me, in the summer of 2007, following it with Doin' My Thing in 2009. Doin' My Thing peaked at number two on the country charts -- and at number six on the Top 200 -- and spawned two number one singles in "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby," with "Do I" hitting number two. Bryan returned with his third album, Tailgates & Tanlines, in the summer of 2011, its release being preceded by the single "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)." That single was the first of four Top Five Country singles pulled from the album: "I Dont' Want This Night to End" and "Drunk on You" both hit number one, while "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" peaked at number three. This success kept Tailgates & Tanlines in the charts well into 2012, and Bryan supported the record with steady touring. Early in 2013, Bryan compiled the four spring break-themed EPs he had released since 2009 as the album Spring Break...Here to Party.

Wikipedia:

Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country singer. Bryan began his musical career in the mid-2000s, writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington. After signing with Capitol Records Nashville in 2007, he released the album I'll Stay Me, which included the singles "All My Friends Say", "We Rode in Trucks" and "Country Man". Follow-up album Doin' My Thing included "Do I", which Bryan co-wrote with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, and the number one singles "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby". Tailgates & Tanlines, released in 2011, includes "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", and the number one singles "I Don't Want This Night to End", "Drunk on You", and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye". Bryan co-wrote all of his singles with the exception of "Drunk on You" and co-produced all three albums and one compilation album with Jeff Stevens. Bryan was the recipient of the Academy of Country Music Awards' Entertainer of the Year award.

Biography [edit]

Luke Bryan was born and raised in Leesburg, Georgia. At age fourteen, his parents bought him his first guitar, and after learning to play it, he joined various local bands and began to play in local clubs. He had planned to move to Nashville for the music industry, but his older brother (Chris Bryan) died in a car accident the night before he moved. Luke decided to attend a college closer to home, Georgia Southern University, because he felt as though his family was more important than going to Music City. He is a Sigma Chi. He kept on with his music career, though, by playing with local bands. In 2001, his father convinced him to move to Nashville and pursue a musical career.

2007–2008: I'll Stay Me [edit]

Soon after his arrival in Nashville, Bryan joined a publishing house in the city. Among his first cuts was the title track of Travis Tritt's 2004 album My Honky Tonk History. He was later signed by Capitol Records to a recording contract. In the meantime, Bryan co-wrote Billy Currington's single "Good Directions", which went to number 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts in mid-2007. Bryan co-wrote his debut single, "All My Friends Say", with producer Jeff Stevens. This song reached a peak of number 5 on Hot Country Songs. In August 2007, Capitol released Bryan's debut album, I'll Stay Me. Bryan wrote or co-wrote all but one of its 11 songs. The album's second single, "We Rode in Trucks", peaked at number 33 while "Country Man" reached number 10.

Thom Jurek of Allmusic gave the album a positive review, considering Bryan's lyrics "in the mainline of honky tonk tradition" although he thought some of the sound was "calculated".

2009–2010: Doin' My Thing [edit]

On March 10, 2009, he released an EP titled Spring Break With All My Friends that featured two new songs, "Sorority Girls" and "Take My Drunk Ass Home," plus an acoustic version of "All My Friends Say." After this EP, he released his fourth single, "Do I". Bryan wrote the song with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, whose lead singer Hillary Scott also sings backing vocals on it. The song reached number two on the country songs chart.

"Do I" was included on Bryan's second album, Doin' My Thing, which was released in October 2009. Also included on the album was a cover of OneRepublic's "Apologize". Bryan wrote the album's next two singles, "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby", with Dallas Davidson and Jeff Stevens, respectively. Both of these songs went to number 1 on the country music charts. Allmusic gave this album a positive review as well, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine considering Bryan more "relaxed" in comparison to his debut.

On February 26, 2010, Bryan released a second EP, titled Spring Break 2...Hangover Edition, which featured three new songs—"Wild Weekend," "Cold Beer Drinker," and "I'm Hungover."

Bryan appeared on the April 18, 2010 episode of Celebrity Apprentice alongside fellow country star Emily West. The task for each team was to make-over an up-and-coming country star, with Bryan being selected by team Rocksolid, led by Bill Goldberg, and West being selected by team Tenacity, led by Cyndi Lauper. Bryan's make-over failed to impress the judges, leading to team Rocksolid losing the task. Bryan's new single, Rain Is a Good Thing, and West's single "Blue Sky", were both sold on iTunes with a months worth of sales being donated to Lauper's charity, the Stonewall Community Foundation, resulting in $25,000 being raised.

2011–present: Tailgates & Tanlines [edit]

Bryan released his third EP, Spring Break 3...It's a Shore Thing, on February 25, 2011, featuring four new songs—"In Love With the Girl," "If You Ain't Here to Party," "Shore Thing," and "Love In a College Town." This release was followed by Bryan's seventh single, "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", which was released on March 14, 2011. Also co-written by Bryan and Davidson, it served as the lead-off single to his third studio album, Tailgates & Tanlines, which was released August 9, 2011. The album peaked at number one on the Top Country Albums and number two on the Billboard 200. "Country Girl" peaked at number 4 on the country charts and number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's next three singles—"I Don't Want This Night to End," "Drunk On You," and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye"—all reached number one on the country charts. Bryan, along with Eric Church, sang guest vocals on Jason Aldean's "The Only Way I Know," the second single from his late-2012 album Night Train.

On March 6, 2012, Bryan released his fourth Spring Break EP entitled Spring Break 4 ... Suntan City. Along with the title track, which Bryan co-wrote with Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip, the EP includes "Spring Break-Up," "Little Bit Later On," and "Shake the Sand."

On October 12, 2012, Luke Bryan announced his first headlining tour, the "Dirt Road Diaries Tour," which started on January 17, 2013 in Evansville, Indiana and visited a total of twenty cities before ending on March 23 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Opening artists on the tour are Thompson Square and Florida Georgia Line.

On January 30, 2013, Bryan announced his first compilation album, Spring Break…Here to Party, which includes fourteen songs — twelve from his previous Spring Break EPs and two new tracks. It was released on March 5.

Bryan's fourth studio album is scheduled to be released mid-2013. The album's first single, "Crash My Party", was released on April 7, 2013 following its premiere in a performance by Bryan at the 2013 ACM awards.