TIM McGRAW

Born: Delhi, Louisiana, 1 May 1967

Genre: Country

Best-selling album since 1990: Not a Moment Too Soon (1994)

Hit songs since 1990: "Indian Outlaw," "It's Your Love," "Don't Take the Girl"

Tim McGraw began his career with all the earmarks of a one-hit wonder. But, by the end of the 1990s, the Louisiana-bred singer had succeeded Garth Brooks as country music's most successful male solo artist. The son of the major league baseball pitcher Tug McGraw, Tim grew up in Start, Louisiana, his attention divided between music and athletics. He attended Northeast Louisiana University on an athletic scholarship, and it was there that he taught himself to play the guitar. His stints at local bars and clubs fired his musical ambitions, and McGraw moved to Nashville in 1989 to pursue a career in music; within three years he signed with Curb Records and released his self-titled debut album, which spawned three minor country radio hits.

McGraw achieved major commercial success in 1994 with the release of Not a Moment Too Soon and its controversial single, "Indian Outlaw." A hard-charging dance number backed by a martial drumbeat, "Indian Outlaw" enraged Native American groups for what they considered to be stereotypical lyrics: "You can find me in my wigwam / I'll be beatin' on my tom-tom." Fueled by the controversy, fans purchased the single in droves. Though critics dismissed McGraw as a novelty act, "Indian Outlaw" reached number eight on the country charts as well as number fifteen on the pop charts.

With the follow-up single, "Don't Take the Girl," McGraw moved away from the hokey, redneck style of "Indian Outlaw" and positioned himself as a more serious, dramatic performer. A stirring tale of the love shared by a man and a woman from childhood, "Don't Take the Girl" showcases McGraw's robust voice and sincere, unsentimental delivery in narrating a tragedy that befalls the young: "I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me / Make this my last request." On the strength of its two hit singles, Not a Moment Too Soon became the year's best-selling country album.

While touring in support of his follow-up album All I Want (1995), which spawned three number one country singles, McGraw became romantically involved with his tour mate and fellow country singer Faith Hill. The pair married on October 6, 1996, in Rayville, Louisiana. McGraw wasted no time in making use of his wife's vocal talents: The pair recorded the duet "It's Your Love" for McGraw's 1997 album Everywhere. Set to plaintive violins and weepy steel guitars, the stirring "It's Your Love" celebrates the newlyweds' bliss. "It's Your Love" became Billboard 's most-played country single, and, on the strength of it and four other hit singles, Everywhere climbed to number two on Billboard 's pop charts.

By the time he had released A Place in the Sun (1999), which features the Top 10 pop hit "Please Remember Me," McGraw had effectively supplanted Garth Brooks as country's leading male artist. In part McGraw's celebrity transcended his music. His rugged good looks and "bad boy" image earned him the designation of Sexiest Country Star by People magazine in 2000. Moreover, McGraw's marriage to Hill further raised his profile; the pair became one of popular culture's power couples in the late 1990s, performing and appearing together at numerous award shows and benefits.

While McGraw had evolved into a cosmopolitan celebrity, artistically he remained true to his country roots; though his music appealed to pop audiences, McGraw did not attempt to curry favor with them in the way that his wife or Shania Twain did. McGraw's music, like that of Garth Brooks, forsook raw, acoustic country instrumentation in favor of a crisp, radio-ready production that would not seem out of place on rock or pop radio. Like Brooks, however, McGraw refused to hide his vocal twang or avoid traditional country-styled lyrics, as evidenced by his songs "Don't Mention Memphis," "Give It to Me Strait," and "It Doesn't Get Any Countrier Than This." McGraw was a crossover success in the late 1990s, but there was no doubt of his true nature; while critics endlessly debated whether Twain and Hill were country or pop artists, McGraw was clearly a country artist.

McGraw released his eighth album, Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors, in 2002. For the recording, he forsook the standard Nashville reliance on session musicians, instead calling on his touring band to capture the energy of his live performances. In a nod to his ever-broadening fan base, the album featured a cover of Elton John's pop classic "Tiny Dancer." Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors debuted at number two on both the country and pop album charts and sold more than 2 million copies in its first three months of release.

With 25 million records sold and nineteen number one hits to his credit, McGraw has established himself not only as one of the most successful artists in the history of country music but also as a household name.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Tim McGraw (Curb, 1993); Not a Moment Too Soon (Curb, 1994); All I Want (Curb, 1995); Everywhere (Curb, 1997); A Place in the Sun (Curb, 1999); Set This Circus Down (Curb, 2001); Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors (Curb, 2002).

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