Luke Bryan grew up in the very small town of Leesburg, Ga.
Back home, he helped his father with his peanut and fertilizer
businesses while playing sports and enjoying the great outdoors. Yet he
can remember his mother urging him to belt out
George Strait songs over
and over while she drove him into town to shop. By age 14, his parents
bought him an Alvarez guitar. By 15, his father would take him down to a
nearby club, Skinner's, where he shared guitar licks and lead vocals
with other local country singers.
At age 16, two local songwriters who'd enjoyed some success providing
tunes for Nashville artists invited him to join their twice-a-week
writing sessions at a local church. By that time, Bryan led his own
band, playing at Skinner's and various community events.
Encouraged by everyone who heard him play, Bryan planned to move to
Nashville after high school graduation. Supported by his family, he was
loading his car for the move when tragedy struck. His older brother
Chris, Bryan's biggest supporter and one of his best friends, was killed
in an auto accident the day Bryan was to leave town.
He continued to devote himself to music, finding escape and emotional
release in its songs. He poured his feelings into his songwriting, and
after enrolling in Georgia Southern University, Bryan and his band would
perform nearly every weekend on campus or at nearby clubs or parties. He
eventually recorded an album of 10 songs, nine of which he'd written.
Despite everyone's encouragement, he stubbornly refused to reconsider
moving to Tennessee. After graduation, he went to work for his father's
agriculture business. Bryan loved the work, but a year into it, his
father forced him to quit the job and move to Nashville. He arrived in
Music City on Sept. 1, 2001. Within two months, he'd signed a publishing
deal with a company owned by songwriter Roger Murrah. Bryan spent time
honing his material, building up a catalog of songs.
His debut album, I'll Stay Me, was released by Capitol
Nashville in 2007 and included "All My Friends Say" and "Country Man,"
which each reached the Top 10 on Billboard's country albums chart. He
followed it up with 2009's Doin' My Thing, which included the Top
10 single, "Do I." The project also featured "Rain Is a Good Thing,"
which became Bryan's first No. 1 single in 2010, and "Someone Else
Calling You Baby," which topped the chart in 2011.
Bryan was named the Academy of Country Music's top new artist and top
new solo vocalist for 2009. At the 2010 CMT Music Awards, he received
the USA Weekend breakthrough video of the year award for "Do I."
