Doug Stone

Musical career

1990–1991: Doug Stone Stone's self-titled debut album was released in 1990 with Johnson as producer. Mac McAnally, Mark O'Connor, Paul Franklin, Brent Rowan, and Willie Weeks were among the session musicians on it. Contributing songwriters included David Lee Murphy, Larry Boone, Randy Boudreaux, A.L. "Doodle" Owens, Johnny MacRae, and Keith Palmer, who would later chart two singles for Epic in 1991. Its first single, "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", spent twenty-five weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and peaked at No. 4. and the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. shipments of one million copies.

1991-1992: I Thought It Was You, From the Heart, and The First Christmas I Thought It Was You, his second album, was released in August 1991. Also certified platinum, it produced three more chart singles: the No. 4 title track, followed by the number 1 "A Jukebox with a Country Song" and "Come In Out of the Pain" at No. 3. Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an "A", saying that it contained "sex-and-smolder ballads" comparable to Conway Twitty. Mansfield was less favorable, saying that Stone "seems to wallow in sorrow".

In early 1992, Stone began experiencing dizziness and pain in one of his arms. He also began feeling chest pains which he initially thought were heartburn. Mansfield thought that From the Heart was more consistent than Stone's previous two albums, saying that his "voice is at its pain-wracked best" on "Warning Labels" and that "The heart references take on a special meaning given the open-heart surgery that preceded this album". Nash criticized the album as "sappy, lightweight tales of infatuation and starry-eyed courtship". One month after From the Heart, Stone released a Christmas album titled The First Christmas. Although this album produced no singles, "Sailing Home for Christmas" was made into a music video. Stone was nominated in both 1992 and 1993 for Star of Tomorrow by Music City News, and Top Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music, winning the former award in 1993.

1993-1995: More Love and Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 His fourth album, More Love, was released in November 1993. Unlike his previous albums, Stone co-produced with James Stroud, except on the track "Dream High", which Stroud produced with Tom Bahler and Bruce Swedien. It also included different session musicians than his previous albums, such as guitarist Dann Huff and backing vocalist Curtis Wright. Its lead-off single was "I Never Knew Love", which spent two weeks at No. 2 on the country singles charts and accounted for his only entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 81.

Starting in June 1994, Stone discovered that he was having breathing problems which were affecting his singing. He consulted throat doctors at Vanderbilt University's medical center, who failed to find any problems in his throat, while a second consultation revealed a lump in his left nostril. Upon its discovery, Stone feared that it might be cancer, and that it would put an end to his career. As a result, Stone quit smoking, although the lump was later discovered not to be cancerous and was successfully removed. The movie's soundtrack featured four songs from More Love: "More Love", "That's a Lie", "Wishbone", and "Dream High",

1995-1999: Faith in Me, Faith in You and Make Up in Love Also in 1995, parent company Sony Music Entertainment chose to move Stone from the Nashville division of Epic Records to that of Columbia Records. This decision was made to give Stone a new promotional team. His only Columbia album, Faith in Me, Faith in You, was released in March of that year, with Stroud again serving as co-producer. This album's three singles were comparatively less successful than his previous singles, with none reaching Top 10: the title track peaked at No. 13, followed by "Sometimes I Forget" at No. 41 (his first single to miss the Top 40) and "Born in the Dark" at No. 12. reducing his ability to record and tour. One of his few performances in this timespan was at a show in Dollywood, a theme park owned by Dolly Parton, in mid-1996. Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a mixed review, saying that "Since Stone's voice is pleasant, the music is often pleasant, but it's hardly memorable." Andy Turner of Country Standard Time was more favorable, saying that it "does not come off 'too country for country' yet is still engaging largely because of Stone's voice — soft with built-in teardrops." Also in 1999, Stone and Skip Ewing co-wrote "In the Name of Love" on the only album released by female country duo Redmon & Vale.

2000-present: The Long Way, In a Different Light, and My Turn In December 1999, Stone was aboard an airplane which skidded off a snowy runway at O'Hare Airport in Chicago; there were no injuries. Stone began piloting ultra-light airplanes as a hobby in 1999 and 2000. In March 2000, he suffered a broken left ankle, cracked rib, concussion, and bruised kidney after crashing his plane in Robertson County, Tennessee, and was briefly hospitalized before he resumed touring. Stone later said that the accident made him decide to quit flying planes. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, rumors circulated that Stone had been on one of the hijacked planes; a spokeswoman for the singer confirmed that he was at home with his family that day.

Stone signed to Audium Entertainment in 2002 and recorded The Long Way. Stewart Mason thought that it was "not nearly as suffocatingly slick" as Stone's previous albums, but questioned its commercial success. His next album did not come out until 2005, when he signed to the independent label Lofton Creek Records, recording the album In a Different Light. The album included a cover of "Georgia on My Mind", which was the first single, and re-recordings of "In a Different Light" and "Why Didn't I Think of That". A second album for Lofton Creek, My Turn, followed in 2007. It was led off by the single "Nice Problem". Ken Tucker of Billboard wrote that "He sounds as good as ever and his music is still relevant".

In 2013, Stone toured with Bryan White and Shenandoah as part of the "Reliving the 90s Tour". He also returned to acting, with roles in the films When the Storm God Rides and The Story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Personal life Stone married his second wife, Carie Cohen, in 1982. The couple separated in July 1994, and Cohen filed for divorce two months later, accusing Stone of alcohol abuse and infidelity. He married Beth Snyder in December 1996 after being engaged to her for a year. As of 2005, he had one daughter with Beth, and four children from his previous marriages. Stone split from Snyder in late 2006 and returned to his Georgia home.

On March 29, 2015, Stone married fiddler Jade Jack in Greenville, Texas, and both have a daughter together, born April 14, 2016.

Musical styles Stone is known primarily for his neotraditionalist country sound, his tenor singing voice, and emphasis on ballads. In Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary, Richard Carlin describes him as "a solid country crooner whose style is reminiscent of Merle Haggard." Kurt Wolff of Country Music: The Rough Guide described Stone's musical style less favorably. He wrote that Stone seemed "schizophrenic. Half his reputation was established with self-deprecating downers like 'I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)', but then he'd just as easily turn around with a schmaltzy love song like 'Too Busy Being in Love'." He compared "I'd Be Better Off" and "Warning Labels" favorably to Haggard as well, and thought that the change of producers on More Love gave him a "much beefier sound". Writing for New Country magazine, Jim Ridley thought that outside "I'd Be Better Off", Stone "has floundered in search of a worthy follow-up...recording albums of syrupy dreck in an attempt to carve a niche as a balladeer." Ridley also thought that Faith in Me, Faith in You strengthened Stone's musical image by including more up-tempo tracks than its predecessors.

Discography

Albums Doug Stone (1990) I Thought It Was You (1991) From the Heart (1992) The First Christmas (1992) More Love (1993) Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1994) Faith in Me, Faith in You (1995) Make Up in Love (1999) The Long Way (2002) In a Different Light (2005) My Turn (2007)

Billboard number-one hits "In a Different Light" (1 week, 1991) "A Jukebox With a Country Song" (2 weeks, 1991-1992) "Too Busy Being in Love" (1 week, 1992-1993) "Why Didn't I Think of That" (1 week, 1993)

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1995 Gordy Luke MacAllister

Awards and nominations Grammy Awards 1991 "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)" Best Male Country Vocal Performance TNN/Music City News Country Awards 1991

1992 1993 Academy of Country Music Awards 1991

Top New Male Vocalist 1992

1993 Country Music Association Awards 1991 Doug Stone Horizon Award