Trace Adkins

Early life and education

Adkins was born in Sarepta, Louisiana, the son of Peggy Carraway and Aaron Doyle Adkins. His maternal uncle was the Christian musician James W. Carraway (1923–2008). His musical interest came at an early age when he was 10, and his father bought him a guitar and hired someone to give him lessons.

At Sarepta High School, since defunct, Adkins joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. Adkins never graduated. After leaving college, he worked on an oil rig. He also played music in a band called Bayou. In 1998, Adkins appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits (season 23). A change in management delayed the release of Adkins's third album, but the album (titled More...) was eventually released in late 1999. Although the album's title track reached top 10, More... failed to achieve gold status. Adkins's daughter, Mackenzie, was featured in the "More" video.

2001–2004 In 2001, Adkins was injured in a tractor accident and had to cancel touring temporarily. Shortly after the release of his Chrome album, he entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in Nashville. Chrome was his first album to reach the top five on the country albums charts; its title track reached top 10 in late 2002. He also made appearances as the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares, and did voice-overs in commercials for fast-food chain KFC. Only one single, "Then They Do", was released from this greatest hits compilation. This album, which succeeded the greatest hits collection, produced two singles: the top-five single "Hot Mama" and "Rough & Ready", which peaked at number 13.

Adkins and Travis Tritt played the roles of prison convicts in a February 2004 episode of the television series Yes, Dear (Greg and Jimmy's Criminals).

2005–2007 In March 2005, Adkins released his album entitled Songs About Me. It was followed by "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which became a crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

Adkins's seventh studio album, Dangerous Man, was released in 2006. "Swing", the album's lead-off single, peaked at number 20, while the follow-up "Ladies Love Country Boys" became Adkins's second number-one single on the country charts and his first since "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" in 1997. Adkins's daughter, Brianna, was featured in the "Ladies Love Country Boys" video. The album's final release, "I Wanna Feel Something", proved unsuccessful on the charts; as a result, Adkins announced that he would stop supporting the single.

In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled "I Got My Game On". Originally, the song was planned to be the lead-off to a new album, tentatively titled Game On, but Adkins decided not to release a full album, and instead released his second greatest hits compilation, American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II, for which "I Got My Game On" served as the lead-off single. The album has also produced Adkins's fastest-climbing single to date in its second single, "You're Gonna Miss This". "You're Gonna Miss This" has also become his third number-one hit on the Hot Country Songs, as well as the most successful single to date on the Billboard Hot 100 (12), Billboard Pop 100 (19), and Hot Digital Songs charts (8).

Adkins released his first book, entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck.

2008–2009

In 2008, Adkins released the single "Muddy Water," the lead single from X, which was released on November 25. The video for "Muddy Water" has an appearance by fellow Celebrity Apprentice competitor Stephen Baldwin as a man being baptized in a muddy river, and later approaching Adkins as a friend. It reached the top 30 on the country charts, peaking at number 22. "Marry for Money" and "All I Ask for Anymore" were released as the album's second and third singles, and both peaked at number 14 on the country charts.

In November 2008, Adkins made an appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He rode with his family on the Jimmy Dean/Tyson Foods float and performed his famous song "You're Gonna Miss This". In 2009, Adkins appeared in local Kansas City commercials to advertise season tickets and the 50th season of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs.

Adkins recorded a duet with country legend Ronnie Milsap called "My First Ride" to benefit firefighters and police officers in the U.S. and Canada. Then, after the song's release, the label said 'no' to radio stations playing it with no explanation given. Milsap led a protest at Capitol Records to "Free Trace" and allow the song to be played.

In November 2009, Adkins embarked on the Shine All Night Tour, a co-headline venture with fellow country artist Martina McBride. Also in 2009, he recorded a duet with Blake Shelton titled "Hillbilly Bone", which was released as the lead-off single from Shelton's upcoming sixth album. On October 18, 2009, Adkins made an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help Ty Pennington and his design team build a new home for the Marshall family.

2010–2014: Move to Show Dog-Universal Music In January 2010, Adkins parted ways with his long-time record label, Capitol Nashville, and subsequently signed with Show Dog-Universal Music.

Adkins's first single with the label, "This Ain't No Love Song", was released on May 17, 2010, and served as the lead-off single to his ninth studio album, Cowboy's Back In Town. It debuted at number 54 on the chart for the week of May 29, 2010. The album's second single, "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow", released to country radio on January 10, 2011.

Two men in a small Dodge pickup truck died after crashing into one of Adkins's tour buses on February 13, 2010. The truck was believed to have crossed the "no passing" line in the center of the road, which resulted in the crash. Several members of Adkins's band were aboard the bus, but were not seriously injured. Adkins himself was not on board at the time. On October 10, 2010, Adkins sang the national anthem at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

On December 18, 2010, Adkins performed at WWE's annual extravaganza WWE Tribute to the Troops to amazing reception by the soldiers in attendance. He appeared once again in an episode of SmackDown live from Nashville, Tennessee, on May 13, 2011, as the special member of the WWE audience.

In March 2011, Adkins released "Just Fishin", which featured his youngest daughter, Trinity, in the video, which was shot at their farm. The song reached number six on Billboard. On June 4, 2011, around 3:35 pm, Adkins's home in Brentwood, Tennessee, burned down. On October 20, 2011, Adkins sang the national anthem at game two of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis.

In April 2011, Adkins revealed that he had a crush on the Baylor Lady Bears' head coach, Kim Mulkey, while the two were in college at Louisiana Tech, then dedicated his performance of "One in a Million You" to her.

Mulkey's sister arranged a phone call in December 2011 between the singer and coach, during which Kim Mulkey invited him to sing at Baylor's home game against Connecticut; Adkins, unable to attend, arranged to perform the national anthem at the Lady Bears' February 2012 home game against the Texas A&M Aggies.

In March 2012, Adkins visited the Lady Bears while on tour in Kansas City to encourage them before their NCAA Championships semifinal match; the team attended one of his concerts later that week.

In February 2012, Adkins appeared as a guest vocalist on Meat Loaf's album Hell in a Handbasket.

Adkins performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the West Virginia Mountaineers' home football game against the Baylor Bears on September 29, 2012; his was just the third live performance of the national anthem in the 32-year history of Mountaineer Field.

Adkins released a new album, Love Will..., on May 14, 2013. The album's first single, "Watch the World End", was released to country radio on May 13, 2013. In September 2013, he was announced to be no longer on the Showdog roster according to the official website.

Adkins released his first Christmas album, The King's Gift, on October 29, 2013.

2015–present: Move to Wheelhouse Records On April 6, 2015, Adkins announced he had signed with Broken Bow Records, under the Wheelhouse imprint. In August 2015, Broken Bow announced that Adkins was one of the first artists signed to the label's new imprint, Wheelhouse Records. His first single for the label was "Jesus and Jones", which was released to country radio on January 18, 2016, and peaked at number 41 on the Country Airplay chart. "Lit" was released to country radio on July 25, 2016, though it failed to chart. Both singles are on the album Something's Going On, which was released on March 31, 2017, via Wheelhouse Records, and its title track became a video.

On July 4, 2016, Adkins made a surprise appearance at his hometown Independence Day celebration in Sarepta, Louisiana. He joined on stage the Backbeat Boogie Band with several unrehearsed songs.

In 2019, Adkins appeared on Hardy's new album, Hixtape Volume 1. On the album, he appears on the song "Redneck Tendencies" with Joe Diffie. also in 2019, Adkins later reunited with Blake Shelton in "Hell Right" in Shelton's compilation album Fully Loaded: God's Country.

Spokesperson In 2012, Adkins signed a deal with truck stop chain Pilot Flying J to become the company's new spokesman. Adkins also lent his signature voice to Firestone as part of the "Drive a Firestone" campaign to revitalize the brand in 2012. He is the spokesman for Wounded Warrior Project.

Television career Adkins was a January–March 2008 contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1987 Square Dance Bayou Band member as Tracy D. Adkins 2008 Trailer Park of Terror The Man 2008 An American Carol Angel of Death/Trace Adkins 2010 Tough Trade Scared Television movie 2010 Lifted Jimmy Knox 2011 The Lincoln Lawyer Eddie Vogel 2012 Wyatt Earp's Revenge Mifflin Kenedy 2013 A Country Christmas Sheriff Arrington 2013 Don't Let Me Go Driver 2014 The Virginian The Virginian Direct-to-video 2014 Moms' Night Out Bones 2014 Palominas Judge Guilt Roads 2016 Traded Ty Stover 2016 Deepwater Horizon Massive Man 2016 Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story Texas Jack 2017 Hickok Phil Poe 2018 I Can Only Imagine Scott Brickell 2019 The Outsider Marshal Walker 2019 Bennett's War Cal Bennett 2019 Badland "The General" Corbin Dandridge 2021 Apache Junction Captain Hensley 2021 Old Henry Uncle Al 2021 13 Minutes Rick 2022 Maneater Harlan 2022 Desperate Riders Thorn 2023 Among Wolves Michael 2025 Day of Reckoning Big Buck 2026 I Can Only Imagine 2 Scott Brickell

Television Year Show Role Notes 2003 King of the Hill Big John Episode: "Livin' on Reds, Vitamin C and Propane" (voice) 2003-2004 Hollywood Squares Himself 5 episodes Season 5 May 19–23, 2003, 5 episodes Season 6 Apr 5–9, 2004 2004 Yes, Dear Curtis Episode: "Greg and Jimmy's Criminals" 2004-2005 King of the Hill Elvin Mackleston 3 episodes (voice) 2005 Higglytown Heroes Cowboy Hero Episode: "Higgly Hoedown" (voice) 2005 Blue Collar TV Himself Episode: "Battle of the Sexes" 2005 My Name is Earl Himself Episode: "Pilot" 2007-2009 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Himself 2 episodes 2008 The Young and the Restless Himself Episode: "#1.8885" 2008 The Celebrity Apprentice Himself / Contestant Runner-up 2009 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Himself Episode: "1/21/2009 Trace Adkins, Perez Hilton" 2010 Ace of Cakes Himself Episode: "A Four Letter Word for Pastry" 2012 American Dad! Transvestite Episode: "The Unbrave One" (voice) 2013 All-Star Celebrity Apprentice Himself / Contestant Winner 2013 To Appomattox John Gregg 4 episodes 2015 The Night Shift Smalls Episode: "Moving On" 2015 Moonbeam City Sizzle Conrad Episode: "Glitzotrene: One Town's Seduction" 2018 The Voice Himself/Advisor Season 14 of Team Blake 2019–present Ultimate Cowboy Showdown Host 3 seasons broadcast; 4th one in production 2022 Monarch Albie Roman Main cast 2023 Barmageddon Himself Episode: "Mike Vrabel vs. Trace Adkins"

Personal life Adkins has two daughters, Tarah and Sarah, with his first wife, Barbara Lewis, and three daughters with his third wife, the former Rhonda Forlaw: Mackenzie, Brianna, and Trinity. Adkins endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 United States presidential election and performed at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. He performed the national anthem at Tennessee governor Bill Haslam's second inauguration as governor of Tennessee in 2015 and a year later during presidential candidate Donald Trump's nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

At age 17, Adkins was in an automobile accident in which his 1955 Chevrolet pickup truck hit a school bus head-on. He broke some ribs, punctured both lungs and his nose was partially torn off. Adkins was forced to give up college football after a severe knee injury at Louisiana Tech. He has also experienced a number of serious injuries as an adult, including being shot by his second ex-wife Julie Curtis. In February 1994, Trace was married to his second wife Julie Lauren Curtis and was involved in a serious domestic incident. The confrontation occurred after an argument about Adkins's excessive drinking. During the altercation, Julie Curtis pointed a .38-caliber revolver at him. Adkins attempted to disarm her, reportedly trying to scare her into giving up the gun, but she fired, and the bullet passed through his left lung, heart, and right lung, nearly killing him. Adkins was rushed to the hospital via helicopter and underwent emergency open-heart surgery. Doctors were able to save his life, though he required extensive medical treatment, including draining his lung and patching the hole in his heart. Despite the severity of the incident, Adkins did not press charges against Curtis, believing she was not intentionally trying to kill him. The shooting ultimately led to the end of their marriage, and they divorced later that year. Julie Lauren Curtis later stepped away from the public eye and lived a private life until her death in 2021 at the age of 59. In 1989, Adkins, along with nine coworkers, were stranded on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Chantal. In March 2014, Rhonda filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Rhonda and Trace then dismissed and expunged the divorce petition via T.C.A. Section 36-4-127 (Expunction of Divorce Records upon Reconciliation of Parties) due to an attempted reconciliation. Less than a month later, Trace filed for divorce. Since this time, the matter has been pending, with the parties awaiting finalization of their divorce. On August 24, 2023, the Tennessee Court of Appeals finalized said divorce.

Discography

Studio albums 1996: Dreamin' Out Loud 1997: Big Time 1999: More... 2001: Chrome 2003: Comin' On Strong 2005: Songs About Me 2006: Dangerous Man 2008: X 2010: Cowboy's Back in Town 2011: Proud to Be Here 2013: Love Will... 2017: Something's Going On 2021: The Way I Wanna Go

Compilation albums 2003: Greatest Hits Collection, Vol. 1 2007: American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II 2010: The Definitive Greatest Hits: 'Til the Last Shot's Fired 2012: 10 Great Songs 2013: Icon 2014: 10 Great Songs: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection

Billboard number-one hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" (1 week, 1997) "Ladies Love Country Boys" (2 weeks, 2006–2007) "You're Gonna Miss This" (3 weeks, 2007–2008) "Hillbilly Bone" Featuring Blake Shelton (1 week, 2009–2010)

Awards

Year Award Result 1997 ACM Top New Male Vocalist 2008 CMT Male Video of the Year - "I Got My Game On" Grammy - Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "You're Gonna Miss This" Grammy - Best Country Song - "You're Gonna Miss This" (Ashley Gorley & Lee Thomas Miller) 2009 ACM Single of the Year - "You're Gonna Miss This" Grammy - Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "All I Ask For Anymore" Grammy - Best Country Song - "All I Ask For Anymore" (Casey Beathard & Tim James) 2010 ACM Vocal Event of the Year - "Hillbilly Bone" with Blake Shelton CMT Award - Collaborative Video of the Year - "Hillbilly Bone" with Blake Shelton