Diamond Rio, Tracy Lawrence, and Neal McCoy

Having signed to Arista Records in 1988, Diamond Rio didn’t make their debut until 1991 due to members of the band’s health, but it was worth it when they released the single “Meet in the Middle”, which peaked at the top spot of the Billboard Hot Country charts. The band’s origins were in 1984, when the band met at a theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, they worked on their sound for the next five years before being signed in May 1989. The band’s eponymous debut album adorned the chart in the form of the top ten hits, “Mirror Mirror”, “Mama Don’t Forget to Pray for Me”, “Norma Jean Riley” and “Nowhere Bound”. With no surprise whatsoever, the album was certified platinum selling more than a million copies in the States. The band’s sophomore album, “Close to the Edge” which earned a gold certification, only had two singles reach the top ten.

Their fourth album, entitled “IV” was released on February 27th 1996. It made it to number 14 in the Country albums chart. The following year, they released a “Greatest Hits” album, which featured new songs. The single “How Your Love Makes Me Feel” went on to be a single, and became the band’s second single. It was when the band released their fifth full-length studio album, “Unbelievable” which was released in 1998, that the band finally made it into the Billboard Hot 100 which earned the band their first appearance on the mainstream chart. At the end of the year, the band was finally a part of the Grand Ole Opry. They were the first band inducted in fourteen years. Their seventh studio album “Completely” was released on July 23rd 2002 and produced consecutive number one singles “Beautiful Mess” and “I Believe”. Yet another greatest hits album followed on May 9th 2006, and then another on February 23rd 2008. “The Reason” was the band’s eighth studio album by Diamond Rio, released on September 22nd 2009.

Born in Atlanta, TX, U.S. and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, U.S. Lawrence grew up on a solid diet of traditional country and Southern rock. The singer identified his talents and began performing around the local area’s honky tonk circuit before he’d reached 18. After attending college, the singer packed his things and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. in the hope of finding success. After winning a number of talent shows, which led to a live radio performance Lawrence was noticed by Atlantic Records and signed with them in 1991.

Prior to the release of his debut album, Lawrence was shot four times in a failed mugging in which he fought back allowing his girlfriend to escape in the chivalric act of the century. The move did Lawrence’s album “Sticks and Stones” wonders in the south and was released later in 1991 when the singer was able to promote it. The album’s title track hit No. 1 in the U.S. Country Chart and subsequent songs “Runnin’ Behind”, “Today’s Lonely Fool” and “Somebody Paints the Wall” all reached the Top 10.

Lawrence’s stardom was signed, sealed and delivered with his 1993 follow-up album “Alibis” which was a platinum seller and produced hits such as “Can’t Break It to My Heart” and “My Second Home”.

In 1994 he released the single “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues” which he contributed to the film “Maverick”, and his two subsequent albums “I See It Now” in 1994 and “Time Marches On” in 1996 both produced a number of hits, however marked Lawrence’s commercial and personal decline.

After charges related to hitting and threatening his wife, the singer divorced his partner and lay low before of the autobiographical “Lessons Learned” in 2000. Soon after Lawrence parted ways with Atlantic and made a deal with Warner Bros. Music through which he has released the albums “Strong” in 2004, “For the Love” in 2007 and the Christian cross-over “The Rock” in 2009.