About Tracy Byrd
Tracy Lynn Byrd is an American country music artist. Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven", which reached Number One on Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks. Although he did not land a second Number One until 2002's "Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo", Byrd has charted more than thirty hit singles in his career, including eleven additional Top Ten hits. He has also released ten studio albums and two greatest-hits albums, with four gold certifications and one double-platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. He was the on-air spokesman for the TNN Outdoors block from 1998 to 2000.
Tracy Lynn Byrd was born December 17, 1966. He is the eldest child of Jerry Lynn and Brenda Vaughn Byrd. Tracy Byrd graduated from Vidor High School in May 1985. His first college experience was at Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas. He began studying business at Texas State University . While studying he sang with a local band in Beaumont called Rimfire led by Jeffrey Adams and Dave Adams, a band that also featured acts such as Mark Chesnutt.
One of his friends coaxed him into singing a cover of Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" at a local mall recording studio. The owner of the studio was so impressed with his version that he entered Byrd into a local talent contest. Byrd signed with MCA Records in 1992.
Byrd released his first single, "That's the Thing About a Memory", in 1992. Although it and follow-up "Someone to Give My Love To" ) both missed Top 40, he broke through in 1993 with the Number One hit "Holdin' Heaven". This song was the third release from his self-titled debut album, released by MCA on April 27, 1993. Although the album earned RIAA gold certification, its final single peaked at No. 39. Keith Stegall and Tony Brown shared production duties on the album.
No Ordinary Man was the title of Byrd's second album, which was produced by Jerry Crutchfield. It was also his highest selling, earning a double-platinum certification for U.S. sales of two million copies. All four singles from the album reached Top Five: "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous", "Watermelon Crawl" , "The First Step" and "The Keeper of the Stars". This last song, a love ballad, became a popular choice for fans to use at their weddings. It also won Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music in 1995. MCA had not originally planned to issue this song as a single, until Byrd commented that it had been receiving favorable reactions when he sang it in concert.
His third album, 1995's Love Lessons, showed a decline in both chart performance and physical sales, despite still earning a gold certification. It was led off by the No. 15 "Walkin' to Jerusalem", followed by two ballads: the No. 9-peaking title track and No. 14 "Heaven in My Woman's Eyes", and finally the No. 21-peaking "4 to 1 in Atlanta". This album also reunited him with Tony Brown, who would also produce all of his subsequent material for MCA.
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