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Tucker Tim McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is a country
music singer who has achieved many number one
singles on the country charts, six multi-platinum
albums and sales of over 25 million albums. He is
married to country singer Faith Hill. He was born
in Delhi, Louisiana. His mother was a waitress
named Betty Trimble (née D'Agostino; McGraw later
received awards as an Italian-American) and his
father was Tug McGraw, a famous relief pitcher for
the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.
His trademark hit songs include "Don't Take the
Girl", "Down on the Farm", "I Like It, I Love It",
"It's Your Love (featuring wife Faith Hill)", &
"Live Like You Were Dying"

==Early career==

Tug McGraw had a brief affair with Tucker, Tim's
mother, and he was originally named Samuel Timothy
Smith.  Trimble raised Tim in Start, Louisiana,
near Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe. He didn't discover
that McGraw was his father until he was 11. As a
child, he was torn between a career in music and a
career in athletics. While attending Northeast
Louisiana University, he was drawn to a musical
career and started playing in clubs around
Louisiana. Dropping out of college in 1989, he
left for Nashville and played in clubs in that
city hoping to be discovered. 

He signed with Curb Records in 1990 but it wasn't
until 1992 that he had his first minor hit
"Welcome to the Club" off his self-titled debut
album which failed to make much of a dent on the
charts. He achieved a couple of minor hits,
"Memory Lane" and "Two Steppin Mind", off the same
album in 1993.

==Success==

The second album Not a Moment Too Soon went on to
become the best selling country album in 1994. The
first single written by John D. Loudermilk called
"Indian Outlaw' caused considerable controversy as
critics argued that it presented native Americans
in a patronizing way. As a result of the
controversy, some radio stations refused to play
it, but among some Indian tribes, the song was
popular, going to the top of the playlist at the
clear channel KTNN, the radio voice of the Navajo
Nation. The controversy helped spur sales and the
song became McGraw's first top ten country single
and reached top 20 on the pop charts.

The second track "Don't Take the Girl", a ballad,
reached the top of the country charts as did the
title track in 1995. "Down on the Farm" reached
number two and "Refried Dreams" reached the top 5.
The album sold over 5 million copies, topping the
Billboard 200 as well as the country album charts.
He won Academy of Country Music awards for album
of the year and top new male vocalist in 1994.

== Continued success and home life==

All I Want released in 1995 continued his run of
success debuting at number one on the country
charts. The album sold over two million copies and
reached top 5 on the Billboard 200. "I Like It, I
Love It" reached number one on the country charts
as the leadoff single while "She Never Lets It Go
to Her Heart" also went to number one in 1996.
"Can't Really Be Gone" reached number two and "All
I Want is a Life" and "Maybe We Should Just Sleep
On It" reaching top 5.

In 1996, Tim McGraw toured the US on the
“Spontaneous Combustion” tour, which was the
most successful country tour of that year. Faith
Hill was his support act and the title of the tour
turned out to be prophetic as the singers married
late in the year. The couple have had three
daughters – Gracie Katherine born May 5, 1997,
Maggie Elizabeth born August 12, 1998 and Audrey
Caroline born December 6, 2001.

His happy family life is in contrast with his
father who had a reputation as a hell raiser. Tug
McGraw once famously said: "Ninety percent I'll
spend on good times, women, and Irish Whiskey. The
other ten percent I'll probably waste." 

Tim McGraw also produced the debut album by Jo-Dee
Messina with long-time associate Byron Gallimore.
He has co-produced all three of her albums with
Gallimore.

Everywhere continued his golden run topping the
country charts and reaching number two on the
album charts in 1997. The album sold 4 million
copies. The first single "It’s Your Love", a
duet with Faith Hill, reached number one on the
country charts, reached the top ten in the pop
charts and became the most played single in the
history of the Billboard country charts.  Five
more singles "Everywhere", "Where the Green Grass
Grows", "One of These Days", "For a Little While",
and  "Just to See You Smile" reached the top of
the country charts from the album. "Just to See
You Smile" set a new record spending 42 weeks on
the Billboard charts. The Country Music
Association awarded Everywhere its album of the
year award for 1997.

A Place in the Sun in 1999 was another huge hit
topping the US pop and country album charts and
selling three million albums. It featured another
four chart topping singles on the country charts
including "Please Remember Me" with Patty Loveless
“Something Like That”, “My Best Friend" and
"My Next Thirty Years". By 1999, he had taken over
from Garth Brooks as the most popular singer in
country music. 

Faith Hill's career was also going well. Another
duet between the pair "Just to Hear You Say You
Love Me" reached the top five of the US country
charts. Faith reached number 7 on the Billboard
200 with lead single "This Kiss" reaching number 7
on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts and also
making the pop charts in other countries including
Australia and Canada. Faith also made number 11 on
the Canadian album charts. Her follow up album
Breathe (Faith Hill album)|Breathe consolidated
her success reaching number one on the Billboard
200 upon release on November 21, 1999 with the
title track reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot
100. The Way you Love Me also reached number 7.
The album also featured another duet between the
couple called "Let's Make Love" which won a Grammy
in 2000 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. By
the end of 1999, Tim McGraw was the most popular
country male singer and Faith Hill was one of the
most popular singers along with Shania Twain.

During summer 1999, Tim McGraw toured the US with
the Dixie Chicks as the support artist as well as
appearing as the headline artist at the George
Strait Country Music Festival. In 2000, he
released a "Greatest Hits" album which again
topped the charts spending nine weeks on top of
the country charts. He and his tour support artist
Kenny Chesney got involved in a scuffle with
police officers when Chesney attempted to ride one
of their horses - Tim McGraw was later cleared of
the charges.

In the latter half of 2000, he and Hill went out
on the "Soul 2 Soul 2000" tour playing to sellout
crowds in 64 venues including Madison Square
Gardens. It was one of the top tours of any genre
in the US and the leading country tour during
2000.

Set This Circus Down was released in 2001
featuring four number one country hits - "Grown
Men Don't Cry", "Angry All the Time", "The Cowboy
in Me" and "Unbroken." A duet with Jo-Dee Messina
"Bring on the Rain" also topped the country
charts. "Things Change" made the history as the
first country song to chart from a downloaded
version following his performance of the song at
the CMA Awards Show.

==Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors==

In 2002, Tim McGraw bucked country music
traditions by recording his album Tim McGraw and
the Dancehall Doctors with his tour band the
Dancehall Doctors in the Catskill Mountains.
Unlike rock music where it is commonplace for
touring bands such as the E Street Band or Crazy
Horse to play on albums with the artist they
support, country albums are normally recorded with
session musicians. 

Tim McGraw states on his web site that he felt he
owed it to the musicians who had been an integral
part of his success. "My previous albums were done
in pretty much the Nashville way—the session
guys came in and laid down their tracks and then I
sang. I'm proud of all of those records, but I
wanted to capture some of the feel and groove that
I loved in my favorite records when I was growing
up.  It's almost unheard of for a country artist
to record with his road band, but my guys have
been with me for a long time, and they're an
important part of what I do.  And it was time to
get that on a record."

All of the Dancehall Doctors had been with Tim
McGraw since at least 1996. They include:

* Darran Smith - lead guitar;
* Denny Hemington - steel guitar;
* Bob Minner - acoustic guitar;
* John Marcus - bass guitar;
* Dean Brown - fiddler;
* Jeff McMahon - keyboards;
* Billy Mason - drums; and
* David Dunkley - percussion. 

Tim McGraw and the Dance Hall Doctors was released
on November 26, 2002 reached number 2 on the
country charts with "Real Good Man" reaching
number one. "She's My Kind of Rain" reached number
2 in 2003 and "Red Rag Top" reached the top 5. The
album also features a faithful cover version of
"Tiny Dancer" from Elton John's album Madman
Across the Water. The artist also features
appearances by Kim Carnes on "Comfort Me" - a
response to the September 11, 2001 attacks - and
Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on
"Illegal".

==Over and Over==
In late 2004, his unlikely duet (music)|duet with
rapper Nelly on "Over and Over", a soft ballad of
lost love, became a crossover music|crossover hit.
http://www.sixshot.com/articles/4572/

"Over and Over" brought McGraw a success he had
never previously experienced on contemporary hit
radio, and brought both artists success neither
had previously experienced in the hot adult
contemporary market.

==Fraternity Life==
While enrolled at Northeast Louisiana University,
McGraw joined the Eta Omicron Chapter of The Pi
Kappa Alpha Fraternity.  Two Fraternity brothers
from the Eta Omicron Chapter are still with him
today, working as his personnel manager on the
road and his merchandising manager.  At The Pi
Kappa Alpha Fraternity's 2002 International
Convention in Palm Springs, CA, McGraw was awarded
the Distinguished Achievement Award.  The Award is
one of the highest honors The Fraternity can give
to an alum.

==Politics==
In a 2004 interview, McGraw said he would like to
run for public office in the future, possibly for
Senate in his home state of Tennessee. In the same
interview, he praised former United States
President|President Bill Clinton, unusual in the
traditionally conservative country music industry.
"I love Bill Clinton. I think we should make him
king. I'm talking the red robe, the turkey leg -
everything."

McGraw also participated in the "Live 8: The Long
Walk to Justice" concert series, performing along
with Faith Hill at the Live 8 concert, Rome|Rome,
Italy concert on July 2, 2005 as part of the
effort to get G8 leaders to address the
humanitarian crises in Africa.  McGraw's
performance of "Live Like You Were Dying" was one
of the most re-played performances in Live 8
television recaps.

==Discography==

=== Albums ===

* Tim McGraw (album) (1993)
* Not a Moment Too Soon (1994) #1 US, 5,000,000 US
Sales
* All I Want (1995) #4 US, 2,000,000 US Sales
* Everywhere (1997) #2 US, 4,000,000 US Sales
* Place in the Sun (1999) #1 US, 3,000,000 US
Sales
* Greatest Hits (Tim McGraw) (2000) #4 US,
4,000,000 US Sales
* Set this Circus Down (2001) #2 US, 2,000,000 US
Sales
* Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors (2002) #2
US, 3,000,000 US Sales
* Live Like You Were Dying (2004) #1 US, 3,000,000
US Sales

=== Hit singles ===

* 1994 "Don't Take the Girl" #17 US
* 1994 "Indian Outlaw" #15 US
* 1995 "I Like It, I Love It" #25 US
* 1997 "It's Your Love" #7 US
* 1998 "For a Little While" #37 US
* 1999 "My Best Friend" #29 US
* 1999 "Please Remember Me" #10 US
* 1999 "Something Like That" #28 US
* 2000 "My Next Thirty Years" #27 US
* 2001 "Angry All the Time" #38 US
* 2001 "Grown Men Don't Cry" #25 US
* 2002 "Red Ragtop" #40 US
* 2002 "Telluride"
* 2002 "Unbroken" #26 US
* 2002 "The Cowboy in Me" #33 US
* 2003 "Real Good Man" #27 US
* 2003 "She's My Kind of Rain" #27 US
* 2004 "Back When" #30 US
* 2004 "Watch the Wind Blow By" #32 US
* 2004 "Live Like You Were Dying" #29 US
* 2005 "Over and Over" (Nelly feat. Tim McGraw) #3
US, #1 UK
* 2005 "Do You Want Fries With That" #62 US

The following singles hit #1 on the Billboard Hot
Country Singles & Tracks Chart:

1994: "Don't Take the Girl", "Not a Moment Too
Soon"; 1995: "I Like It, I Love It"; 1996: "She
Never Lets It Go to Her Heart"; 1997:
"Everywhere", "It's Your Love", "Just to See You
Smile"; 1998: "Where the Green Grass Grows"; 1999:
"Please Remember Me", "Something Like That"; 2000:
"My Next Thirty Years"; 2001: "Angry All the
Time", "Grown Men Don't Cry", "The Cowboy in Me";
2002: "Unbroken"; 2003: "Real Good Man"; 2004:
"Back When", "Live Like You Were Dying", "Watch
the Wind Blow By"

==Further reading==
Tim McGraw: Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors -
This is Ours, Atria Books, 2002 (ISBN 074346706X).

==See also==
List of best-selling music artists

==External links==

* http://www.timmcgraw.com/news/bio.php Tim McGraw
web site
*
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMI
SS70311071654390588&sql=Bbph9kept7q70/ Tim McGraw
All Music Guide Page
*
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/mcgraw_tim/bio.jhtml
VH1 Tim McGraw biography
*
http://www.lyricsdownload.com/tim-mcgraw-lyrics.ht
ml Tim McGraw Lyrics
* http://lyrics.rare-lyrics.com/T/Tim-McGraw.html
Tim McGraw Lyrics