With the release of his eighth album, American Saturday Night, Brad proves once again that he remains a master of his craft _ or, more accurately, his crafts. To date, the album has launched three #1 singles with Then, Welcome to the Future, and the title track, which became the 16th #1 of his career _ and his 12th consecutive chart-topper _ making him second only to the great Sonny James as the solo country artist, with the most consecutive #1 singles in chart history. Then became the fastest rising single of his career, spending three weeks at #1.
Brad is a man whose connection with fans and sense of history were both earned in front of the microphone. His teen years on the WWVA Jamboree USA were a veritable master’s degree in country music.
That sort of on-the-job training when you’re really young is a good thing, he says. I mean, I was 13 the first time I played on the Jamboree and I was 20 when I left. I opened for Jimmy Dickens and Steve Wariner and Roy Clark and Charley Pride _ they all came through there. I met them and watched them all play and learned as much as I could possibly learn. I’m not the same guy I would have been if I’d started playing at 20, and wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing right now. That kind of experience entertaining an audience even goes into making an album, because I’m not one of these guys that wants my record to be background music for somebody. I don’t make dinner music.
The awards and accolades naturally followed. Brad has won three GRAMMYs and been named best Male Vocalist for the last three years by the Country Music Association and the last four by the Academy of Country Music _ the only artist, ever to garner that distinction three or more times in a row. Among his many other awards, he has also received Album of the Year honors from both the CMA and the ACM.
His singles have provided a soundtrack to many of life’s big and small, profound and less-than-profound moments. He has made us cry, think, and, perhaps most importantly in a world in dire need of perspective and humor, laugh. He has been topical with songs like Online and Celebrity, and poignant with Letter to Me and When I Get Where I’m Going. He has been rowdy with Mud on the Tires and Alcohol, and tender with Little Moments and We Danced. He has brought us a host of such songs and moments, resulting in 25 Top 40 records and 16 that have hit the #1 spot, in turn leading to sales of more than 10 million albums and year after year of sold-out arena shows.
