Joe Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, Nichols held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records,
... Joe Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, Nichols held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as Show Dog-Universal Music.
Nichols has released seven studio albums: Joe Nichols (1996), Man with a Memory (2002), Revelation, A Traditional Christmas (both 2004), III (2006), Real Things (2007) and Old Things New (2009). His albums have produced fourteen Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One singles "Brokenheartsville," "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" and "Gimmie That Girl" as well as five other Top Ten entries.
Biography:
Joe Nichols was born and raised in Rogers, Arkansas. Second son of Michael Curtis Nichols and Robin Larson Nichols. Joe has an older brother Michael C. Jr and a younger sister Kelli. His father, who worked as a trucker, also played bass guitar in local country bands; eventually, Nichols himself found work in a local rock band, before taking a job as a country disc jockey.[1] Nichols is part Cherokee.[2]
Musical career
Nichols in April 2010
Through a meeting with record producer Randy Edwards, Nichols began to work on his singing and songwriting skills. At age 20, he was signed to his first record deal, with an independent label known as Intersound Records. There, Nichols released his first album, 1996's Joe Nichols. Despite the minor success of its lead-off single "Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other" (which reached #74 on the RPM country charts in Canada), the album sold poorly and he was dropped from Intersound's roster. A second record deal, this time with Giant Records, was short-lived and did not produce any singles or albums.[1]
Man with a Memory
In 1999, Nichols met Brent Rowan, a Nashville session guitarist who helped him land a recording contract with Universal South Records (which became Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009). 2002 saw the release of his second album, entitled Man with a Memory. Its lead-off single, "The Impossible", went on to become a #3 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and was declared by Billboard as the tenth most-played country song of 2003.[1] The same year, his debut album was re-issued under the title Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other.[1]
Man with a Memory earned Nichols a Top New Male Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music, as well as three Grammy Award nominations and platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[1] Its second single, "Brokenheartsville", became his first #1 hit on the Billboard country charts in 2003, while "She Only Smokes When She Drinks" and "Cool to Be a Fool" both reached Top 20.[1] Also in 2003, Nichols received the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.[3]
Revelation and A Traditional Christmas
Nichols spent most of 2004 on tour with Alan Jackson. In the middle of the year, he issued his second album for Universal South. Entitled Revelation, it produced the Top Ten hits "If Nobody Believed in You" and "What's a Guy Gotta Do", at #10 and #4 respectively. Later that same year, he also issued an album of Christmas music, entitled A Traditional Christmas. Four of the tracks from this album received enough airplay to enter the country charts.
III
III was the title of Nichols's third album for Universal South.[1] Its lead-off single, "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off", became his second Billboard Number One hit, with both the single and the album receiving gold certifications from the RIAA. The album also produced the Top Ten hits "Size Matters (Someday)" and "I'll Wait for You", at #9 and #7. In 2005, Anna Nicole Smith met Nichols at the Grand Ole Opry and she became a fan.[4] After Smith's death, he performed two songs ("Wings of a Dove" and "I'll Wait for You") at her funeral service. Nichols joined Toby Keith on tours in both 2005 and 2006.
Real Things
Real Things is the title of Nichols's fourth Universal South album, released in mid-2007.[1] Its lead-off single, "Another Side of You," reached Top 20 on the country music charts, as did the follow-up, "It Ain't No Crime." Also included on this album was the song "Let's Get Drunk and Fight," which Canadian singer Aaron Lines released as a single in 2008.
Old Things New
Nichols released a new single, "Believers", to radio on March 27, 2009.[5] Written by Ashley Gorley, Wade Kirby and Bill Luther, it is the first single from his sixth album entitled Old Things New. The song reached the Top 30 on the country singles chart. The album's second single is "Gimmie That Girl," which reached Number One on the country charts in May 2010.
The follow up single to his previous number one is "The Shape I'm In." It was shipped to radio July 2010.
Personal life:
Joe Nichols married Heather Singleton on September 9, 2007, in Savannah, Georgia. He had known Singleton since they were both 18 years old.
On October 13, 2007, Nichols was checked into a substance abuse rehabilitation program.[6]
Nichols was scheduled to star in the musical Pure Country on Broadway. Fellow country artist Lorrie Morgan was to play his manager in the show.[7] Joe has a 12 year old daughter Ashelyn from a previous relationship. Read more
