Rodney Atkins
| Rodney Atkins | |
|---|---|
 Rodney Atkins performing on December 1, 2007 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rodney Allan Atkins |
| Born | March 28, 1969 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.[1] |
| Origin | Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Curb |
| Associated acts | Ted Hewitt |
| Website | http://www.rodneyatkins.com/ |
Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the Billboard country chart that year, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the number 4 hit "Honesty (Write Me a List)".
If You're Going Through Hell, his second album, was released in 2006. Its first two singles, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" and "Watching You", each spent four weeks at the top of the country music chart. "Going Through Hell" was the number-one country song of 2006; likewise, "Watching You" was the number-one song of 2007. The album, which has since been certified platinum in the United States, produced two more #1 singles in "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)" as well as "Invisibly Shaken" which peaked at number 41. A twelfth single, "It's America", was released in November 2008 as the first release from his third album It's America and it became his fifth number-one single. In the summer of 2010, he released “Farmer’s Daughter”, a number 5 hit included in a reissue of It's America. His fourth studio album, Take a Back Road, was released in October 2011, which includes his current number-one single, also titled "Take a Back Road."
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[edit] Biography
Rodney Atkins was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and put up for adoption not long after his birth. As an infant at the Holston Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville, Tennessee, he was so sick that two couples who had taken him home returned him a few days later.[2] A third couple, Margaret and Allan Atkins [3] from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, adopted him and, even though his ailments worsened, refused to give him up. His adoptive mother had been raised in a coal mining family near a tannery camp, and his dad survived an upbringing marked by poverty and episodes of abuse.
He attended high school at Powell Valley High in Speedwell, Tennessee. During high school, Atkins played guitar in his spare time at events and festivals. He went to college at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he worked various jobs and played baseball. He also went into Nashville to play gigs and write songs.[2]
[edit] Musical career
[edit] Rodney Atkins
He was signed to Curb Records in 1996. He charted for the first time with the single "In a Heartbeat", which peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart. He had also planned to release a self-titled debut album that year on September 17;[4] however, after deciding that he was not satisfied with the album's contents, he asked Mike Curb, the label's president, to allow him more time. For two more years, he continued to work on the album but it was never released.[1]
[edit] Honesty
In 2002, Rodney Atkins released his second single, "Sing Along". Both it and its followup, "My Old Man", peaked in the lower regions of the Top 40 on the country chart. He entered the Top 10 for the first time in late 2003-early 2004 with "Honesty (Write Me a List)", which went on to peak at number 4. The song was the title track to his album Honesty, which was released by the end of 2003.[1] "Someone to Share It With" and "Monkey in the Middle" were also issued as singles; the former peaked at number 41 and the latter failed to chart.
[edit] If You're Going Through Hell
Having been absent from the country music charts for most of 2004 and 2005, he returned in 2006 with a single entitled "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)", which served as the lead-off to his second released album, If You're Going Through Hell. The song went on to become not only his first number-one hit, but also the top country song of 2006, according to Billboard magazine. The followup in 2007, "Watching You", earned him a second consecutive number-one; it too was declared the top country song of the year.
The album went on to achieve RIAA platinum certification in the US, in addition to producing two more number-one hits: "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)", for a total of four consecutive Number Ones. "Invisibly Shaken", previously recorded by Lee Greenwood, was the fifth and final single; it peaked at number 41.
[edit] It's America
Atkins' thirteenth single, "It's America", was released in November 2008. It was the first single from his third album, It's America, released in March 2009. On the chart dated May 2, 2009, it became his fifth number-one hit. The second single, "15 Minutes", was released in May 2009 and peaked at number 20 in September. "Chasin' Girls" was sent to radio in October as the third single but failed to make top 40. Then "Farmer's Daughter" was released in March 2010 and reaching number 5. The song was added to later pressings of It's America.
In 2010, he also released "Get Together", a promotional single for Kraft Velveeta Shells and Cheese, which sponsored his "Get Together" tour.
[edit] Take a Back Road
"Take a Back Road", the lead-off single to his fourth album, also titled Take a Back Road, was released in April 2011 and in the fall became his sixth number-one hit. On November 24, 2011 Atkins performed Take a Back Road at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for millions of viewers around the globe.
[edit] Charitable efforts
Madeleine Rose Trudel (August 26, 1999-November 26, 2006), a young girl from St. Clair, Michigan, was dying of cancer when on October 25, 2006 Atkins gave Maddie a private concert in her hospital room. Atkins learned about Maddie when somebody sent him a link to the Free Press series about Maddie and her illness. He sang "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)", his signature song as well as Maddie's favorite song.[5]
[edit] Family and personal life
He was married to Tammy Jo (who is in his video "Farmer's Daughter") and has a son named Elijah, who appears in the video for "Watching You". He also has two stepdaughters, Lindsey and Morgan.[2]
He was arrested in November 2011 for allegedly trying to smother his wife with a pillow, while his ten year old son watched. This altercation was disputed by Atkins' lawyer stating that it was purely verbal. A court date is set for January 2012.[6]
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Academy of Country Music | Top New Male Vocalist | Won |
| Song of the Year ("If You're Going Through Hell") | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | Top Male Vocalist | Nominated | |
| Album of the Year (If You're Going Through Hell) | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year ("Watching You") | Nominated | ||
| Video of the Year ("Watching You") | Nominated | ||
| Country Music Association | Horizon Award | Nominated | |
| 2008 | New Artist of the Year | Nominated |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [7] |
US [8] |
US Heat [9] |
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| Honesty |
|
50 | — | 47 | |||||
| If You're Going Through Hell |
|
1 | 3 | — | |||||
| It's America |
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3 | 15 | — | |||||
| Take a Back Road |
|
3 | 8 | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
[edit] Compilation albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [7] |
US [8] |
||
| Rodney Atkins |
|
11 | 64 |
[edit] Singles
[edit] 1990s
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [11] |
|||||||||
| 1997 | "In a Heartbeat" | 74 | Rodney Atkins (unreleased) | ||||||
| "God Only Knows" | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
[edit] 2000s
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [11] |
US [12] |
US Pop [13] |
CAN [14] |
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| 2002 | "Sing Along" | 37 | — | — | — | Honesty | |||
| "My Old Man" | 36 | — | — | — | |||||
| 2003 | "Honesty (Write Me a List)" | 4 | 57 | — | — | ||||
| 2004 | "Someone to Share It With" | 41 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Monkey in the Middle" | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2006 | "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" | 1 | 33 | 57 | — |
|
If You're Going Through Hell | ||
| "Watching You" | 1 | 36 | 57 | — |
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| 2007 | "These Are My People" | 1 | 42 | 96 | — | ||||
| "Cleaning This Gun (Come On in Boy)" | 1 | 40 | 83 | 84 |
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| 2008 | "Invisibly Shaken" | 41 | — | — | — | ||||
| "It's America" | 1 | 44 | — | — | It's America | ||||
| 2009 | "15 Minutes" | 20 | 115 | — | — | ||||
| "Chasin' Girls" | 48 | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
[edit] 2010s
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [11] |
US [12] |
CAN [14] |
|||||||
| 2010 | "Farmer's Daughter" | 5 | 47 | — | It's America (re-release) | ||||
| 2011 | "Take a Back Road" | 1 | 23 | 48 | Take a Back Road | ||||
| "He's Mine"[A] | 34 | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
- Notes
- A ^ Current single.
[edit] Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "In a Heartbeat" | Jeffery C. Phillips |
| 2002 | "Sing Along" | |
| 2003 | "Honesty (Write Me a List)" | |
| 2006 | "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" | Eric Welch |
| "Watching You" | ||
| 2007 | "These Are My People" | |
| "Cleaning This Gun (Come on in Boy)" | Ryan Chase | |
| 2008 | "Invisibly Shaken" | Eric Welch |
| 2009 | "It's America" | |
| 2010 | "Farmer's Daughter" | Chris Hicky |
| 2011 | "Take a Back Road" | Andy Tennant |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Brown, Marisa. "Rodney Atkins biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p224673/biography. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ a b c "Artists : Rodney Atkins : Rodney Atkins Biography". Great American Country. http://www.gactv.com/gac/ar_artists_a-z/article/0,,GAC_26071_4751562,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ "Rodney Atkins bringings "regular guy" songs, demeanor tonight to Durant show | BAM's Blog". Blog.newsok.com. http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog/2010/01/15/rodney-atkins-bringings-regular-guy-songs-demeanor-tonight-to-durant-show/. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ Allmusic page for "Rodney Atkins"
- ^ www.freep.com
- ^ http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1676103/rodney-atkins-marriage-dissolved-quickly-after-wife-charged-assault.jhtml
- ^ a b "Rodney Atkins Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/rodney-atkins/chart-history/195783?f=320&g=Albums. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Rodney Atkins Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/rodney-atkins/chart-history/195783?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ "Rodney Atkins Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/rodney-atkins/chart-history/195783?f=324&g=Albums. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
- ^ "American albums certifications – Rodney Atkins – If You're Going Through Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22If+You%27re+Going+Through+Hell%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select ', then click SEARCH
- ^ a b c "Rodney Atkins Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/rodney-atkins/chart-history/195783?f=357&g=Singles. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ a b "Rodney Atkins Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/rodney-atkins/chart-history/195783?f=379&g=Singles. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ "Rodney Atkins : Allmusic : Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rodney-atkins-p224673/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ a b "Rodney Atkins Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/rodney-atkins/chart-history/195783?f=793&g=Singles. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ "American singles certifications – Rodney Atkins – If You're Going Through Hell". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22If+You%27re+Going+Through+Hell%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select ', then click SEARCH
- ^ "American singles certifications – Rodney Atkins – Watching You". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Watching+You%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select ', then click SEARCH
- ^ "American singles certifications – Rodney Atkins – Cleaning This Gun". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Cleaning+This+Gun%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select ', then click SEARCH
[edit] External links
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