| 131st | Top former Atlantic Records artists |
| Craig Morgan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Craig Morgan Greer[1] |
| Born | July 17, 1964 |
| Origin | Kingston Springs, Tennessee, USA |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 2000-present |
| Labels | Atlantic, Broken Bow, BNA |
| Associated acts | Phil O'Donnell |
| Website | craigmorgan.com |
Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964 in Kingston Springs, Tennessee) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army, Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for that label before the closure of its Nashville division in 2000. In 2002, Morgan signed to the independent Broken Bow Records, on which he released three studio albums: 2003's I Love It, 2005's My Kind of Livin', and 2006's Little Bit of Life. These produced several chart hits, including "That's What I Love About Sunday," which spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard country charts and was that publication's Number One country hit of 2005. A greatest hits package followed in mid- 2008 before Morgan left the label for BNA Records, on which he released That's Why later that same year. My Kind of Livin' is also his highest-selling album, having been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Morgan has charted fifteen times on the Billboard country charts. Besides "That's What I Love About Sunday," six more of his singles have reached that chart's Top Ten: "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club," "Little Bit of Life," "International Harvester", "Love Remembers" and "Bonfire."
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Craig Morgan Greer was born in Kingston Springs, Tennessee on July 17, 1964.[1] He became an Emergency medical technician at age 18, later serving in the United States Army in Korea.[2] After taking part in a banquet which honored the military's first airborne unit, he wrote a song about the unit.[2]
Morgan spent ten years on active duty as a Fire Support Specialist in the United States Army, serving in the 101st and 82d Airborne Divisions before launching his music career. He holds Airborne, Jumpmaster, and Air Assault qualifications.[3] While stationed in Korea, he continued to work on his singing and songwriting, winning several awards for both and opening a Korean show for the band Sawyer Brown.[2]
Upon his return home to Tennessee, he worked various jobs to support his family, including as a construction worker, a security guard and a Wal-Mart employee.[2] He would later land a job in Nashville singing demos for other songwriters and publishing companies.[2] The demos led to releasing his first album with Atlantic Records, the self-titled Craig Morgan in 2000. It produced three singles, including "Something to Write Home About," which reached #39 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.[1] The album was produced by Buddy Cannon and Norro Wilson, with co-writing credits from Cannon, Bill Anderson and Harley Allen among others.[4] The album's final track, "I Wish I Could See Bakersfield," included a recitation from Merle Haggard.[4] Country Standard Time critic Jon Weisberger gave the album a mixed review, saying that Morgan had a strong singing voice but that most of the songs were "by-the-numbers."[5] Jim Patterson of The Ledger said that lead-off single "Something to Write Home About" was "pedestrian," but that the rest of the album was "an uncommonly assured hard-country effort."[6]
Late in the year, Morgan charted at #68 with a Christmas single entitled "The Kid in Me."[7] Morgan left Atlantic Records in early 2001 when the label closed its Nashville branch, but said that he was not afraid of his musical future because he still had a publishing contract at the time.[8]
In 2002, Morgan signed with Broken Bow Records, an independent record label. The label released his second album, I Love It, in March 2003. Leading off this album was the #49 "God, Family and Country," a song dedicated to former Nashville session drummer Randy Hardison, with backing vocals from the group 4 Runner.[9] Following this song was Morgan's second Top 40 hit at #6, "Almost Home." This song also brought him to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at #59 there.[1] In addition, it won Morgan and co-writer Kerry Kurt Phillips a Song of the Year award from Broadcast Music Incorporated.[10] The album's next two singles, "Every Friday Afternoon" and "Look at Us," respectively reached #25 and #29 on the country charts. By 2004, the album had sold more than 300,000 copies, and its success was cited as the beginning of a new wave of commercial success among independently-signed country music artists.[8]
Rick Cohoon of Allmusic gave I Love It four stars out of five, saying that Morgan's songwriting was "well-crafted" and that his service in the Army justified the patriotic themes of "God, Family and Country."[11] Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time commended the album for maintaining a neotraditionalist country sound, but said that the ballads were "generic."[12]
Morgan released his third album, My Kind of Livin', in 2004. It included eight songs that he co-wrote, as well as guest vocals from John Conlee and Brad Paisley on "Blame Me."[13] The first single release, "That's What I Love About Sunday," became his only Number One hit and reached #51 on the Hot 100 charts.[1] The first Number One for the Broken Bow label, "That's What I Love About Sunday" was also the first independently-distributed single to top the country charts in five years, and the first independently-distributed single to spend multiple weeks at Number One on that chart since The Kendalls' "Heaven's Just a Sin Away" in 1977.[13] It was also the Number One country music single of 2005 on the Billboard Year-End charts.[8][14]
The album's next single, "Redneck Yacht Club," reached #2 on the country charts and #45 on the Hot 100, his highest peak on the latter chart.[1] After it came the #12 "I Got You." While on tour with Keith Urban, Morgan wrote "I Got You" with the intention of having Urban record the song, but after recording a demo, Morgan decided to keep the song for himself.[15] My Kind of Livin' was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies, and "Redneck Yacht Club" earned a gold single certification for 500,000 music downloads.
Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating, with his review stating that "Morgan's is an idealized Kind of Americana, to be sure. But at least he provides enough writerly detail to avoid setting off smarm alarms."[16] Country Standard Time reviewer Jeffrey B. Remz was generally favorable in his review, saying that Morgan has "a strong voice" and "a number of quality songs," but criticizing the album's "big and clean" production.[17]
His third and final album for Broken Bow, Little Bit of Life, was issued in 2006. Morgan and O'Donnell co-produced the album with Keith Stegall, a record producer known for his work with Alan Jackson,[8] and Morgan co-wrote four of its eleven songs.[18] The label shipped more than 200,000 copies of the album in its first week, and made special exclusive releases for retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart.[8]
Its title track became his fourth Top Ten hit, peaking at #7, followed by the #11 "Tough" and the #10 "International Harvester," which was co-written by Shane Minor, Jeffrey Steele and Danny Myrick. Kevin Oliver of Country Standard Time commended the album's neotraditionalist sound and called Morgan "a classic country singer" but said that, beyond the title track and "Tough," "the traditional sound is mostly wasted."[19] Billboard reviewer Deborah Evans Price gave "Tough" a positive review, praising Morgan's "strong, warm voice" and calling the song "yet another gem" from the album.[20]
A Greatest Hits package followed in February 2008, shortly before his departure from Broken Bow.[21]
On September 18, 2008, Morgan was invited by John Conlee to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.[22] Morgan was formally inducted as Opry member by Conlee at the Grand Ole Opry House during the October 25, 2008 edition of the Opry.[23]
Although it had been first announced that Morgan would sign to Big Machine Records' sister label Valory Music Group,[21] he instead signed to BNA Records, a division of Sony BMG Nashville.[24] His first album for the label, That's Why, was released in October 2008. Its first single, "Love Remembers," reached a peak of #9 on the country charts in December 2008. After the second single, "God Must Really Love Me," peaked at #26. BNA re-issued the album in May 2009 with two new songs: "Bonfire" (co-written by former Lyric Street Records artist Kevin Denney) and "This Ain't Nothin'." The former was released that month as the album's third single, peaking at #4 in December 2009. In October 2009, the music video for "God Must Really Love Me" won Video of the Year from the Inspirational Country Music Awards.[25] "This Ain't Nothin'" was sent to radio in January 2010 as the fourth single from That's Why.
Morgan is married to wife Karen and has four children: a daughter, Alex, and sons Kyle, Jerry, and Wyatt. He and his family currently reside in Dickson, Tennessee.[26]
Morgan frequently performs at military bases both in the U.S. and abroad. He was awarded the 2006 USO Merit Award for his tireless support of US soldiers and their families.[27] Morgan has been active in raising money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.[28]
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   | Official web site - Official site & fan club of Craig Morgan & his new CD, "That's Why", featuring lyrics, tickets, bio, pictures, photos and video |
| | Craig Morgan on CMT - CMT.com : Craig Morgan : Artist Main |
| | Morgan Exits Broken Bow, Valory Next? - Morgan Exits Broken Bow, Valory Next? |
| | Craig Morgan - Craig Morgan on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads |
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