Formed on October 28, 1972, Brad Paisley is the son of an instructor and a worker at the West Virginia Department of Transportation. His musical passion, though, came from his maternal grandparents, who gave him his first instrument and taught him how to sing. Paisley was a regular at the nearby church and Christmas parties until becoming acquainted with the instrument.
At the age of 12, his first album was released, named “Born on Christmas Day” One year later, he founded a band named “Brad Paisley and the C-Notes” with guitarist Clarence Goddard and two others. One day, he was asked to appear at a nearby Rotary Club gathering by his school principal, where a program director from a radio station in Wheeling, West Virginia was present. There, his journey to stardom begun.
Miller offered Paisley to be Jamboree USA’s weekly performer. For artists such as The Judds, Ricky Skaggs and George Jones, Teen Paisley spent eight years of his life opening up. After graduating from high school, Paisley enrolled for two years at West Liberty University before being awarded an ASCAP scholarship to study at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Paisley was signed as a songwriter by EMI Music Publishing once he graduated from university. Before he was brought under the wings of Arista Nashville, his recording career did not begin. The first single “Who Needs Pictures” took him to the Grand Ole Opry for his first performance. “He Didn’t Have to Be”He Didn’t Have to Be. The song reached number one on the country charts and so did “Who Needs Pictures” for this debut release.
At the 2000 Country Music Association Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, Paisley won. His first Grammy took place in 2001, in the Best Young Artist category. At the age of 28, he was the first singer to be welcomed to the Gran Ole Opry. In 2001, his sophomore album “Part II” was released and his career began to roll from here with a win at the 2002 CMA Awards. For more than 70 weeks, the album stuck on the charts and was certified platinum in August 2002.
In 2003, the third “Mud on the Tires” album was scrapped. The album “Celebrity” was renowned for its video that parodies television shows like “Fear Factor” and “American Idol” The track “Whiskey Lullaby” on the Billboard Hot Country Songs reached #3 and the Billboard Hot 100 reached #41. Consequently, double platinum was certified for the record.
Paisley went back to the studio to record “Time Well Wasted” after performing for a bit, including a duet with Dolly Parton and Alan Jackson. Released in 2005, the album won the CMA Award for Best Album from the Country Music Association and the 2006 ACM Awards for the same category. He earned four Grammy awards in 2006, but did not go home with any of them.
“In 2007, his fifth album “5thGear” was dropped, featuring “Ticks,” “Internet,” “Mail to Me,” and “I’m Still a Man.” singles. “Waitin’ on a Woman” was re-issued and became his twelfth number-one single and his eighth consecutive number-one success, a track cut from his previous album. He promoted the album with a long tour that took almost a year to complete. For ‘Throttleneck’ in 2008, he received his first Grammy for Best Country Instrumental.
The sixth “Play” album was released in 2008, featuring “Start a Band” as his duet with Keith Urban. With Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne, he launched a tour that also promoted his other record, American Saturday Night, released in 2009. He was asked to appear at the White House the same year, and to present the CMA Awards for the second time.
His first official greatest hits title, Hits Alive, was published in 2010, featuring studio versions of Paisley’s hit singles on one CD and unreleased live versions of his songs on another. The inevitable arrived. That year, he received the CMA’s highest prize, Entertainer of the Year, and in a heartfelt acceptance address, he devoted it to his grandparents.
“With the announcement of the title track at the end of 2010, his latest album “This Is Country Music” started its promotion. The single was reached at number 3 and 40 respectively by Billboard Country Song and Billboard Hot 100, and on May 23, 2011, the album was dropped.