Tim McGraw Tickets

Tim McGraws success defined the sound of new country that has dominated radio since he became popular in the 1990s: updated country-and-western and southern rock balanced with country-pop ballads. By the late '90s, he was not only a superstar among country fans, but also a mainstream pop celebrity.

Born in small-town Lousiana, Tim was raised by his mother and stepfather. After finding his birth certificate at age 11, his mother told him that his birth father was Tug McGraw, a pitcher for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. Tim received a baseball scholarship to attend Northeast Louisiana University, where he learned how to play guitar. He began to play the local club circuit, but soon moved on to Nashville after quitting school in 1989. He sang in Nashville night clubs for a few years before getting a record deal in 1992. The single "Welcome to the Club," was released later that year, and his unsuccessful first album appeared in 1993.

His luck changed after the first single on Not a Moment Too Soon, "Indian Outlaw" gained him more and more fans. Although some radio stations refused to air the song because they felt it was insulting to Native Americans, it reached the country Top Ten and the pop Top 20. Not a Moment Too Soon became a hit, selling over five million copies and topping both the country and pop album charts.

McGraw's next record, 1995's All I Want, featured the instant hit "I Like It, I Love It." The album reached number one on the country charts, the pop Top Five, and sold over two million copies. McGraw toured throughout 1996 along with opening act Faith Hill. McGraw and Hill married after the tour, gaining plenty of media attention for the couple and McGraws next album, Everywhere. Two husband and wife duets, "It's Your Love" and "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me," were popular with country and pop fans alike.

McGraw produced three more consecutive platinum albums and in 2002, his duet with Jo Dee Messina, "Bring on the Rain," also went to number one. For his next album, McGraw defied country tradition by entering the studio with his road band, the Dancehall Doctors, rather than with session musicians. His self-titled album was released in 2002 and featured two top-ten hits, along with a cover of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." McGraw recorded with the Dancehall Doctors again for 2004's Live Like You Were Dying, which would become his next chart-topping success. He and Hill went on the road again in the summer of 2006, where they can be seen in venues across the country until late September.