Joe Nichols Biography

Joe Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976, in Rogers, Arkansas) is a Grammy Award-nominated American country music artist. At age nineteen, he made his debut in 1996 with a self-titled album on the independent Intersound label. However, it was not until the release of his 2002 single “The Impossible” on the Universal South Records label that Nichols first reached Top 40 on the country charts. The single, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, was followed by the release of his platinum-certified second album, Man with a Memory, released in 2002. This album also produced the Number One single “Brokenheartsville”.

Nichols followed up Man with a Memory in 2004 with Revelation (which included the Top Ten hit “If Nobody Believed in You”), and an album of Christmas music entitled A Traditional Christmas. His fourth album, 2005’s gold-certified III, produced the Number One single “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off”. Real Things followed in 2007. Overall, Nichols’ four studio albums for Universal South have accounted for eleven top 20 singles on the country charts, including two Number Ones.

Biography

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Joe Nichols was born and raised in Rogers, Arkansas, but went to high school in Walnut Cove, NC at South Stokes High School. His father, who worked as a trucker, also played bass guitar in a local country band; eventually, Nichols himself found work in a local rock band, before taking a job as a country disc jockey.Nichols is part Cherokee.

Musical career

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 did not sell well, 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.

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, then a newly-formed label. 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. The same year, his debut album was re-issued under the title Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other.

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 RIAA platinum certification. 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.

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. 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. III also produced the Top Ten hits “Size Matters (Someday)” and “I’ll Wait for You”, at #9 and #7. Also in 2005, Anna Nicole Smith met Nichols at the Grand Ole Opry and she became a fan. After Smith’s death, he performed two songs (“Wings of a Dove” and “I’ll Wait for You”) at her funeral service. Nichols also 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. 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. Written by Ashley Gorley, Wade Kirby and Bill Luther, it is the first single to an upcoming sixth album entitled Old Things New. The song debuted at #53 on the country singles chart dated for May 2.

Personal life

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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.

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