Tim McGraw

• 1. Introduction

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  Tim McGraw, born Samuel Timothy McGraw, was a college student in 1989 when his hero, Keith Whitley, died. McGraw dropped out that same day and headed for Nashville.

  The numbers that followed are hard to take in. He has released 17 studio albums and sold more than 80 million records worldwide, which places him among the best-selling artists of all time.

  But the beginning was far from certain. How did a college baseball player whose roommates hid his guitar become a country star? Why did the label that signed him in 1990 end up facing him in court? And how does a singer from Louisiana come to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2026?

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• 2. The Hidden Father

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  Delhi, Louisiana, is where Samuel Timothy McGraw was born, the only child of Betty D'Agostino, a waitress from Jacksonville, Florida. His father was Frank Edwin McGraw Jr., known as Tug. Tug pitched for the minor league Jacksonville Suns and later became a star for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.

  In 1966, Betty was a student at Terry Parker High School and lived in the same apartment building as the young ballplayer. When she became pregnant as a teenager, her parents sent her to relatives in Louisiana.

  The boy grew up believing that a man named Horace Smith was his father, and he used the Smith surname. At age 11, he was searching his mother's closet for money to buy sweets and found his birth certificate. His mother then told him the truth and took him to meet Tug for the first time.

  Tug denied being the father for seven years, until Tim turned 18. After that, the two built a relationship that lasted for the rest of the pitcher's life. Through Tug, McGraw has two half-brothers, Mark and Matthew, and a half-sister, Cari. Through his mother's marriage to Smith, he has two younger half-sisters, Tracey and Sandra.

  Sports came first in his youth. Even before he knew who his father was, McGraw played competitive baseball, and in high school he belonged to the FFA. A baseball scholarship then took him to Northeast Louisiana University, where he studied pre-law and pledged Pi Kappa Alpha. A knee injury ended any hope of a professional sports career.

  It was in college that he learned guitar and began singing for money. By his own account, his roommates often hid the instrument because he played so badly. In 1987 he followed his mother back to Jacksonville, took classes at Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one term, and sometimes sat in with local bands.

  A demo tape he would cut in 1990 went first to the one person who had once refused to claim him.

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• 3. From Flop to Phenomenon

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  Curb Records noticed McGraw in 1990 through a lucky chain of events. After recording a demo single, he gave a copy to his father. A man who was friends with Curb executives heard it while riding in a car with Tug and urged the label to contact the young singer. Several weeks later McGraw played his tape for the executives, and they signed him.

  His debut single, "What Room Was the Holiday In," came out on the 29th of March 1991 and never entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In a 2001 Billboard retrospective, a former program director at Nashville station WSM-FM said he added the song because it showed "undeniable promise." A former program director at WXTU in Philadelphia called the record "terrible" but still booked McGraw for a station appearance because of his father's fame.

  The debut album, Tim McGraw, arrived in April 1993 and sold poorly. It is the only studio album of his that never earned a sales certification or reached the Top Country Albums chart. Three more singles, "Welcome to the Club," "Memory Lane," and "Two Steppin' Mind," all missed the country Top 40. Joe Diffie co-wrote "Memory Lane" and another album cut, "Tears in the Rain." "Memory Lane" had already appeared on Keith Palmer's 1991 debut album. That same year, McGraw also showed up in his friend Tracy Lawrence's video for "My Second Home."

  Not a Moment Too Soon, his second album, reversed everything in 1994. Its first single, "Indian Outlaw," caused an uproar. Critics said it portrayed Native Americans in a patronizing way, and some radio stations refused to play it. The controversy helped sales, and the song reached number 8 on the country chart and number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

  "Don't Take the Girl" followed as his first country number one, and it climbed to number 17 on the Hot 100. "Down on the Farm" peaked at number 2. The title track became his second number one in early 1995, and "Refried Dreams" reached number 5. The album sold over 6 million copies and topped the Billboard 200. It earned McGraw two Academy of Country Music awards in 1994, for Album of the Year and Top New Male Vocalist.

  All I Want, released in 1995, also opened at number one on the country albums chart and sold over 2 million copies. Its lead single, "I Like It, I Love It," became his third country number one. It later turned into the goal song for the Nashville Predators from their inaugural season, and it has stayed unchanged ever since. "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart" gave McGraw his fourth number one in 1996.

  Everywhere, in 1997, sold 4 million copies and reached number 2 on the Billboard 200. Four of its six singles hit number one on the country chart: "It's Your Love," a duet with Faith Hill, the title track, "Where the Green Grass Grows," and "Just to See You Smile." The Country Music Association named it Album of the Year for 1997. "Just to See You Smile" also set a record at the time by staying on the country chart for 42 weeks.

  A Place in the Sun debuted in 1999 at the top of both the country and pop album charts. Over 251,000 copies sold in its first week, making it his first number one opener on the Billboard 200. The album sold 3 million copies and produced four more country number ones: "Please Remember Me," "Something Like That," "My Best Friend," and "My Next Thirty Years."

  A greatest hits album in 2000 would stay on top of the country albums chart for nine weeks and sell nearly 6 million copies.

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• 4. Soul2Soul

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  The Spontaneous Combustion Tour of 1996 was the most successful country tour of its year, with Faith Hill as McGraw's supporting act. Hill broke off her engagement to her former producer, Scott Hendricks, so that she and McGraw could date. The two married on the 6th of October 1996.

  Their musical partnership grew alongside the marriage. "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me," from Hill's 1998 album Faith, reached the Top 5 on the country chart. "Let's Make Love," from her 1999 album Breathe, won the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 2000. Hill also joined him on "Angry All the Time," a number one from his 2001 album Set This Circus Down.

  In the second half of 2000, the couple launched the Soul2Soul Tour, which played to sellout crowds in 64 venues, including Madison Square Garden. It was the leading country tour of the year and among the top tours of any genre in the United States.

  That tour produced one of McGraw's strangest nights. In Buffalo, New York, his friend Kenny Chesney tried to ride a police horse. Nearby officers believed the horse was being stolen and moved to arrest Chesney. McGraw came to his aid, and both men were arrested. McGraw faced an assault charge and Chesney a disorderly conduct charge, and both were acquitted in 2001.

  Several weeks later, at a George Strait Country Music Festival show, Hill walked onstage unannounced at the end of McGraw's set. She was dressed as a police officer, and she led him away.

  The Soul2Soul II Tour began in April 2006 and ran for 73 concerts in 55 cities. It grossed roughly $89 million and sold about 1.1 million tickets, making it the top-grossing tour in country music history. Pollstar named it Major Tour of the Year, ahead of Madonna and the Rolling Stones. The couple gave all the profits from their New Orleans show to Hurricane Katrina relief.

  The couple have three daughters: Gracie Katherine, born the 5th of May 1997, Maggie Elizabeth, born the 12th of August 1998, and Audrey Caroline, born the 6th of December 2001.

  On the 4th of October 2016, at the Ryman Auditorium, they announced a new road show, the Soul2Soul World Tour. It began on the 7th of April 2017 in New Orleans and continued into 2018, taking in the C2C: Country to Country festival across the UK and Ireland in March 2018. Around that time, the pair signed with Sony Music Nashville and released the duet album The Rest of Our Life, led by the single "Speak to a Girl."

  The album's arrival coincided with an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum titled Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man.

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• 5. A Song for Tug

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  In 2004, Tug McGraw died of a brain tumor, and that same year his son released his eighth album, Live Like You Were Dying. The title track, the first single, was dedicated to Tug. It is an ode to living fully in the moment.

  The song spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard and became the top country song of 2004 on the Billboard Year-End chart. It became one of the most awarded records in the genre. It won Single of the Year and Song of the Year at both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association, and it also won a Grammy. In 2005 it received the Country Music Television award for Most Inspiring Video.

  In December 2019, McGraw spoke on stage at the annual End Well Symposium about why he wrote the song. He described how hard it was to care for his dying father.

  The second single, "Back When," is a warm look back at easier times, and it also reached number one. Three more singles followed. "Do You Want Fries with That" peaked at number 5 and "My Old Friend" at number 6.

  Then there was "Drugs or Jesus," the one stumble. It became McGraw's first single since 1993 that never reached the country Top 10.

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• 6. Unlikely Partners

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  Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors, released in 2002, broke a country habit. Country albums are typically recorded with session musicians, but McGraw used his own touring band. He wanted to recognize the band's part in his success and capture some of the feel of a real group.

  All of the Dancehall Doctors had worked with him since at least 1996. Darran Smith played lead and acoustic guitar. Bob Minner handled rhythm guitar, banjo and mandolin. Denny Hemingson played steel, electric, baritone and slide guitars as well as dobro. John Marcus played bass, Dean Brown fiddle and mandolin, Jeff McMahon keyboards, Billy Mason drums, and David Dunkley percussion.

  The album debuted at number 2 on the country albums chart, and "Real Good Man" and "Watch the Wind Blow By" both reached number one. It included a cover of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer." It also featured Kim Carnes on "Comfort Me," written in response to the attacks of the 11th of September 2001, and Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on "Illegal."

  Behind the scenes, Byron Gallimore has co-produced all of McGraw's albums. Together they produced Jo Dee Messina's debut and her next two albums, I'm Alright and Burn. They also produced the only album by The Clark Family Experience in 2000 and the 2007 debut by Halfway to Hazard, whose single "Daisy" peaked at number 39.

  McGraw sang harmony on Messina's "Bring On the Rain," which he also produced, and it topped the country chart. Around the same time, fans downloaded his Country Music Association Awards performance of "Things Change." It became the first country song to chart from a fully downloaded version.

  In late 2004, he teamed up with hip hop artist Nelly on "Over and Over." It spent 10 weeks atop the top 40 chart and gave McGraw success on contemporary hit radio and R&B radio that he had never known. In the United Kingdom, it spent a week at number one, becoming McGraw's first British hit and Nelly's third number one there after "Dilemma" and "My Place." It also topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland.

  Throughout the 2005 NFL season, McGraw sang a new version of "I Like It, I Love It" each week. The lyrics referred to that Sunday's games, and the song played over highlights during halftime on Monday Night Football.

  Def Leppard came next. McGraw joined the band onstage in 2006 for "Pour Some Sugar On Me," and the two sides then wrote "Nine Lives" with Joe Elliott, Phil Collen and Rick Savage. It appeared on the band's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, released on the 25th of April 2008.

  Another pairing arrived with "Highway Don't Care," a duet with Taylor Swift that features Keith Urban on lead guitar.

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• 7. Courtroom and Comebacks

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  The 7th of October 2008 saw the release of Greatest Hits 3, a package McGraw had not approved. That dispute with Curb Records shaped everything afterward. His 2009 album Southern Voice was argued to be his last for the label, and Curb issued a fourth compilation, Number One Hits, on the 30th of November 2010.

  On the 13th of May 2011, Curb filed a breach-of-contract suit against McGraw. The label claimed he had recorded tracks for Emotional Traffic too early, before delivering them. Several days later he countersued, seeking advance payment, reimbursement of recording funds, unspecified damages, and a jury trial. A trial was scheduled for July 2012.

  In November 2011, a judge allowed McGraw to record for another label, ending a relationship that had begun in 1990. A few hours after the ruling, Curb released "Better Than I Used to Be," the first single from Emotional Traffic. The album followed on the 24th of January 2012.

  McGraw had already put out his first Christmas single, "Christmas All Over the World," on his own label, StyleSonic Records. On the 21st of May 2012 he signed with Big Machine Records. His first album there, Two Lanes of Freedom, appeared on the 5th of February 2013. It debuted at number 2 after selling 108,000 copies.

  Sundown Heaven Town followed on the 16th of September 2014. Its lead single, "Lookin' for That Girl," was withdrawn four months into its run and replaced by "Meanwhile, Back at Mama's," with backing vocals from Hill. "Shotgun Rider" then became a number one on Country Airplay by the end of 2014.

  Damn Country Music, released on the 6th of November 2015, produced "Humble and Kind," which reached number one. McGraw was also one of 30 artists on "Forever Country," a mash-up that celebrated 50 years of the CMA Awards.

  In 2019 he published two books that each reached number 2 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. One was Songs of America, written with Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham. The other was Grit and Grace.

  He rejoined Big Machine in February 2020 and released Here on Earth on the 21st of August 2020. The pandemic cancelled its tour. In January 2021 he released "Undivided" with Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line.

  On the 9th of October 2021, at the Nugget Events Center in Sparks, Nevada, McGraw forgot the words to "Just to See You Smile." He confronted a heckler, had the person removed, and explained that he had been filming a movie and had a lot on his mind. Then he asked the audience for help with the lyrics.

  His sixteenth studio album, Standing Room Only, came out on the 25th of August 2023, with a title track that reached number 2 on Country Airplay. Three months later, on the 21st of November 2023, he surprise-released a six-track EP, Poet's Resumé.

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• 8. Beyond the Stage

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  The Jeff Foxworthy Show gave McGraw his first acting job in 1997, as Foxworthy's rival. In 2004 he played a sheriff in Rick Schroder's independent film Black Cloud. That same year he played the overbearing father of a running back in the Texas football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the part was "played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw." The film grossed over $60 million worldwide.

  Flicka, released on the 20th of October 2006, was his first lead role. He played the father, Rob, opposite Alison Lohman and Maria Bello, and the film has grossed over $25 million. Shortly before it opened, McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard. Billy Bob Thornton, his co-star in Friday Night Lights, spoke at the ceremony. McGraw also co-wrote the closing song, "My Little Girl," which was nominated for Best Song by the Broadcast Film Critics.

  More roles followed. In The Kingdom he played a widower whose wife was killed in a terrorist attack. In The Blind Side he played Sean Tuohy, husband of Sandra Bullock's character. In Country Strong he played James Canter, husband and manager of a fictional singer played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and they sang "Me and Tennessee" together. In Tomorrowland he was NASA engineer Eddie Newton. On the 22nd of November 2008 he made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live.

  In late 2021, he starred in 1883 with Faith Hill and Sam Elliott. It was a prequel spinoff of Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone. McGraw also became a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats, after Bud Adams was awarded the expansion franchise.

  His charity work began in 1994 with Swampstock, a softball game that raised money for hometown little league programs. It now includes a celebrity game and a concert that draws over 11,000 fans a year, and it has paid for ballparks, equipment and college scholarships in northeast Louisiana. In 1999, he began a tour-within-a-tour called The Bread and Water Tour. The night before a show, he would pick a local club and host a hastily organized concert, with all proceeds going to a charity from that community.

  After the attack on the USS Cole on the 12th of October 2000, McGraw and Hill gave the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society $375,000, the entire gate from one concert, to help the families of 17 sailors. After Hurricane Katrina, they took supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi, and founded the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation. The Tim McGraw Foundation raises money to improve life for children and adults with brain tumors. He has also supported MusiCares, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, the David Foster Foundation and Musicians on Call.

  Smaller gestures dot the record. In July 2007, he gave $5,000 to the three-year-old daughter of a Grand Rapids police officer killed on duty. In April 2023, he gave a new guitar to Brandon Davis, a rising singer he had taken on tour in 2022, after Davis's gear was stolen.

  In a 2006 Esquire interview, McGraw said he would like to run as a Democrat for the United States Senate or for governor of Tennessee. In a 2008 People interview, he called himself a "Blue Dog Democrat." In January 2021 he performed on the Celebrating America special for the inauguration of Joe Biden.

  He holds a private pilot license and owns a single-engine Cirrus SR22. Forbes estimated his 2015 income at $38 million. He is godfather to the son of Garrett Hedlund and Emma Roberts, after becoming friends with Hedlund on Friday Night Lights and Country Strong. In 2004, the National Italian American Foundation gave him its Special Achievement Award in Music, honoring his grandfather's Italian heritage.

  The family's Bracco Italiano, Lepshi, won Best of Breed at the 2023 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. His discography lists one more headlining outing, the Pawn Shop Guitar Tour, scheduled for 2026.

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