William Matthew (Billy) Currington
(born November 19, 1973) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2003, Currington has released three studio albums for the label: 2003's Billy Currington
, 2005's Doin' Somethin' Right
, and 2008's Little Bit of Everything
. These three albums have produced seven singles for Currington on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One hits "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right", "Good Directions" and "People Are Crazy". He has also charted as a duet partner on Shania Twain's "Party for Two" and the non-album single "Tangled Up" for a total of nine Top 40 country hits.
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BILLY CURRINGTON TICKETS
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Early life and career
Billy Currington was born and raised in
Rincon, Georgia, and has four sisters (Lexie, Ann, Kim, and Kelly) and two brothers (Charles and Jason). He lives in
Nashville, Tennessee. When he was one and a half years old, his mother married Laurie Currington.
When he was a junior in
high school, Currington auditioned for a spot at
Opryland, the renowned country music theme park located in Nashville, the country music capital. Failing the audition, after high school he moved to Nashville to pursue his career in country music.
His first stint did not last too long, and he later sang for a bar in
Georgia. In Nashville, Currington also worked for a concrete company, and also as a
personal trainer. One of the clients he worked with as a personal trainer led Currington to recording demo tapes, as well as writing songs. He eventually had cuts by
George Strait,
Tracy Byrd, and
Marty Raybon.
[1] After almost being offered to join
RCA Records, he signed to
Mercury Records Nashville in 2003.
Musical career
Billy Currington
His
self-titled debut album was released in 2003. The first single was "
Walk a Little Straighter" about his relationship with his alcoholic stepfather, including a chorus that Currington wrote when he was twelve years old.
[2] "Walk a Little Straighter" went on to peak at #8 that year on the
Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and established Currington as a major Country performer in Nashville. He first hit the Top 5 on the country charts with his second single, "
I Got a Feelin'", also from his debut album.
He scored a third consecutive top 10 hit with
Shania Twain in late 2004, on the song "
Party for Two". The song was from Twain's
Greatest Hits
album and was released in two formats: a pop version with
Mark McGrath as Twain's duet partner, and the country version, which featured Currington.
Doin' Somethin' Right
In 2005, Currington released a second album entitled
Doin' Somethin' Right
,
which peaked at #2 on the Top Country Albums chart and #11 on the
Billboard 200.
Doin' Somethin' Right
produced his first Number One in "
Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right", followed by "Why, Why, Why" at #13 and another Number One in "
Good Directions". Co-written by
Capitol Records artist
Luke Bryan, the latter was the #2 country song of 2007 according to the
Billboard Year-End charts.
Doin' Somethin' Right
is certified
platinum by the
RIAA.
Little Bit of Everything
On July 19, Currington announced he had canceled the rest of his 2007 tour dates because of
laryngitis. His 2007 single, "Tangled Up", peaked at #30 in late 2007, and his third album was delayed. He also had to undergo therapy due to trauma induced by the abuse that he suffered as a child.
[3]
He was absent from the charts for nearly a year before the release of his next single, "
Don't", in mid-2008. It was the first single from his third studio album,
Little Bit of Everything
, which was released on October 14. Currington co-wrote five of the songs on this album.
[4] "Don't" peaked at #2 on the country charts in early 2009. "
People Are Crazy", co-written by
Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones, was released as the second single from the album in March 2009 and this became his third Number One hit in July 2009.
On August 1, 2009, Currington suffered a
concussion at the Big Valley Jamboree in
Camrose, Alberta after the stage on which he was performing collapsed. The collapse also injured Currington's
bass guitarist and killed a spectator.
[5]
Awards
| Year
| Association
| Category
|
| 2006
| CMT Music Awards
| Hottest Video of the Year - "Must Be Doin' Something Right"
|
Discography
Studio albums
All albums released on
Mercury Nashville.
| Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
| Certifications
(sales threshold)
|
| US Country
| US
| CAN Country
| CAN
|
| 2003
| Billy Currington
- Released: September 30, 2003
- Format: CD
| 17
| 107
|
| —
|
|
| 2005
| Doin' Somethin' Right
- Released: October 18, 2005
- Format: CD, digital download
| 2
| 11
|
| —
|
|
| 2008
| Little Bit of Everything
- Released: October 14, 2008
- Format: CD, digital download
| 2
| 13
| 13
| 73
|
|
"—" denotes releases that failed to chart
* denotes unknown peak positions
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions
| RIAA
| Album
|
| US Country
| US
| US
Pop
| CAN Country
| CAN
|
| 2003
| "Walk a Little Straighter"
| 8
| 67
| —
|
| —
| —
| Billy Currington
|
| 2004
| "I Got a Feelin'"
| 5
| 50
| —
| 9
| —
| —
|
| 2005
| "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right"
| 1
| 39
| 63
| 4
| —
| Gold
| Doin' Somethin' Right
|
| 2006
| "Why, Why, Why"
| 13
| 99
| —
| 30
| —
| —
|
| "Good Directions"
| 1
| 42
| 66
| 5
| 67
| Gold
|
| 2007
| "Tangled Up"
| 30
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| non-album song
|
| 2008
| "Don't"
| 2
| 52
| —
| 14
| 91
| —
| Little Bit of Everything
|
| 2009
| "People Are Crazy"
| 1
| 27
| —
| 2
| 48
| —
|
| "That's How Country Boys Roll"A
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
* denotes unknown peak positions
|
Guest singles
| Year
| Single
| Artist
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| US
| US
Pop
| US AC
| CAN Country
| CAN
| CAN AC
|
| 2004
| "Party for Two"
| Shania Twain
| 7
| 58
| 78
| 16
| 3
| 2
| 4
| Greatest Hits
|
Music Videos
| Year
| Video
| Director
|
| 2003
| "Walk A Little Straighter"
| Margaret Malandruccolo
|
| 2004
| "I Got a Feelin'"
| Philip Andelman
|
| "Party for Two" (with Shania Twain)
| Marcus Ruboy
|
| 2005
| "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right"
| Roger Pistole
|
| 2006
| "Why, Why, Why"
|
| 2008
| "Don't"
| The Brads
|
| 2009
| "People Are Crazy"
|
References
- Billy Currington Walks a Little Straighter With Debut Hit
- Billy Currington biography
- Billy Currington Takes It Easy With New Album
- Billy Currington's New Album Arrives Oct. 14
- Billy Currington and Band Back in Nashville Following Tragedy at Canadian Festival