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      David Ball (born July 9, 1953 in Rock Hill, South Carolina) is an American country music artist. Active since 1988, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums on several different labels, including his platinum certified debut Thinkin' Problem. Fourteen of Ball's singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His highest-peaking chart entries are 1994's "Thinkin' Problem" and 2002's "Riding With Private Malone", both of which peaked at #2.

    David Ball was born into a large musical family headed by his father, a Baptist preacher, and his mother, Bessie Ball, a pianist. Later, he moved with his family to Spartanburg, South Carolina where his father was heading Fernwood Baptist church. David lived in a ranch-style brick-wood house at 104 Emory Road. He eventually learned to play guitar after persuading his parents to buy him one. Having written his first song in seventh grade, he played it in a school talent show with a band he had formed, the Strangers. Afterwards, he played upright bass in various local youth groups and also the school orchestra. Together with friends, he took part in various bluegrass and country festivals in the Carolinas.• David Ball Website • David Ball Discography
      Bobby Bare (born Robert Joseph Bare on April 7, 1935, in Ironton, Ohio) is an American country music singer and songwriter.  From 1983 to 1988, Bobby hosted Bobby Bare and Friends on The Nashville Network which featured Bobby interviewing songwriters who sang their hit songs on the show. In 1985, Bobby signed with EMI America Records where he scored 3 charted singles, but none of these reached the upper regions of the charts. In 1998, he formed the band, Old Dogs, with his friends Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Waylon Jennings. In nearly 50 years of making music, Bobby has made many firsts in country music. Bare is credited for introducing Waylon Jennings to RCA. He is also one of the first to record from many well- known song writers such as Jack Clement, Harlan Howard, Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, Tom T. Hall, Shel Silverstein, Baxter Taylor and Kris Kristofferson. In 2006, he recorded a new album after over 20 years, called The Moon Was Blue, produced by his son Bobby Bare, Jr., who is also a musician. He continues to tour today. • Bobby Bare Website • Bobby Bare Discography
      Jeffery Wayne "Jeff" Bates (born September 19, 1963 in Bunker Hill, Mississippi) is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records in 2003, Bates released his debut album Rainbow Man that year. A second album, Leave the Light On, was released in 2005 on RCA, but he left the label in 2006. This album was followed by Jeff Bates in 2008 on the independent Black River Music Group. Bates' two RCA albums accounted for seven chart singles on the Billboard country charts, of which three reached top 40: "The Love Song" (his highest, at #8), "I Wanna Make You Cry" at #23, and "Long, Slow Kisses" at #17. Jeff Bates was born in Bunker Hill, Mississippi. When Bates was three months old, he was given up by his biological mother and adopted by a sharecropping family. In the early 2000s, he spent time in jail for grand larceny. He had started stealing from friends to pay for an 18-month addiction to methamphetamine.• Jeff Bates Website • Jeff Bates Discography
      The Believers have a serious love for old school country music - they can’t help it if they were raised on punk & folk. It was that very love that prompted a move from their hometown of Seattle to their current stomping grounds of Nashville, Tennessee. Founding members Craig Aspen & Cyd Frazzini share a broad scope of influences from The Louvin Brothers to The Clash to Steve Earle to George & Tammy, all coming together to create a Country Soul sound with the urgency of a great rock record and all the intimacy of your favorite Neil Young or Bob Dylan records. Such a sound has earned them praise from the likes of Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale and the BBC2’s Bob Harris who simply declared them “Brilliant.” Of their latest release ‘Lucky You’ , Britain’s Rock n Reel Magazine wrote THE BELIEVERS are “What Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three might’ve sounded like if they’d jammed with The White Stripes.” That sounds about right to Cyd Frazzini who smiles and says, “I hope we can always come across that dangerous.” • The Believers Website • The Believers Discography
      The Bellamy Brothers are an American pop and country music duo composed of brothers David Milton Bellamy (born September 16, 1950) and Homer Howard Bellamy (born February 2, 1946), both from Darby, Florida, United States The duo had considerable musical success in the 1970s and 1980s, starting with the release of their crossover hit "Let Your Love Flow" in 1976, a Number One single on the Billboard Hot 100

    Starting in the late 1970s, the Bellamy Brothers found success in country music as well, charting twenty Number One singles and more than fifty hits overall on the country charts. To date, they have released more than fifty albums, primarily on Curb Records. David and Howard Bellamy were inspired by many musical sources from an early age. Their father played country music around the house, and was also a member of a local Western swing band; in addition, they were inspired by the rock and roll music their sister played, as well as the calypso music sung by Jamaican harvesters working in the family orange groves. Despite having never had formal music training, both brothers learned how to play guitar, mandolin, and banjo. In addition, David learned accordion, fiddle, organ, and piano. • Bellamy Brothers Website • The Bellamy Brothers Discography
      Marion Franklin Bandy, Jr.–better known professionally as Moe Bandy–(born February 12, 1944 in Meridian, Mississippi) is a country music singer. He was most popular during the 1970s, when he had several hit songs, both alone and with his singing partner Joe Stampley. Bandy summed up his music when he said, "I really think my songs are about life. There's cheating, drinking and divorcing going on everywhere and that's what hardcore country music is all about." He added: "If I'd done all the things I sing about, I'd be dead." Critics reviewing some of his later recordings wrote that it was strange that, when more artists were actually recording his type of music, some of his recordings were spoiled by string and or choir arrangements, and advised that an immediate return to his roots was necessary. Bandy opened his popular Americana Theatre in Branson, Missouri in 1991.

     Moe, along with his brother, Mike Bandy, a six time NFR bull riding qualifier, were inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2007 • Moe Bandy Website • Moe Bandy Discography
      Dierks Bentley (born November 20, 1975 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip Alone, is certified gold. It was followed in mid 2008 by a greatest hits package. His fourth album, Feel That Fire was released in February 2009.

    Bentley's studio albums have accounted for twelve singles on the country singles charts, of which seven have reached No. 1: his debut single "What Was I Thinkin'", as well as "Come a Little Closer", "Settle for a Slowdown", "Every Mile a Memory", "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", "Feel That Fire" and "Sideways". Three more of his singles have reached Top Five on the country charts as well. • Dierks Bentley Website • Dierks Bentley Discography
      Matraca Maria Berg (first name: pronounced /məˈtreɪsə/) (born February 3, 1964 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records and one for Rising Tide Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both at #36. Besides most of her own material, Berg has written hits for T.G. Sheppard, Karen Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Deana Carter and others. In 2008 she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1997, Berg co-wrote "Strawberry Wine" along with Gary Harrison, which Deana Carter released as a single. Berg won the "Song of the Year" award that year at the CMA (Country Music Association) Awards. The same year, she released the album Sunday Morning to Saturday Night via Rising Tide Records; it produced the singles "That Train Don't Run" and "Back in the Saddle," the former of which was released by Pinmonkey in 2006. In 1999, RCA released a compilation album entitled Lying to the Moon & Other Stories which also included tracks from her 1997 Rising Tide release. In 2004 and 2005, Berg was nominated for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, making her one of the youngest nominees in history. She continues to be a prolific and respected country songwriter. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband, Jeff Hanna, a member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  • Matraca Berg Website • Matraca Berg Discography
      Big & Rich, an American country music duo comprising singer-songwriters Big Kenny and John Rich, the latter of whom is a former member of Lonestar. Both members alternate as lead vocalists and play rhythm guitar. They first performed together in 1998, and after writing several songs for other country artists, the duo signed to a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2003.

    Big & Rich's first studio album, Horse of a Different Color, was released in 2004. This album produced four straight Top 40 country hits, including the #11 "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", as well as collaborations with Cowboy Troy, Gretchen Wilson and Martina McBride.

    Comin' to Your City, released in November 2005, added another top-20 single, the Vietnam War-inspired "8th of November", as well as two other songs that reached the top 40. Joining the duo on this album were Cowboy Troy, Wilson, and Kris Kristofferson. • Big and Rich Website • Big and Rich Discography

      Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin' Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although his momentum gradually slowed throughout the 1990s, Black consistently charted hit songs into the 2000s. He has amassed more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts (of which twenty-two have reached Number One), in addition to releasing nine studio albums and several compilation albums. In 2003, Black founded his own record label, Equity Music Group. Black has also ventured into acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a starring role in 1998's Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack. Clint Black was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, one of four children born to G.A. and Ann Black.  He was raised in the Houston area. Music was always present in the house. Black taught himself to play harmonica before he was 13, and at 14 wrote his first song. His father remarked that it was at that age that the parents "first noticed that he had a great voice" • Clint Black Website • Clint Black Discography
      Blackhawk, an American country music group founded in 1992 by Henry Paul (lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar), Van Stephenson (background vocals, electric guitar), and Dave Robbins (background vocals, keyboards). Several backing musicians also performed with the trio; however, these backing musicians were not officially part of BlackHawk until 2008.

    Prior to the group's formation, Robbins and Stephenson had co-written several Number One singles for the country pop band Restless Heart, and Stephenson had also charted two pop hits in the early 1980s. Paul was previously a member of the Southern rock band Outlaws as well.

    In 1994, BlackHawk was signed to a record deal with Arista Nashville. Their debut single, "Goodbye Says It All", was released that year, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and their first album (1994's BlackHawk) was certified 2Χ Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. Throughout the rest of the 1990s, the band continued to chart several singles, in addition to releasing three more albums and a Greatest Hits package. • Blackhawk Website • Blackhawk Discography
      Blue County, an American country music duo composed of actor-singers Aaron Benward and Scott Reeves. They released their self-titled debut album in 2004 on Curb Records. This album produced four singles on the Billboard country singles charts, including the #11 "Good Little Girls". Two more singles — "Firecrackers and Ferris Wheels" and "I Get To" — were released in 2006, although neither was included on an album. Blue County was founded in 2003 by Aaron Benward and Scott Reeves, two actor-singers who had been friends for several years before the duo's foundation. Signed to Curb Records that year, the duo released their debut single "Good Little Girls". This single peaked at #11 on the Billboard country charts in early 2004, and was the first of four singles from their self-titled debut album, which Dann Huff produced. Also in 2004, the duo performed at the Country Music Association Music Festival • Blue County Website • Blue County Discography
      Suzy Bogguss (born Susan Kay Bogguss, December 30, 1956) is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.

    After taking a brief recording hiatus in the mid-1990s to start a family with her husband, songwriter Doug Crider, Bogguss returned to the country music industry, but did not match her previous commercial success. Although she last appeared on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart in 2001, Bogguss continues to record and perform around the country to a small but loyal following. Bogguss was born in Aledo, Illinois. At the age of 5, she began singing in the Angel Choir of the College Avenue Presbyterian Church in her hometown. • Suzy Bogguss Website • Suzy Bogguss Discography
      James Michael Bonamy (born April 29, 1972 in Winter Park, Florida) is an American country music artist. He released two studio albums (1996's What I Live to Do and 1997's Roots and Wings, both on the Epic label). These albums produced seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, of which the highest-peaking was "I Don't Think I Will" at #2. Bonamy's first musical performance was in a program called "Country Music USA" at the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1995, he was signed to Epic Records, and his debut album, What I Live to Do, was released a year later. The first single, "Dog on a Toolbox", was withdrawn before it reached the Top 60, as the label had decided that too many songs about dogs were already in rotation on radio. Later singles proved more successful, with the highest-charting being "I Don't Think I Will", which peaked at #2 on the Billboard country charts. He was also nominated as Top New Male Artist by the Academy of Country Music in 1996 • James Bonamy-no Web Website • James Bonamy Discography
      Dr. Paul Rennee Belobersycky (born July 21, 1972 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a Canadian country music artist, known professionally as Paul Brandt. Growing up in Airdrie, he was a pediatric RN at the time of his big break. In 1996, he made his mark on the country music charts with the single "My Heart Has a History," propelling him to international success and making him the first male Canadian country singer to reach to the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the United States since Hank Snow, who last charted a Top 10 hit when "Hello Love" hit #1 in 1974. Brandt is married to Elizabeth Peterson, who can be seen in some of his music videos, and heard singing background on his CDs. Brandt's music has been used by Dave Matthews and Johnny Cash on the epic Mel Gibson We Were Soldiers soundtrack, a duet of the song written by Paul Brandt and Steve Rosen called "For You."• Paul Brandt Website • Paul Brandt Discography
      Elton Britt (July 27, 1912–June 23, 1972), born James Britt Baker, was a country music singer, songwriter and author who sang and played guitar since his mid-teens. Elton Britt was born in Marshall, Arkansas, (actually in Zack, just outside Marshall) and gained his first success as a singing sensation with the Los Angeles-based "Beverly Hillbillies" band in Los Angeles before moving to New York City in the mid-1930s. He recorded over 600 sides and 60 albums for RCA and other labels in more than a 30-year span, and is best known for such hit songs (several of which he wrote or co-wrote) as "Detour," "Chime Bells," "Maybe I'll Cry Over You," "Pinto Pal," and the million-selling wartime hit "There's A Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere." A singer, bandleader, radio and television performer, songwriter and standard-setting yodeler, he starred in at least two films in the late 1940s and had hit records as late as "The Jimmie Rodgers Blues" in 1968. He died June 23, 1972. A monument adorned by the bust of Elton Britt can be found on his grave in Broad Top City, Pennsylvania. • Elton Britt Website • Elton Britt Discography
      Chad Brock (born July 31, 1963 in Ocala, Florida) is an American country music artist and disc jockey. Before beginning his musical career in the late 1990s, he was a professional wrestler in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), until an injury forced him to retire.

    Brock signed to Warner Bros. Records' Nashville division in the late 1990s, releasing three studio albums — 1999's Chad Brock, 2000's Yes!, and 2001's III — for the label. These albums, overall, produced seven singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the Number One hit "Yes!" and the Top Five "Ordinary Life". Brock left Warner Bros. in 2002 and signed to Broken Bow Records a year later; although he released five singles for the label (of which four charted), his album for Broken Bow was not released, and he exited that label as well. • Chad Broc Website • Chad Broc Discography
      Brooks & Dunn, an American country music duo, consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. Both Brooks and Dunn had worked as singer-songwriters before the duo's formation, charting singles of their own in the late 1980s. They are the most successful duo from any genre, having sold more albums than all others in the Nielsen/SoundScan era.

    The duo made its debut in 1991 with their first four singles all reaching the top of the U.S. Billboard country music charts. Their debut album, Brand New Man, was released the same year and was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA. Brooks & Dunn have had more than fifty singles on the country music charts, twenty of which have reached number one. They have recorded ten studio albums, two greatest-hits compilations, and a Christmas album.

    The duo announced on August 10, 2009, that they were parting ways after one final tour in 2010 • Brooks and Dunne Website  • Brooks and Dunne Discography •

      Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989; it peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks's integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances made him very popular and allowed him to dominate the country single and country album charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience

    Brooks has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the 1990s. The RIAA has certified his recordings at a combined (128Χ platinum), denoting roughly 113 million U.S. shipments. Garth Brooks still continues to sell well, from the period of April 5th 2008 - September 26th 2008, he sold 277,000 albums in the U.S. - according to Nielsen Soundscan, which took his album sales up to 68,051,000 - which makes him the best-selling artist in America since 1991, well over 11 million ahead of his nearest rival; The Beatles. • Garth Brooks Website • Garth Brooks Discography
      The Zac Brown Band is an Academy of Country Music-award winning American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown, (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, organ), Chris Fryar (drums) and Clay Cook (guitar, organ, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals). The band has toured throughout the United States, including a slot on the 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival. It has also recorded four studio albums, and charted three singles on the Billboard country charts in the Number Ones "Chicken Fried" and "Toes" and the #2 "Whatever It Is"  • Zac Brown Band Website • Zac Brown Band Discography •Top new vocal or duo - 2009
      Anthony "T." Graham Brown (born October 30, 1954 in Arabi, Georgia) is an American country music artist. Active since 1986, Brown has recorded a total of thirteen studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Three of these singles — "Hell and High Water" and "Don't Go to Strangers" from 1986, and "Darlene" from 1988 — reached Number One, and eight more reached Top Ten. Brown moved to Nashville in 1982 and found work singing advertising jingles for companies such as McDonald's, Disneyland and Budweiser, and doing demos. He was also the singing narrator in the Taco Bell "Run For the Border" television spots. Brown also found work as a songwriter for Tree Publishing before signing to Capitol Records in 1984.

    Brown's first release for the label, "Drowning in Memories", peaked at #39 and was never included on an album. After it came the #7 "I Tell It Like It Used to Be", the first single from his 1986 album of the same name. Counting its title track, this album accounted for four singles: the #3 "I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again" and two straight Number Ones in "Hell and High Water" and "Don't Go to Strangers."• T. Graham Brown Website • T. Graham Brown Discography
      The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells." The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also combined elements of folk and pop. In 1959, The Browns scored their biggest hit when their folk-pop single "The Three Bells" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 pop and country charts. The song also peaked at number ten on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues listing. Based on a song called "Les trois cloches," it was originally a hit in France for Ιdith Piaf. The recording sold over one million copies, and was nominated for both Record of the Year and the Best Group or Vocal Performance in the Grammy award categories in 1959.

    In 2006, the Browns reunited to perform "The Old Lamplighter" and "The Three Bells" for the PBS special, Country Pop Legends.• The Browns Website • The Browns Discography
      Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966 in Vidor, Texas) is an American country music artist. Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 1993, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his single "Holdin' Heaven", which reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although he did not land a second Number One until 2002's "Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo", Byrd has charted more than thirty hit singles in his career, including eleven additional Top Ten hits. He has also released nine studio albums and two greatest-hits albums, with four gold certifications and one double-platinum certification from the RIAA.Byrd released his first single, "That's the Thing About a Memory", in 1992. Although it and follow-up "Someone to Give My Love To" (previously a single in 1971 for Johnny Paycheck) both missed Top 40, he broke through in 1993 with the Number One hit "Holdin' Heaven" This song was the third release from his self-titled debut album, released by MCA on April 27, 1993. Although the album earned RIAA gold certification, its final single ("Why Don't That Telephone Ring") peaked at #39. Keith Stegall and Tony Brown shared production duties on the album.• Tracy Byrd Website • Tracy Byrd Discography