- Country music singer, songwriter and guitarist born Samuel Timothy McGraw in 1967 from Delhi Louisiana.
- Tim’s father is the famous major league baseball pitcher Tug McGraw. While pitching in the minor leagues, Tug had a brief relationship with Tim’s mother which resulted in her pregnancy. She was sent by her parents to Louisiana to live with relatives and to have her baby. She married, and Tim thought his stepfather, Horace Smith, was really his father – growing up, his name was Tim Smith. Tim found his birth certificate when he was 11, and he asked his mother about it. She took Tim to meet Tug – Tug denied that Tim was his son for 7 years. Finally, when Tim was 18, Tug acknowledged the physical resemblance, and he admitted that he was Tim’s father. Tim adopted Tug’s last name, and they remained close until Tug’s death in 2004.
- While in college, McGraw learned to play the guitar, and he would perform at local clubs in Louisiana. At 20, he moved to Florida with his mother, and occasionally sat in with local bands. At 22, the day that Keith Whitley, his favorite country music star, died, McGraw dropped out of college and moved to Nashville to pursue a music career.
- In 1990, he cut a demo single and gave a copy to his father. A friend of Tug’s who knew a record executive heard the tape and suggested that the executive contact Tim. He was signed to a recording contract, and his first single was released in 1991 – What Room Was The Holiday In. By 1993, his debut album, the self titled Tim McGraw, was available, and 3 more singles were released. Very few people showed any interest in the music.
- His breakthrough occurred in 1994 with his second album, Not A Moment Too Soon. The record established his image of the good looking sensitive guy, making him particularly appealing to country music-loving women. It was the first of 16 albums that would top the Country chart, and it also reached the top of the Billboard 200 album chart. Two singles hit #1 on the Country singles chart – Don’t Take The Girl and the title track, and 3 other singles were top 10 songs. The album became his biggest selling studio album, certified 6x platinum.
- Three more albums were released between 1995 and 1999, and each were multi-platinum in sales. Ten more #1 songs came from these albums, with It’s Your Love, performed with his wife Faith Hill, the most popular. McGraw and Hill married in 1996, after Hill was the headlining act during his concert tour that year.
- McGraw recorded 2 more duets with his wife on songs that appeared on her albums in the 90s – Just To Here You Say That You Love Me reached #3 on the Country chart, and Let’s Make Love won a Grammy award.
- McGraw continued his success throughout the 00s. He released 5 studio albums – 4 topped the Country chart, with the fifth reaching #2, and 11 singles peaked at #1. The best sellers were My Little Girl, and a song that has become his signature piece, with crossover success into non-country genres, Grammy winning Live Like You Were Dying. He also won a Grammy in 2005 for his song Like We Never Loved At All, another duet with Faith Hill.
- His 5 albums from 2012 to 2017 have generated 8 singles that have certified platinum for digital sales and audio streams – his biggest hit during these years was Highway Don’t Care, a collaboration with Taylor Swift. His most recent #1 song was in 2016 – Humble and Kind, which won a Grammy award for its songwriter, Lori McKenna.
- McGraw has acted in several films and TV shows. His films include Friday Night Lights, Flicka (a lead role), The Blind Side, Country Strong (a lead role), and The Shack.
- Tim McGraw popularity over such a long time gets him on the list of The Greatest Country Artists of All Time. Ok – he doesn’t top the list, but top 30? I’d say so. Here’s his video to my favorite, Live Like You Were Dying. Try not to cry at the message.
Love this song!