A Year of Lyrics--Music Appreciation: Febraury 2, 2015--Gary Allan, Like It's A Bad Thing

Monday, February 2, 2015

Febraury 2, 2015--Gary Allan, Like It's A Bad Thing

Artist: Gary Allan
Song: Like It's A Bad Thing
Album: Living Hard

Alright, so I'm pretty sure we all know Gary and we all probably love his music. I know I do. The first song that really hooked me was "Man to Man" and I still love that tune. Did you know that his family pushed music in the entire family? Mom's rule was that all the guitars in the house stayed visible. Gary began playing in honky tonks with his dad when we he was 13 years old. At 15 a record label tried to sign him but his parents didn't like that idea because they wanted him to finish school. Gary, on the other hand, thought that school was just the place where you slept after playing music all night in a bar. His father also stated that he didn't want Gary to sign because his son hadn't yet found his own style of playing and singing music.

He was born and raised in California and after school he and his band played gigs all over the Golden State. Promoters tried to get Gary to play at larger venues but Gary refused as the move would mean that he would have to quit playing covers of some of his favorite George Jones songs.

Gary has been married three times. He and his first two wives divorced and his third wife committed suicide in 2004. The man has lived and loved and has worked and played his way to the top and back to the bottom in both music and in life. He signed his first record contract in 1996 with the hit "Her Man" as his lead single.

He's had 26 hits on the country charts. This is one Nashville star that has earned his stripes and then some. He's a hell of a performer and from what my mom and aunt tell me, he's a stand up guy. They got to hang out with Gary and the band after a show one night a few years back.