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Biography
Other people2|Craig Morgan (disambiguation)Infobox musical artist|name = Craig Morgan|image = Country singer Craig Morgan.JPG|caption =|background = solo_singer|birth_name = Craig Morgan Greer|birth_date = birth date and age|1964|07|17|origin = Kingston Springs, Tennessee , USA|instrument = Vocals, acoustic guitar |genre = Country music|Country |occupation = Singer-songwriter |years_active = 2000–present|label = Atlantic Records|Atlantic , Broken Bow Records|Broken Bow , BNA Records|BNA , Black River Music Group|Black River |website = http://www.craigmorgan.com/ craigmorgan.com|associated_acts = Phil O'Donnell Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964, in Kingston Springs, Tennessee ) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army , Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records , releasing his Craig Morgan (album)|self-titled debut album for that label before the closure of its Nashville division in 2000. In 2002, Morgan signed to the independent Broken Bow Records , on which he released three studio albums: 2003's I Love It , 2005's '' My Kind of Livin' '', and 2006's Little Bit of Life . These produced several chart hits, including " That's What I Love About Sunday ," which spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard country charts and was that publication's Number One country hit of 2005. A Greatest Hits (Craig Morgan album)|greatest hits package followed in mid- 2008 before Morgan left the label for BNA Records , on which he released '' That's Why later that same year. My Kind of Livin' is also his highest-selling album, having been certified gold album|gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Morgan has charted seventeen times on the Billboard country charts. Besides " That's What I Love About Sunday ," six more of his singles have reached that chart's Top Ten: " Almost Home (Craig Morgan song)|Almost Home ," " Redneck Yacht Club ," " Little Bit of Life (song)|Little Bit of Life ," " International Harvester (song)|International Harvester ", " Love Remembers " and " Bonfire (song)|Bonfire ." He signed with Black River Music Group in 2011 and released "This Ole Boy" that same year.
Biography
Craig Morgan Greer was born in Kingston Springs, Tennessee on July 17, 1964. He became an Emergency medical technician at age 18, later serving in the United States Army in South Korea|Korea .cite web|url= http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/morgan_craig/bio.jhtml|title=Craig Morgan biography|work= CMT |accessdate=25 January 2010 After taking part in a banquet which honored the military's first airborne unit, he wrote a song about the unit.
Morgan spent ten years on active duty as a Artillery observer|Fire Support Specialist in the United States Army, serving in the 101st Airborne Division (United States)|101st and 82nd Airborne Division (United States)|82nd Airborne Divisions before launching his music career. He holds Parachutist Badge (United States)|Airborne , Jumpmaster , Air Assault Badge|Air Assault , and Ranger School|Ranger qualifications. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KAB/is_/ai_83037102 "Craig Morgan: From country boy to soldier boy in one leap," Army Reserve Magazine , Fall 2001, Lee Elder While stationed in Korea, he continued to work on his singing and songwriting, winning several awards for both and opening a Korean show for the band Sawyer Brown .
Musical career
Upon his return home to Tennessee, he worked various jobs to support his family, including as a construction worker, a security guard and a Wal-Mart employee. He would later land a job in Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville singing demo (music)|demos for other songwriters and publishing companies. The demos led to releasing his first album with Atlantic Records , the self-titled Craig Morgan (album)|Craig Morgan in 2000. It produced three single (music)|singles , including "Something to Write Home About," which reached number 39 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs ) charts.cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|authorlink=Joel Whitburn|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|page=285|isbn=0-89820-177-2|accessdate=2010-01-25 The album was produced by Buddy Cannon and Norro Wilson , with co-writing credits from Cannon, Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson and Harley Allen among others.cite web|url= http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1472909/newcomer-craig-morgan-makes-recording-debut.jhtml|title=Newcomer Craig Morgan makes recording debut|last=Orr|first=Jay|date=2000-06-07|work=CMT|accessdate=2009-09-22 The album's final track, "I Wish I Could See Bakersfield," included a recitation from Merle Haggard . Country Standard Time critic Jon Weisberger gave the album a mixed review, saying that Morgan had a strong singing voice but that most of the songs were "by-the-numbers."cite web|url= http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp? xid=631|title= Craig Morgan review|last=Weisberger|first=Jon|work=Country Standard Time|accessdate=2009-09-22 Jim Patterson of The Ledger said that lead-off single "Something to Write Home About" was "pedestrian," but that the rest of the album was "an uncommonly assured hard-country effort."cite news|url= http://news.google.com/newspapers? id=LPoSAAAAIBAJ& sjid=Z_0DAAAAIBAJ& pg=6256,419555& dq=craig-morgan+atlantic-records|title=Morgan offers an ode to military|last=Patterson|first=Jim|date=2000-04-22|work=The Ledger|accessdate=2009-09-22
Late in the year, Morgan charted a Christmas single entitled "The Kid in Me."cite journal|author1=Nielsen Business Media, Inc|date=2000-12-16|title=Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart|journal=Billboard|pages=38|url= http://books.google.com/? id=OxEEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA38& dq=%22Craig+morgan%22+%22the+kid+in+me%22+-lyrics+-mp3+-download& q=%22Craig%20morgan%22%20%22the%20kid%20in%20me%22%20-lyrics%20-mp3%20-download|accessdate=2009-09-22Morgan left Atlantic Records in early 2001 when the label closed its Nashville branch, but said that he was not afraid of his musical future because he still had a publishing contract at the time.cite journal|last=Havighurst|first=Craig|date=2006-11-04|title=Craig Morgan and Broken Bow Records Raise the Bar|journal=Billboard|pages=87|url= http://books.google.com/? id=Pg8EAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA87& dq=%22Craig+morgan%22+%22atlantic+records& q=%22Craig%20morgan%22%20%22atlantic%20records|accessdate=2009-09-22
2002-2004: I Love It
In 2002, Morgan signed with Broken Bow Records , an independent record label . The label released his second album, I Love It , in March 2003. Leading off this album was "God, Family and Country", a song dedicated to former Nashville session drummer Randy Hardison, with backing vocals from the group 4 Runner|4& nbsp;Runner .cite album-notes |title=I Love It |bandname=Craig Morgan |year=2002 |publisher=Broken Bow Records |publisherid=BB-75672 It peaked at number 49 on the country charts. Following this song was Morgan's first top ten, the number 6 " Almost Home (song)|Almost Home ". This song also brought him to the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at number 59 there. In addition, it won Morgan and co-writer Kerry Kurt Phillips a Song of the Year award from Broadcast Music Incorporated .cite web|url= http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234093|title=Music Row Awards Herald ‘Almost Home’|date=10 June 2004|work=Broadcast Music Incorporated|accessdate=4 March 2010 The album's next two singles, "Every Friday Afternoon" and "Look at Us", both reached the country top 30. By 2004, the album had sold more than 300,000 copies, and its success was cited by Billboard as the beginning of a new wave of commercial success among independently-signed country music artists.
Rick Cohoon of Allmusic gave I Love It four stars out of five, saying that Morgan's songwriting was "well-crafted" and that his service in the Army justified the patriotic themes of "God, Family and Country".cite web|url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r629128|pure_url=yes|title= I Love It review|last=Cohoon|first=Rick|work=Allmusic|accessdate=2009-09-22 Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time commended the album for maintaining a neotraditionalist country sound, but said that the ballads were "generic".cite web|url= http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp? xid=630& t=I_Love_It|title= I Love It review|last=Remz|first=Jeffrey B.|work=Country Standard Time|accessdate=2009-09-22
2005-2006: My Kind of Livin
Morgan released his third album, '' My Kind of Livin' '', in 2004. It included eight songs that he co-wrote, and guest vocals from John Conlee and Brad Paisley on "Blame Me". The first single release, " That's What I Love About Sunday ", became his only number one hit on the country charts and a number 51 pop hit. It was also the first number one for the Broken Bow label, as well as the first independently-distributed single to top the country charts in five years and the first independently-distributed single to spend multiple weeks at number one on the country chart since The Kendalls ' " Heaven's Just a Sin Away " in 1977.cite journal|last=Stark|first=Phyllis|date=2005-04-02|title=Morgan Brings Indie Broken Bow a #1|journal=Billboard|pages=26|url= http://books.google.com/? id=_BMEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA26& dq=%22Craig+morgan%22+%22atlantic+records& q=%22Craig%20morgan%22%20%22atlantic%20records|accessdate=2009-09-29 "That's What I Love About Sunday" also placed at number one on that year's Billboard Year-End charts for the country format.cite web|url= http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp? f=Hot+Country+Songs& g=Year-end+Singles& year=2005 |title=Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot Country Songs |publisher=Billboard.com |accessdate=2009-08-31 |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071118140651/ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp? f=Hot+Country+Songs& g=Year-end+Singles& year=2005 |archivedate=2007-11-18
The album's next single, " Redneck Yacht Club ", reached number two on the country charts and accounted for his highest peak on the Hot 100, where it went to number 45. After it came " I Got You (Craig Morgan song)|I Got You ". Morgan wrote this song while on tour with Keith Urban , with the intention of having Urban record it, but decided to keep it for himself after recording a demo of it.cite web|url= http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1514381/20051122/morgan_craig.jhtml? headlines=true|title=ASCAP Salutes Singer, Writers of "Redneck Yacht Club"|last=Morris|first=Edward|date=2005-11-22|work=CMT|accessdate=25 January 2010 ''My Kind of Livin' was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies, and "Redneck Yacht Club" received a gold single certification for 500,000 music download s.
Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating, saying in his review that "Morgan's is an idealized Kind of Americana, to be sure. But at least he provides enough writerly detail to avoid setting off smarm alarms."cite web|url= http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1037048,00.html|title=''My Kind of Livin' review|last=Willman|first=Chris|date=2005-03-14|work=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=2010-01-25 Country Standard Time'' reviewer Jeffrey B. Remz was generally favorable in his review, saying that Morgan has "a strong voice" and "a number of quality songs," but his review criticized the album's "big and clean" production.cite web|url= http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp? xid=629& t=My_Kind_of_Livin_|title=''My Kind of Livin' review|last=Remz|first=Jeffrey B.|work=Country Standard Time|accessdate=2010-01-25
2006-2008: Little Bit of Life and Greatest Hits
His third and final album for Broken Bow, Little Bit of Life , was issued in 2006. Morgan and O'Donnell co-produced the album with Keith Stegall , a record producer known for his work with Alan Jackson , and Morgan co-wrote four of its eleven songs.cite news|url= http://news.google.com/newspapers? id=dIQkAAAAIBAJ& sjid=mEUEAAAAIBAJ& pg=5193,4598846& dq=craig-morgan+little-bit-of-life& hl=en|title=After years as soldier, Morgan singing out with 'Little Bit of Life'|date=6 November 2006|work= Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel |accessdate=17 February 2010 The label shipped more than 200,000 copies of the album in its first week, and made special exclusive releases for retailers such as Target Corporation|Target and Wal-Mart .
The album's first and third singles, the Little Bit of Life (song)|title track and " International Harvester (song)|International Harvester " (the latter of which was written by Shane Minor , Jeffrey Steele and Danny Myrick), both entered the top ten. In between them, " Tough (Craig Morgan song)|Tough " reached number eleven. Kevin Oliver of Country Standard Time commended the album's neotraditionalist sound and called Morgan "a classic country singer" but said that, beyond the title track and "Tough," "the traditional sound is mostly wasted."cite web|url= http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp? xid=3418& t=Little_Bit_of_Life|title= Little Bit of Life review|last=Oliver|first=Kevin|work=Country Standard Time|accessdate=2009-11-09 Billboard reviewer Deborah Evans Price gave "Tough" a positive review, praising Morgan's "strong, warm voice" and calling the song "yet another gem" from the album.cite journal|last=Price|first=Deborah Evans|date=31 March 2007|title=Single reviews|journal=Billboard|pages=52|url= http://books.google.com/? id=eRMEAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA52& dq=%22Craig+morgan%22+%22little+bit+of+life& cd=2#v=onepage& q=%22Craig%20morgan%22%20%22little%20bit%20of%20life
A Greatest Hits (Craig Morgan album)|Greatest Hits package followed in February 2008, shortly before his departure from Broken Bow.cite web|url= http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/genre/e3i81c08183090090372a3b112ec9196d7b|title=Morgan Exits Broken Bow; Valory Next? |last=Tucker|first=Ken|date=2008-02-14|work=Billboard|accessdate=2009-09-22
2008-2010: ''That's Why
On September 18, 2008, Morgan was invited by John Conlee to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry . http://www.gactv.com/gac/nw_headlines/article/0,,GAC_26063_5938037,00.html "Craig Morgan: From the Army to the Opry," GACTV.com press release, September 18, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-10-10. Conlee formally inducted him as a member during the October 25, 2008 edition of the Opry. http://www.opry.com/OpryNews/PressRelease.aspx? id=7212 "Craig Morgan Inducted as Newest Member of the Grand Ole Opry: Officially Inducted by Opry Member John Conlee," Grand Ole Opry official website, October 26, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.
Although it had been first announced that Morgan would sign to Big Machine Records ' sister label Valory Music Group, he instead signed to BNA Records , a division of Sony BMG Nashville .cite web|url= http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1597581/craig-morgan-releases-thats-why-on-bna-records.jhtml|title=Craig Morgan releases ''That's Why on BNA Records|date=2008-10-21|work=CMT|accessdate=2010-01-25 His first album for the label, That's Why '', was released in October 2008. Its first single, " Love Remembers ", became his sixth top ten hit by early 2009, but follow-up "God Must Really Love Me" peaked at number 26. BNA re-issued the album in May 2009, replacing two of its tracks with the newly-recorded " Bonfire (song)|Bonfire " and " This Ain't Nothin' ". The former was released that month as the album's third single, also reaching top ten. In October 2009, the music video for "God Must Really Love Me" won Video of the Year from the Inspirational Country Music Awards.cite web|url= http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1624039/craig-morgans-god-must-really-love-me-video-wins-award.jhtml|title=Craig Morgan's "God Must Really Love Me" Video Wins Award|date=2009-10-16|work=CMT|accessdate=2010-01-25 In early 2010, "This Ain't Nothin'" was released as the album's fourth single. It became a top 20 country hit by year's end. Stephen Thomas Erlewine critcized the album for having "uninspired" material, but praised Morgan's "cured country croon".cite web|url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r1434281|pure_url=yes |title=''That's Why review|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|work=Allmusic|accessdate=2009-05-18 In a more favorable review, Country Standard Time'' wrote that the songs were "simple but profoundly observant" and compared Morgan's singing voice to Randy Travis .cite web|url= http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp? xid=3999|title=''That's Why review|last=Phillips|first=Jessica|work=Country Standard Time|accessdate=2009-05-18
Morgan's last single for BNA, "Still a Little Chicken Left on That Bone", was released in October 2010. The song peaked at number 37 on the country music charts in January 2011. A month later, he left the label.cite web|url= http://www.theboot.com/2011/02/11/craig-morgan-leaves-bna-records/|title=Craig Morgan leaves BNA Records|last=Horner|first=Marianne|date=11 February 2011|work=The Boot|accessdate=13 February 2011
2011-12: This Ole Boy
On April 1, 2011, Morgan signed with Black River Music Group . His first release for the label is "This Ole Boy",cite web|url= http://www.countrystandardtime.com/news/newsitem.asp? xid=5265|title=Craig Morgan signs with Black River|publisher=Country Standard Time|accessdate=April 1, 2011 a song co-written by Rhett Akins , Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip that also appears on Joe Nichols ' 2011 album '' It's All Good (Joe Nichols album)|It's All Good ''.cite journal|last=Nicholson|first=Jessica|date=28 November 2011|title=New music|journal= Country Weekly |volume=18|issue=48|page=56 The song is the title track to Morgan's first Black River album, This Ole Boy .
Personal life
Morgan is married to wife Karen and has four children: a daughter, Alex, and sons Kyle, Jerry, and Wyatt. He and his family currently reside in Dickson, Tennessee .cite web|url= http://www.bnarecords.com/artists/biography.cfm? artistid=1000039|title=Craig Morgan Biography|last=|first=|work=Sony BNA Nasvhille|accessdate=2009-12-29
In February 2011, Morgan rescued two young children from a burning house in Dickson, Tennessee, and then manned a fire hose to help put out the fire.cite web|url= http://www.popeater.com/2011/02/15/craig-morgan-fire/|title=Country Artist Craig Morgan Rescues Two Children From Fire|last=|first=|work=PopEater|accessdate=2011-02-15
On April 23, 2011 Craig Morgan became an honorary initiate of the Delta Theta Chapter (Arkansas State) of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
Charitable efforts
Morgan frequently performs at military bases both in the U.S. and abroad. He was awarded the 2006 USO Merit Award for his tireless support of US soldiers and their families. http://www.usometrodc.org/site/News3.22PR.htm "USO-Metro Honors Shining Stars at 23rd Annual Awards Dinner," USO of Metropolitan Washington Press Release, USOMetroDC.org , retrieved on 2008-10-10Morgan has been active in raising money for the Special operations warrior foundation|Special Operations Warrior Foundation . http://www.specialops.org/news_past.asp
Morgan has an annual two-day charity (Craig Morgan Charity Fund) for Billy’s Place. The latest one was August 6, and 7 2011 and was the fifth and is held in Dickson Tn raised over $95,000. Morgan came up with the idea for Billy’s Place while serving as an assistant Dickson County sheriff's deputy from 1995-96. Through the Craig Morgan Charity Fund, Morgan plans to provide lasting funding to the home. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110811/DICKSON06/308110097/FINAL-TOTAL-Morgan-raises-95-000-last-weekend? odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Dickson
Craig Morgan Persondata | NAME =Morgan, Craig | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1964-07-17 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Craig Category:1965 births Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:BNA Records artists Category:Broken Bow Records artists Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:Black River Music Group artists Category:Recipients of the Ranger tab
