Thomas Rhett Akins
(born October 13, 1969 in Valdosta, Georgia) is an American country music artist. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for the label (1995's A Thousand Memories
and 1996's Somebody New
), followed by 1998's What Livin's All About
on MCA Nashville. Friday Night in Dixie
was released in 2002 on Audium Entertainment, and a fifth album was recorded for BNA Records, People Like Me
, was never released. Overall, Akins's albums have accounted for fourteen singles on the Billboard
country singles charts, including the Number One "Don't Get Me Started" from 1996.
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RHETT AKINS TICKETS
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Biography
Rhett Akins was born on October 13, 1969 in
Valdosta, Georgia.
[1] By age eleven, he and his two younger brothers had formed a band. In 1992, after performing in the theme park show "Music Country Music" at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, Akins moved to
Nashville, Tennessee, first working as a demo singer before
Decca Records signed him to a recording contract. In 1989 Akins married former wife Paige, with her he has two children, daughter Kasey Lee and son Thomas Rhett.
Akins's first single was "What They're Talkin' About", a #35 on the
Billboard
country charts in late 1994, followed by the #36 "I Brake for Brunettes". After these first two singles came his signature song, "That Ain't My Truck". This was his breakthrough hit, peaking at #3 on the country charts in mid-1995. All three of these songs were included on his 1995 debut album
A Thousand Memories
, which also produced the #17 "She Said Yes". Also in 1995 and 1996, Akins toured with
Reba McEntire.
Akins' second album,
Somebody New
, produced his only Number One hit in "
Don't Get Me Started", which peaked in August 1996. The other three singles from
Somebody New
were less successful, however, with "Love You Back" (the second single) becoming his last Top 40 hit at #38.
After Decca's Nashville division was merged into
MCA Nashville in 1997, Akins was transferred to MCA Nashville for the release of his third album, 1998's
What Livin's All About
. This album was even less successful, however, with its lead-off single "More Than Everything" falling one space short of Top 40 in the U.S., although it was a #25 hit on the
RPM
country charts in Canada. Also in 1998, Akins charted with a cover of
Eddie Rabbitt's 1980 Number One hit "
Drivin' My Life Away", which Akins covered on the soundtrack to the 1998 film
Black Dog
.
A fourth album,
Friday Night in Dixie
, was released in 2002 on
Koch Records. This album's only two singles, "Highway Sunrise" and "In Your Eyes", peaked at #55 and #57, respectively. Akins did not release another single until his signing with
BNA Records in 2006, when he released the #57-peaking "Kiss My Country Ass". It was included on his album
People Like Me
, which was originally to have been released via BNA but was ultimately self-released in 2007.
Akins has found success as a songwriter, co-writing
Brooks & Dunn's 2008 single "
Put a Girl in It" and
Jack Ingram's 2009 single "
Barefoot and Crazy",
[2] as well as album cuts for
Chris Cagle,
Blake Shelton,
Jake Owen, and
Rodney Atkins. He also self-released the album
Down South
in 2008.
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
|
US Country
| US
| US Heat
| CAN Country
|
1995
| A Thousand Memories
- Released: January 3, 1995
- Label: Decca Nashville
| 45
| —
| 23
| 23
|
1996
| Somebody New
- Released: June 4, 1996
- Label: Decca Nashville
| 13
| 102
| 2
| —
|
1998
| What Livin's All About
- Released: January 13, 1998
- Label: MCA Nashville
| 33
| —
| 20
| —
|
2002
| Friday Night in Dixie
- Released: March 26, 2002
- Label: Audium/Koch
| 65
| —
| —
|
|
2007
| People Like Me
- Released: 2007
- Label: self-released
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
2008
| Down South
- Released: 2008
- Label: self-released
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that failed to chart * denotes unknown peak positions
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
US Country
| US
| CAN Country
|
1994
| "What They're Talkin' About"
| 35
| —
| 44
| A Thousand Memories
|
1995
| "I Brake for Brunettes"
| 36
| —
| 28
|
"That Ain't My Truck"
| 3
| —
| 7
|
1996
| "She Said Yes"
| 17
| —
| 20
|
"Don't Get Me Started"
| 1
| —
| 8
| Somebody New
|
"Love You Back"
| 38
| —
| 51
|
1997
| "Every Cowboy's Dream"
| 51
| —
| 41
|
"Somebody New"
| 69
| —
| —
|
"More Than Everything"
| 41
| 121
| 25
| What Livin's All About
|
1998
| "Better Than It Used to Be"
| 47
| —
| 62
|
"Drivin' My Life Away"
| 56
| —
| 61
| Black Dog
(soundtrack)
|
2002
| "Highway Sunrise"
| 55
| —
|
| Friday Night in Dixie
|
2003
| "In Your Love"
| 57
| —
|
|
2006
| "Kiss My Country Ass"
| 57
| —
| —
| People Like Me
|
"If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away"
| —
| —
| —
|
2008
| "Down South"
| —
| —
| —
| Down South
|
"Hung Up"
| —
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that failed to chart * denotes unknown peak positions
|
Music videos
Year
| Video
| Director
|
1994
| "What They're Talkin' About"
| Jon Small
|
1995
| "That Ain't My Truck"
| Mary Newman-Said
|
1996
| "She Said Yes"
|
"Love You Back"
| Guy Guillet
|
1997
| "More Than Everything"
| Richard Murray
|
1998
| "Better Than It Used to Be"
|
"Drivin' My Life Away"
| Charley Randazzo
|
References
- Rhett Akins biography
- For Rhett Akins, life is good