John Rich | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rich performing in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1974-01-07)January 7, 1974 (age 51) Amarillo, Texas, U.S. |
| Origin | Dickson, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, bass guitar, guitar |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | BNA,Warner Bros. Nashville,Reprise |
| Member of | Big & Rich |
| Formerly of | Lonestar |
| Website | johnrich |
John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an Americancountry music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country bandLonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated withRichie McDonald as lead vocalist. After departing from the band in 1998, he embarked on a solo career onBNA Records in the late 1990s, releasing two singles for the label and recordingUnderneath the Same Moon, which was not released until 2006. In 2001, he self-releasedRescue Me, an album he was inspired to record by a cancer patient named Katie Darnell. By 2003, he joinedBig Kenny to form the duoBig & Rich, who released three albums onWarner Bros. Records as well as ten singles, including the Number One "Lost in This Moment". After Big & Rich went on hiatus in 2007, Rich began work on a third solo album,Son of a Preacher Man, which has produced two more chart singles. In 2011, Rich released two extended plays,Rich Rocks andFor the Kids, before re-establishing Big & Rich in 2012.
John Rich was born on January 7, 1974, inAmarillo, Texas,[1] the son of Jim, a Baptist preacher, and Judy Overton Rich. John graduated from Dickson County Senior High inDickson, Tennessee and after graduation moved toNashville where he worked as a singer atOpryland USA. He wanted to be a professionalteam roper. Not long after, he met up with the group Texasee, which eventually changed its name to Lonestar. While in Lonestar, Rich was the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist withRichie McDonald. Their 1996 single "Heartbroke Every Day" was the only one to feature Rich on lead vocals. Rich also co-wrote two of the band's singles: "Come Cryin' to Me" and "Say When", the former being a number-one single for the group. In January 1998, Rich departed from Lonestar, but was never officially replaced, causing Lonestar to continue as a four-piece band.[2] Afterward, Rich became a solo artist withBNA Records, the same label to which Lonestar was signed. He charted two singles for the label and recorded an album which did not see release until 2006. In 2001, he recorded and self-releasedRescue Me, an album he was inspired to record after meeting cancer patient Katie Darnell.[3]
Rich joinedBig Kenny in 2002 to form the duoBig & Rich.[4] The duo recorded three studio albums forWarner Bros. Records:Horse of a Different Color,Comin' to Your City andBetween Raising Hell and Amazing Grace, in 2004, 2005 and 2007 respectively. These albums accounted for ten singles on the country charts, including the Number One "Lost in This Moment". Rich also co-wrote all of the duo's singles, primarily with Big Kenny. In the wake of Big & Rich's success, his 1999 solo albumUnderneath the Same Moon was issued via BNA, coinciding with the release of Big Kenny's previously unreleased solo albumLive a Little. A fourth Big & Rich studio album was released in the summer of 2012, with the inspiring "That's Why I Pray" reaching No. 15 on the country charts.
During Big & Rich's success, Rich also worked as a songwriter and producer for other artists. His work included production forGretchen Wilson,Keith Anderson,Jewel andJohn Anderson. In the same time span, he co-wrote multiple singles for other artists, including the Number One hits "Redneck Woman" for Wilson, "Mississippi Girl" forFaith Hill and "Why" forJason Aldean.
He also has a co-write onTaylor Swift's 2008 albumFearless, titled "The Way I Loved You".
In 2011, Rich recorded a song withheavy metal bandBlack Label Society, entitled "Darkest Days", featured on their compilation album,The Song Remains Not the Same.
In 2016, Rich added his voice to a duet withMarie Osmond on her albumMusic Is Medicine with the song titled "Love This Tough".
In January 2009, Rich released his third solo single on Warner Bros. Records. The song, "Another You", is the lead-off single to Rich's second studio album,Son of a Preacher Man, which was released on March 24, 2009. He followed this song up with another single, "Shuttin' Detroit Down", recorded only one week before its release in January 2009. Rich promoted the song, which addresses theChrysler andGeneral Motors bailouts, at Michigan radio stations.[5] The song debuted at No. 34 on theBillboardHot Country Songs chart for the chart week of February 14, 2009, becoming his first solo Top 40 hit and peaking at No. 10 in April. A third single, "The Good Lord and the Man", debuted at No. 59 on the country chart and peaked at No. 56 in July 2009.
BothRich Rocks andFor the Kids have only produced one single between them.Country Done Come to Town was released as a single fromRich Rocks in mid-2010 and was a minor chart success.
In 2007, Rich hosted the first season of a reality show onCountry Music Television calledGone Country, which featured celebrities such asBrady Bunch actressMaureen McCormick, singersBobby Brown,Sisqo,Julio Iglesias Jr.,Dee Snider,Carnie Wilson andAmerican Idol runner-upDiana DeGarmo as they try to become songwriters with the help ofNashville songwriters as the celebrities are paired together with the songwriters. The show was filmed at the former home ofBarbara Mandrell. He has hosted two more seasons since then.
Rich also served as a judge on the 2008 version ofNashville Star on NBC along withJewel, singer-songwriterJeffrey Steele, and hostBilly Ray Cyrus.
Rich was a candidate in the 2011 season ofThe Celebrity Apprentice, which premiered on March 6. In episode 5, he lost as Project Manager for the men's team, Backbone. Despite the first loss, he later won 2 more tasks as Project Manager, raising $1,266,908 forSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Rich competed withMarlee Matlin in the live season finale, where he was declared the season winner, and received an additional $250,000 for his charity.
Rich served as a mentor in the 2012 reality/competition seriesThe Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep.[6]
John Rich and his wife, Joan, married on December 6, 2008.[7] He has two sons, Cash and Colt.
Rich is a strong supporter of theRepublican Party.
In the 2008 U.S. presidential race, Rich originally supportedFred Thompson.[8] He later released a campaign song on his website in support of presidential candidateJohn McCain in August 2008 called "Raisin' McCain".[9] He performed in the closing ceremony of theRepublican National Convention on September 3, 2008. He endorsed theConservative Party candidateDoug Hoffman in thespecial congressional election in Northern New York in 2009.[10] In 2010 he endorsedZach Wamp for Governor of Tennessee and hosted parties at his Nashville home in support of Wamp's campaign.[11]
On April 7, 2015, Rich's song "Shuttin' Detroit Down" was featured in SenatorRand Paul's2016 presidential campaign announcement.[12] He later declared his support for presumptive nomineeDonald Trump following Paul's exit from the race.[13] Big & Rich would later perform at a pre-inaugural ceremony on January 19, 2017, after Trump's victory in thegeneral election.[14] On May 30, 2019, he released "Shut Up About Politics" featuring presenters of theFox News Channel programmeThe Five.
In July 2022, Rich released the politically charged "Progress",[15] a song harshly condemning various "progressive" political ideologies. "Progress" reached No. 14 on the country charts. The following year, he released the similarly political song "I'm Offended",[16] which did not chart.
In April 2023, Rich was one of many musicians to express support for theBud Light boycott, announcing that he would no longer sell Anheuser-Busch products at his bar.[17]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [18] | US [19] | |||
| Rescue Me |
| — | — | |
| Underneath the Same Moon |
| 64 | — | |
| Son of a Preacher Man |
| 3 | 16 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [21] | US Kids [22] | ||||||||
| Rich Rocks |
| 35 | — | ||||||
| For the Kids |
| 40 | 7 | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [23] | US [24] | CAN [25] | WW [26] | |||||||
| 2000 | "I Pray for You"A | 53 | — | — | — | Underneath the Same Moon | ||||
| 2001 | "Forever Loving You" | 46 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | "Another You" | 45 | — | — | — | Son of a Preacher Man | ||||
| "Shuttin' Detroit Down" | 12 | 75 | 95 | — | ||||||
| "The Good Lord and the Man" | 56 | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2010 | "Country Done Come to Town" | 34 | — | — | — | Rich Rocks | ||||
| 2019 | "Shut Up About Politics" (featuringThe Five) | 17 | 91 | — | — | — | ||||
| 2020 | "Earth to God"[27] | 38 | — | — | — | |||||
| 2022 | "Progress"[15] | 14 | 65 | — | 153 | |||||
| 2023 | "I'm Offended"[16] | — | — | — | — | The Country Truth | ||||
| 2024 | "Revelation"(featuringSonya Isaacs)[28] | — | — | — | — | TBA | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||||
| 2007 | "Come to Bed" | Gretchen Wilson | 32 | One of the Boys |
| 2023 | "End of the World"[30] | Tom MacDonald | TBA |
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "I Pray for You" | Shaun Silva |
| 2009 | "Another You" | Deaton-Flanigen Productions |
| "Shuttin' Detroit Down" | ||
| 2010 | "Country Done Come to Town" |
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Come to Bed"(with Gretchen Wilson) | Deaton-Flanigen Productions, Marc Oswald |
| 2023 | "End of the World"(Tom MacDonald Ft. John Rich) | Nova Rockafeler |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
