Darrcy Matthews

Music 101

Music Project #1

Biography

Jason Aldean was born on February 28, 1977. His parents, Barry and Debbie,

became divorced and after they separated he lived with his mother in Macon, Georgia which was where he mainly grew up. He would stay with his

father during the summers in Homestead, Florida. While he was looking for

something to do, he decided that he would learn how to play the guitar.

Biography Continued

It did not take long for Jason’s parents to

realize that he had a distinct talent. They did

all that they could to encourage and support

him to develop his talents. When Jason was

just 14, his mother signed him up to sing at a

local event for the Veterans of Foreign Wars

of the United States (VFW). Jason sang John

Anderson’s “Seminole Wind” and Tracy

Lawrence’s “Sticks and Stones”. Now people

are making covers of his songs!

After high school.. When Jason graduated, he and bandmate

Justin Weaver began writing their own songs. With the help of Jason’s father they were

getting gigs of various sizes and venues. They performed some of their self-written songs at a

showcase that took place at Atlanta’s nightclub called The Buckboard. It was there

that Jason was approached by Michael Know from Warner-Chappell song-publishing

company and to that company at the age of 21.

Jason Aldean & Michael Knox

Into the music industry.. Once Jason signed with Knox, he moved to Music City and was offered a music contract,

but was later dropped. He had begun negotiations to sign with another company, only to find that the would also be dropped

from that company. Three years were spent in Music City with no recorded songs and no

studio album, when his change finally came in 2004 from Broken Bow Records in Nashville,

Tennessee. His self tilted album “Jason Aldean” dropped in early 2005.

“Jason Aldean” Album - 2005

Finally.. Success!

Due to the success of his 2005 self-titled album,

Jason was named 2006 Top New Male Vocalist at

the Academy of Country Music Awards. In 2007,

he entered the studio once again with producer

Michael Know and recorded songs for his

sophomore alum “Relentless”.

“Relentless” - 2007

Debuted

number four on

Billboard Top 200

Topped Country

Albums Chart

“Johnny Cash”

“Laughed Until

We Cried”

“Wide Open” - 2009

Number four on Billboard

Hot 200

“She’s Country”

“Big Green Tractor”

“The Truth”

Reigned U.S. Country

Singles Chart

Received three

nominations at CMT

Music Awards

Included Video of the

Year for “The Truth”

"The Truth" Music Video(Hyperlink above)

“My Kinda Party” - 2010 Gave fresh sounds which

were said to “stand at the

forefront of a movement

combining country themes

with hard-rock chords”

Features song with Kelly

Clarkson “Don’t You Wanna

Stay”

Album debuted two spots

higher than “Wide Open” on

the Hot 200

“Night Train” - 2012

This album is Jason’s most current album that

was released on October 16, 2012. It features

a collaboration with Luke Bryan and Eric

Church on the song “The Only Way I Know”, a

well-known fan favorite. The album debuted

number one on the US Billboard 200. The first

week the album was released, it sold 409,000

copies, making it the biggest opening sale

since Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” album that

debuted in 2010.

“Night Train” Continued

Features songs..

“This Nothin’ Town”

“When She Says Baby”

“Take a Little Ride”

“Night Train”

Caught Red-Handed

The Pitfalls of Fame and Fortune In 2012, Jason had his run-in with bad press. He was caught during a drunken night out kissing another

woman, Brittany Kerr, while at a bar in Nashville. Tabloids caught him in the act and plastered photos all over the internet the next day.

Jason and his wife, Jessica, filed for divorce shortly after. Even though he had committed what many people view as the worst act a

married person can do, it did not hurt his career barely at all. I believe

that because he was honest with the public and kept his wife and family out of the chaos of it all as

best he could by keeping quiet, he bounced back from the scandal.

He took responsibility for his actions, but waited for the appropriate time to do so, with the respect of his wife

in mind.

“Night Train” Tour Jason’s “Night Train” Tour started on February

21, 2013 and concluded on October 26, 2013. The hyperlink below shows Jason and his band performing at one of his concerts for the “Night Train” Tour. This was the opening of the show. As you can tell, this concert has an amazing opening, which is why I wanted to share it. It builds the anticipation for Jason Aldean to come on stage. I wish I could have seen this tour live!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGP39ShURnA (must be opened with Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome)

My Opinion I chose to complete this project on Jason Aldean not because of the simple fact that he is popular today, but because he is, and has been, one of my favorite artists since his very first album. I own three of the five albums that Jason has released (yes, I am one of the very few that still likes to buy CD’s) and I can honestly say that I

never get sick of listening to them. Jason is not only obviously talented, but he is also well respected in the

music industry. During this time period, that can be hard to do. Jason had his experience with bad publicity

during his divorce, but he handled it as a professional and that ultimately helped him tremendously. As I said before, his scandal barely hurt his career and he is now

able to continue on in country music and still have respect from his fans. Even though I do not agree with

all of his mistakes, I still do believe that he is a truly talented artist that still has a great deal left to give to

this industry.

Works Cited

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/ja

son_aldean/biography_2.html

http://www.cmt.com/artists/jason-

aldean/discography/2963318/

http://www.jasonaldean.com