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The
most consistently successful male artist, in terms of overall chart
success, to emerge from the country ranks during the past four years,
Tim McGraw is the model modern star. Between his small-town,
working-class upbringing, sleepy good looks, sensuous melodic drawl and
dogged desire to make it in music, McGraw had all the tools when he
arrived in Nashville on May 9, 1989, the same day his musical hero Keith
Whitley died.
Born in Delhi, Louisiana, on May 1, 1967, and raised in the farming town
of Start, Louisiana, McGraw grew up loving music and sports. Young Tim
was 11 when he learned his father was Tug McGraw, the colorful star
pitcher for the Mets and Phillies, with whom his mother had once had a
summertime fling. Despite discouragement from both parents, Tim McGraw
dropped out of Northeast Louisiana University in '89 and headed for
Music City. Though legend has it that McGraw heard "Indian Outlaw" his
first night in Nashville, he would spend well over a year singing for
his supper before recording the demo that landed his Curb Records deal.
After his first single "What Room Was The Holiday Inn" failed to chart,
"Welcome To The Club," released in late '92, grazed the top 50 but the
next two follow-ups did progressively worse. All those singles appeared
on McGraw's 1993 self-titled album that served as something of a
blueprint for his next three, each better than the one before it.
Beginning with the controversial "Indian Outlaw" and the tear-jerking
"Don't Take the Girl," McGraw has quickly strung together a dozen
consecutive top 10 hits, four of which have crossed over, hitting the
top 25 of Billboard's Hot 100.

McGraw's latest album,
Everywhere, released in June, is his best yet, a masterwork of smart,
immaculately produced country confection, anchored by "It's Your Love,"
his chart-topping, guilty-pleasure duet with newlywed wife and fellow
star Faith Hill. McGraw now owns his own management and production
companies and has been instrumental in the success of Jo Dee Messina,
one of his discoveries.
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