Rodney Atkins
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| Rodney Atkins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Born | March 28, 1969 Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
|
| Origin | Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Country music | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar | |
| Website | http://www.rodneyatkins.com/ | |
Rodney Atkins (born March 28, 1969, in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American country singer.
He was an adopted child. As an infant at the Holston Methodist Home for Children in Greeneville, Tennessee, he was so sick that two couples who had taken him home returned him just a few days later. A third couple from Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, adopted him as well and, even though his ailments worsened, refused to give him up. His adoptive mother had been raised in a coal mining family near a tannery camp, and his dad survived an upbringing marked by poverty and episodes of abuse.
During high school, Atkins played guitar in his spare time at events and festivals. He went to college at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he worked various jobs in order to pay for his education. He also went into Nashville to play gigs and write songs.
Rodney has a wife and has a 4 year old son named Elijah, who is featured in the video for Rodney's song "Watching You".
Rodney's career had a bit of a slow start; although he did finally manage to score a Top 5 hit in 2004 with "Honesty (Write Me a List)", the follow-up single failed to make Top 40. However, in 2006, he scored his first #1 hit, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)", and has since gotten his second #1 with the followup "Watching You".
Madeleine Rose Trudel (1999-2006), a young girl from St. Clair, Michigan was dying of cancer when on Oct. 25, Atkins gave Maddie a private concert in her hospital room. Atkins learned about Maddie when somebody sent him a link to the Free Press series about Maddie and her illness. He sang "If You're Going Through Hell", his signature song as well as Maddie's favorite song.
Contents |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Rodney Atkins (1997)
- Honesty (2003) #50 US Country
- If You're Going Through Hell (2006) #3 US; #1 US Country
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Album | US Country | US Hot 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "In a Heartbeat" | Rodney Atkins | 74 | |
| 2002 | "Sing Along" | Honesty | 37 | |
| 2003 | "My Old Man" | Honesty | 36 | |
| 2004 | "Honesty (Write Me a List)" | Honesty | 4 | 57 |
| 2004 | "Someone to Share It With" | Honesty | 41 | |
| 2006 | "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)"A | If You're Going Through Hell | 1 | 33 |
| 2006 | "Watching You" | If You're Going Through Hell | 1 | 36 |
| 2007 | "These Are My People"B | If You're Going Through Hell | 30 | - |
- A"If You're Going Through Hell" also charted on US Pop 100 at #57, and US Digital at #47.
- BCurrently active on charts.
