| Rhett Akins | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Thomas Rhett Akins[1] |
| Born | October 13, 1969 |
| Origin | Valdosta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Decca Nashville/MCA Nashville Audium/Koch BNA Reprise Nashville |
| Associated acts | Dallas Davidson Ben Hayslip |
| Website | http://www.rhettakins.com |
Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American country singer and songwriter. 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. 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.
Although he has not charted a single since 2006, Akins has written singles for other country music singers, including five Number One songs, "Gimmie That Girl" by Joe Nichols, "All About Tonight" and "Honey Bee" by Blake Shelton, "All Over Me" by Josh Turner and "Take a Back Road" by Rodney Atkins. He has also written singles recorded by Brooks & Dunn, Jack Ingram, and country-rap artist Colt Ford.
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Rhett Akins was born on October 13, 1969, in Valdosta, Georgia.[2] By age eleven, he and his two younger brothers had formed a band. Rhett attended University of Georgia and studied business but gave up his studies after a year. He then worked for his father’s oil and gas distribution company. 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.
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.[2]
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, 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.
In 2000, he voiced the character of Tom Sawyer in MGM's animated remake of Tom Sawyer alongside fellow country singer Mark Wills, who voiced Huckleberry Finn, as well as Lee Ann Womack, who voiced Becky's singing voice.
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 Love", 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", which was later recorded by Blake Shelton for his 2010 extended play Hillbilly Bone. It was included on his album People Like Me, which was originally to have been released via BNA on June 14, 2006, but was ultimately self-released in June 2007. "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" was the second single from People Like Me, which failed to chart for Akins, but was later recorded by Justin Moore for his upcoming 2011 album. Down South followed in 2008, as did its only single, the title track, which again failed to chart.
In 2009, Akins released the single "Hung Up", which did not chart. It was later included on the 2010 album Michael Waddell's Bone Collector: The Brotherhood Album, a collaboration with fellow country music singer-songwriter Dallas Davidson, released through Reprise Records Nashville.
In the late 2000s, Akins began writing songs for other artists, primarily with Ben Hayslip and Dallas Davidson; the collaborative is known as The Peach Pickers. Among the singles that Akins has co-written are "Put a Girl in It" by Brooks & Dunn, "Barefoot and Crazy" by Jack Ingram,[3] "Gimmie That Girl" and "The Shape I'm In" by Joe Nichols, "All About Tonight" and "Honey Bee" by Blake Shelton, "All Over Me" by Josh Turner, and "Farmer's Daughter" and "Take a Back Road" by Rodney Atkins.
Akins married Paige Braswell in 1989, and they have since divorced. They have a son, Thomas Rhett Akins (born 1990) and a daughter, Kasey Lee Akins (born 1993). Akins' son, who is also a songwriter, co-wrote "I Ain't Ready to Quit" from Jason Aldean's 2010 album, My Kinda Party.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [4] |
US [5] |
US Heat [6] |
CAN Country [7] |
||
| A Thousand Memories |
|
45 | — | 23 | 23 |
| Somebody New |
|
13 | 102 | 2 | — |
| What Livin's All About |
|
33 | — | 20 | — |
| Friday Night in Dixie |
|
65 | — | — | — |
| People Like Me |
|
— | — | — | — |
| Down South |
|
— | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Heat |
||
| Michael Waddell's Bone Collector: The Brotherhood Album (with Dallas Davidson) |
|
47 | 20 |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [8] |
US | CAN Country [9] |
|||
| 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 | ||
| "She Said Yes" | 17 | — | 20 | ||
| 1996 | "Don't Get Me Started" | 1 | — | 8 | Somebody New |
| "Love You Back" | 38 | — | 51 | ||
| "Every Cowboy's Dream" | 51 | — | 41 | ||
| 1997 | "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 | — | * | |
| 2005 | "Kiss My Country Ass" | 57 | — | * | People Like Me |
| 2006 | "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" | — | — | * | |
| 2008 | "Down South" | — | — | * | Down South |
| 2009 | "Hung Up" | — | — | * | The Brotherhood Album |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart * denotes unknown peak positions |
|||||
| 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 |