Entertainment

Tracy Byrd has always been something of a maverick. In an industry where careers are often decided in committee, Byrd has always held fast to his own creative vision and has never been afraid to take the road less traveled.

Tracy Byrd’s hits are well known among legions of country music fans and routinely spun by radio programmers from coast to coast. Since signing his first record deal in 1992, Byrd has become one of country music’s core artists, a Texas born traditionalist equally skilled at serving up playful hits like “Watermelon Crawl” and “The Truth About Men” as well as poignant ballads such as his signature song “Keeper of the Stars,” which netted the Academy of Country Music’s Song of the Year accolade in 1996.

Byrd readily admits he’s a man whose reality has surpassed his dreams. Growing up near Beaumont, Texas, he never considered becoming a country singer until someone coaxed him into singing Hank Williams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart” at a little recording studio in a local mall. The owner heard him and was impressed enough to enter him in a talent contest. As soon as he heard the applause, he was hooked.

“All of a sudden, they couldn’t get me off,” he recalls with a laugh. “That’s all I wanted to do.”

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