Zac Brown

Zac Brown was raised in Dahlonega, Georgia, the 11th of 12 children. He learned to play classical guitar at age 7. As a teenager, he played solo gigs in local venues, doing country and pop cover songs. He attended summer camp, and worked with mentally and physically challenged kids. This experience touched him so that he vowed to one day open his own camp one day.

In college, he started a band, and he played dates in local restaurants with the band, and solo as well, to earn money to pay for school. The band recorded a CD to sell at gigs in 1998, but broke up during recording sessions. By the time the 9-11 tragedies struck, Zac again re-evaluated his life, and decided that life was too short doing something he didn't love, so he decided to perform music full-time.

In 2002, the Zac Brown Band was formed, and they hit the road with a heavy tour schedule of about 200 dates a year. In 2003, Zac started his own label, called Home Grown (today, it's called Southern Ground for legal reasons).

In 2004, Brown opened a music club and restaurant with his father in the Lake Oconee area of Georgia called "Zac's Place" where the fare was southern-style cooking. The Zac Brown Band played in the club on weekends, and continued playing gigs on the road as well. A developer bought the restaurant, and Zac and the band bought a tour bus, and hit the road full-time, playing rock and country clubs as well as folk and jam band festivals.

The Zac Brown Band released its first album, Far from Einstyne, in 2004, followed by Home Grown a year later. A live album entitled Live from the Rock Bus Tour followed in 2007 on the Home Grown label.

In 2006, the band cut The Foundation with producer Keith Stegall. The album was picked up by Live Nation for their new record label. When the label folded, Atlantic picked it up, and released the album nationally.

The Zac Brown Band then signed to Live Nation Records in 2008. Their first single, "Chicken Fried", was originally recorded in 2003 and included on the Home Grown album, but later re-recorded and released to country radio in 2008. This song was also recorded by The Lost Trailers, whose 2006 recording was released as a single but withdrawn after Brown decided that he wanted to release it himself instead.[1] Brown also co-wrote "Simple Life", a song recorded by The Lost Trailers on their 2006 self-titled album.

In October 2008, Atlantic Records took over distribution of "Chicken Fried." The band's album, The Foundation, was released under Atlantic Records' newly re-established country division in association with Home Grown/Big Picture label on November 18, 2008. The group had been previously signed with Live Nation Artists Records.[2] "Chicken Fried" reached Number One on the country charts in November 2008, making them the first country band to reach Number One with a debut single since Heartland did so in 2006 with "I Loved Her First."[3] In January 2009, Clay Cook joined as a multi-instrumentalist, and the band released its second single, "Whatever It Is." Like "Chicken Fried" before it, this song has reached Top 5 on the country charts and Top 40 on the pop charts. In July 2009, a third single, "Toes," was released and this became their second Number One hit in late October 2009. The song was released in two versions, one containing the original lyrics ("toes in the water, ass in the sand") and a censored version with the word "ass" replaced by "toes" again. "Highway 20 Ride" is the album's fourth single and third number one. "Free" is the album's fifth single and, as of May 3, 2010, is still climbing the charts.

Zac Brown Band received four nominations for the 2009 CMA Awards including New Artist of the Year, as well as Song of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year for their Number One single, "Chicken Fried". They also received three Grammy nominations for Best Country Album, Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals and Best New Artist. On Januar