- Big & Rich
Infobox musical artist
Name = Big & Rich
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Background = group_or_band
Origin =Nashville, Tennessee ,USA
Genre = Country
Years_active = 1998 - Present
Label = Warner Bros. Nashville
Associated_acts =MuzikMafia Gretchen Wilson Cowboy Troy
URL = http://www.bigandrich.com
Current_members =Big Kenny John RichBig & Rich are an American
country music duo comprising twosinger-songwriter s:Big Kenny (aka Kenny Alphin, former solo artist and lead singer for the group luvjOi) and John Rich (former vocalist and bass guitarist ofLonestar ). Both members alternate aslead vocalist s and playrhythm guitar in the duo. They first performed together in 1998, and after writing several songs for other country artists, they were signed to a record deal withWarner Bros. Records in 2003.Their first studio album, "Horse of a Different Color", was released in 2004. This album featured what has become their signature song, "
Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) ", as well as three other top 40 singles, including their debut single, "Wild West Show". The album featured collaborations withCowboy Troy ,Gretchen Wilson , andMartina McBride ."
Comin' to Your City ", released in November 2005, added another top-20 single, theVietnam War -inspired "8th of November ", as well as two other songs that reached the top 40. Joining the duo on this album were Cowboy Troy, Wilson, andKris Kristofferson . Their third studio album, "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace ", produced their first Number One single, the wedding ballad "Lost in This Moment ". The duo also branched out beyond country music, collaborating withJohn Legend ,Wyclef Jean , andLil Jon .History
olo career and songwriting
Although the duo has performed together since 1998, Big Kenny and John Rich had both recorded solo albums in 1999 (Kenny's "Live a Little" and Rich's "
Underneath the Same Moon "), though neither album was released until 2005. Both albums featured a song the two had written together, called "I Pray For You", which Rich released as a single in 2000. Rich also charted with a single that, to this day, has not been included on any album. Meanwhile, Big Kenny's band, luvjOi, recorded two albums, one of which was releasedSongs that the pair co-wrote also started being recorded by other country artists. One of the first notable songs was "Amarillo Sky", which
McBride & the Ride made the title track of a 2000 album. While this version was never released as a single,Jason Aldean later recorded the song for his 2005 debut album, and took his version to #4 in early 2007. Alphin and Rich also wrote "She's a Butterfly", which was cut byMartina McBride (with background vocals from the duo) in 2003 on her "Martina" album.MuzikMafia
Big Kenny, John Rich, Jon Nicholson and Cory Gierman founded the
MuzikMafia in 2001, which is an informal collection ofsinger-songwriter s, musicians, and artists who would perform together weekly inNashville, Tennessee . Among the many members includedGretchen Wilson ,Cowboy Troy , andJames Otto .Alphin and Rich began performing songs together that they had co-written, although at the time still maintaining their solo status. However, their unique dual-melody vocalization caught the attention of other members of the mafia and some fans, who would come to the weekly concerts to see "Big and Rich" perform. They began to officially consider themselves a duo, and the "Big & Rich" moniker stuck. [Wal-Mart Soundcheck DVD, released 5 June 2007] In 2003, they believed that they were going to pitch songs. However, the music executive wanted to audition them after his daughter saw them perform with the MuzikMafia at the Pub of Love. They struck a record deal with
Warner Bros. "Horse of a Different Color"
In February 2004, the duo released its first single, "Wild West Show". The song, with markedly Native American imagery and tone achieved moderate chart success, peaking at #21. They also released digital singles for "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" and "Live This Life" in April 2004.
Their first album, "Horse of a Different Color", was released in May 2004, and reached number one in both the "Billboard" national chart as well as the "Billboard" country music chart. The most successful song from the album was the second single, "
Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) ", which reached #11 on the country charts. This song received wider exposure whenESPN featured the song in commercials for its coverage of the 2005World Series of Poker . Big & Rich also showcased this song in acountry-rap music blowout to conclude aCMT awards show.They released two further singles from the album: a song dedicated to survivors of domestic abuse (especially Alphin's sister), "Holy Water", which reached #15, and "Big Time", which peaked at #20.
In 2004, Big & Rich shared a nationwide sell-out stadium tour with
Martina McBride andTim McGraw . Later that year, the duo embarked on the American Revolution Tour which they coheadlined withGretchen Wilson and other members of the MuzikMafia. A live version of the band covering Madonna's "Like a Virgin " also was released on Yahoo'sLaunchCast service."Comin' to Your City"
Their second album, "
Comin' to Your City ", was released onNovember 15 ,2005 . The first single, "Comin' to Your City" received a similar reaction as "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" had a year earlier, although rather than poker,ESPN utilized an altered version of the song as the opening theme for their popular Saturday program College GameDay. However, the song only peaked at #21, their third single to barely miss the top 20.Their next single, "Never Mind Me", achieved even less success on the charts, only peaking at #34. However, the third single from "Comin' to Your City", "
8th of November ", while only peaking at #18, garnered the duo nominations for theCMA Awards ,Grammy Awards , and the ACM Awards. The song was inspired by the story of Niles Harris. A subsequent documentary titled "November 8: a true American story of honor" was released also, debuting onGreat American Country television network over theJuly 4 weekend. The documentary tells the story of Niles Harris and shows the making of the music video for the single. The documentary was included in 42 tablet boxes of Prilosec OTC Fact|date=September 2007.During a benefit concert held on
October 9 ,2006 in Atlanta, GA to raise money for the construction of the 173d Airborne Memorial, Big & Rich were awarded the status of Honorary Members of the 503d Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade. The concert was the subject of a documentary onGreat American Country in November 2006."Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace"
In early 2007, the duo released "
Lost In This Moment ", which was the lead-off single to their third album, "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace ". "Lost In This Moment" became the duo's fastest-rising single, becoming their first top-10 single in June 2007 and their first Number One in July 2007. The song also began receiving airplay onadult contemporary radio and became their first chart entry for that format, reaching #12. They released their second single, "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace" to country radio in August 2007, although it failed to make an impact on the charts, becoming (at the time) their lowest-peaking single behind "Never Mind Me". In November 2007, they released "Loud" after premiering it on theCMA Awards , which had failed to reach the Top 40 on the country charts.Collaboration and special appearances
Since their first collaboration with Martina McBride in 2003, the duo has appeared on several other albums, and has have many guests for their own albums. "Horse of a Different Color" featured MuzikMafia members Cowboy Troy ("Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" and "Kick My Ass") and Gretchen Wilson ("Saved"), as well as McBride herself on "Live This Life". Wilson and Cowboy Troy then appeared on "Comin' to Your City" on the track "Our America". Their third album featured
John Legend on "Eternity" andWyclef Jean on "Please Man", as well asLil Jon on a remix of "Loud" featured on the album's iTunes release. Legend played the piano and sang a verse during the duo's performance of "Lost in This Moment" at the 2007 ACM Awards.Big & Rich co-wrote several songs and provided background vocals on several cuts from Cowboy Troy's two Warner Bros. releases: 2005's "
Loco Motive " and 2007's "Black in the Saddle ". The duo have also written several cuts on all three of Wilson's albums, as well asJason Aldean 's singles "Hicktown " and "Amarillo Sky", the latter of which was originally cut byMcBride & the Ride . Rich has also co-written forWynonna Judd ,Faith Hill , andKeith Anderson , while Big Kenny wroteTim McGraw 's 2007 Number One hit "Last Dollar (Fly Away) ". Rich has also produced albums for several MuzikMafia members, including Wilson, Cowboy Troy, andJames Otto , as well as Jewel's 2008 country album "Perfectly Clear ".In 2006, Big & Rich joined Wilson and
Van Zant onHank Williams, Jr. 's "That's How They Do It in Dixie". The duo also contributed to "" with a cover ofJohn Lennon 's "Nobody Told Me ". Then, in June 2007, the duo was featured in a duet with rock bandBon Jovi on their "Lost Highway" album. The song, titled "We Got It Going On", was selected as a promotional song for theArena Football League 's 2007 season.The 2008 compilation
Imus Ranch Record included a Big & Rich cover of theBeastie Boys ' "Fight For Your Right To Party".Hiatus
Rich stated in an interview that Big Kenny suffered a neck injury, which led to the decision for the duo to take a hiatus until
2009 .Fact|date=September 2008 Rich is scheduled to release a solo album later this year. According to their website, however, Big and Rich are continuing to tour, including participating in some dates ofKenny Chesney 's Poets and Pirates tour.Fact|date=September 2008Reaction
The duo's blend of country music, rock, and hip-hop has been very divisive among some country fans and even country musicians. Some feel as though Big & Rich are too different to be classified as country music.
However, many others applaud the genre-bending of the duo's music, and some bands and artists cite Big & Rich as an influence. Many different artists have also recorded songs written by Big & Rich, such as Rich's "
Mississippi Girl ", whichFaith Hill took to #1 in 2005, and Alphin's "Last Dollar (Fly Away) ", which became a #1 hit forTim McGraw in 2007.Discography
Filmography
*
Las Vegas (TV series) - Season 2, Episode 24: Centennial (2005 )
*"The 8th of November: A True American Story of Honor (2006 ) (Documentary)
*NASCAR 08 - Soundtrack (2007 ) (Videogame)References
External links
* [http://www.bigandrich.com Official site]
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