Brad Paisley is one of the best country singers in the business! He’s been producing #1 hit singles since 1999 and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon! He set a new record in 2009 for the most consecutive top 10 singles with 32 top 10 singles and 19 #1 hits. This critically acclaimed singer has three Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards and 14 Country Associations Awards. He’s also hosted the CMA Awards a whopping eight times! It’s no wonder Paisley is so popular with such a strong fan base. Some of his biggest hits have been songs like “Mud on the Tires,” “Alcohol,” “Beat This Summer,” “Southern Comfort Zone,” “River Bank,” and “Perfect Storm” — just to name a few! We can’t believe he’s turning 45-years-old soon, but in honor of his upcoming birthday, here’s a look at 10 things you probably didn’t know about Brad Paisley!
8. Musical Childhood
Bradley Douglas Paisley grew up in Glen Dale, West Virginia, as an only child to his parents, Douglas and Sandra Paisley. Brad got into country music because his grandfather, Warren Jarvis, taught him how to play guitar and even gifted him with his own when he was only 8. He performed for the first time in front of an audience when he was only 10! The first time he sang was in church, but once he did he said he was “performing at every Christmas party and Mother’s Day event. The neat thing about a small town is that when you want to be an artist, by golly, they’ll make you one,” he said. It became quite clear from a young age that Paisley was incredibly talented. He started taking lessons with Clarence “Hank” Goddard and by the time he was 13 he had formed a band with Goddard and two others called “Brad Paisley and the C-Notes.” By the age of 14 he was a regular on the country radio station “Jamboree USA” and became the youngest person inducted into the Jamboree USA Hall of Fame. “[The Jamboree] gave me a sense of entertainment value for a show as opposed to just wanting to sing and trying to imitate people,” said Paisley. It also helped give him the confidence he needed as a shy “semi-mulleted and malnourished” teenager.
Courtesy Brad Paisley via ABC