Marietta, GA · country · southern rock

Travis Tritt

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Class of '89 outlaw — Southern-rock muscle under 90s country gold, still singing 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E' like it's brand new.

Travis Tritt was born James Travis Tritt on February 9, 1963, and grew up in Marietta, Georgia. He first took an interest in singing after hearing his church's Sunday school choir perform, received his first guitar at age eight, and taught himself to play well enough to perform for his elementary school classmates.

At Sprayberry High School he began writing his own songs and formed a bluegrass group with friends, once placing second in a local competition. He worked at a furniture store, a supermarket and an air-conditioning company while playing in clubs at night, eventually leaving the day job at a bandmate's suggestion.

Warner Bros. executive Danny Davenport helped Tritt build a demo album, Proud of the Country, which led to a Warner Nashville contract in 1987 and a manager, Ken Kragen. Tritt emerged at the start of the 1990s as part of the wave of country singers who broke through around 1989, bringing a Southern rock influence, with electric guitars and a gravelly, blues-inflected voice, unlike many peers who leaned toward pop or honky-tonk.

His early Warner Bros. records produced 'Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)' and 'Anymore,' and he later had a hit with 'It's a Great Day to Be Alive.' He toured with Marty Stuart, and their duet 'The Whiskey Ain't Workin'' won a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1992, a second Grammy in the same category following in 1998 for 'Same Old Train.' His version of 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E,' first recorded by Elvis Presley, remains one of his best-known performances.

Seven of his albums have been certified platinum or higher by the RIAA, topped by the triple-platinum It's All About to Change from 1991. He has placed more than forty songs on the Hot Country Songs chart, including five number ones, and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1992.

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countrysouthern rock