Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as
Show Dog-Universal Music
Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
.
Nichols began his career with The Rodeo Band, playing in high school gymnasiums and small clubs. Throughout the course of his career, Nichols has released nine studio albums: ''
Joe Nichols
Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant Records (Warner), Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, ...
'' (1996), ''
Man with a Memory'' (2002), ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'', ''
A Traditional Christmas'' (both 2004), ''
III'' (2005), ''
Real Things'' (2007), ''
Old Things New'' (2009), ''
Crickets
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...
'' (2013), and ''
Never Gets Old
''Never Gets Old'' is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released on July 28, 2017 by Broken Bow Records, Red Bow Records. The album includes the singles "Never Gets Old" and "Billy Graham's Bible".
Content ...
'' (2017). These albums have produced over 14 Top 40 singles on the ''
Billboard''
Hot Country Songs and
Country Airplay charts, including the Number One singles "
Brokenheartsville
"Brokenheartsville" is a song written by Donny Kees, Blake Mevis, Randy Boudreaux, and Clint Daniels and recorded by American country music singer Joe Nichols. It was released in November 2002 as the second single from Nichols' 2002 album ''Man wi ...
", "
Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off
"Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" is a song written by Gary Hannan and John Wiggins and recorded by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released in August 2005 as the first single from Nichols' album '' III''. The song became Nicho ...
", "
Gimmie That Girl", "
Sunny and 75", and the RIAA GOLD-certified single "
Yeah", as well as five other Top 10 entries.
In October 2012, Nichols signed to Red Bow, a new partnership of
Broken Bow Records
BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Craig Morgan ...
and
RED Distribution
RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...
.
Biography
Joe Nichols was born and raised in
Rogers, Arkansas
Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose cor ...
.
He was the second son born to Michael Curtis Nichols (May 29, 1956 - July 16, 2002) and Robin Larson Nichols. Joe has an older brother Michael Curtis Jr. and two younger sisters, Kelli Francis and Lacey Nichols. His father, who worked as a
trucker
A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
, also played
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
in local country bands; eventually, Nichols himself found work in a local
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band, before taking a job as a country
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
.
Nichols is part
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
.
Musical career
![JoeNicholsApr10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/JoeNicholsApr10.jpg)
Through a meeting with record producer Randy Edwards, Nichols began to work on his singing and songwriting skills. At age 19, he was signed to his first record deal, with an independent label known as
Intersound Records
Intersound Records was an American independent record label that operated in the 1980s and 1990s.
The company was founded by industry veteran Don Johnson in 1982, who purchased some assets of Pickwick Records from its parent company and named his ...
. There, Nichols released his first album, 1996's ''
Joe Nichols
Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant Records (Warner), Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, ...
''. Despite the minor success of its lead-off single "Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other" (which reached No. 74 on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' country charts in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
), the album sold poorly and he was dropped from Intersound's roster. A second record deal, this time with
Giant Records
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
, was short-lived and did not produce any singles or albums.
After his short-lived record deals, he took many jobs in Nashville, including moving furniture, installing cable TV systems, and selling steaks door to door.
1999–2003: ''Man with a Memory''
In 1999, Nichols met
Brent Rowan
Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956 in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produce ...
, a
Nashville session guitarist who helped him land a recording contract with Universal South Records (which became
Show Dog-Universal Music
Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
in December 2009). July 2002 was the release of his second album, entitled ''
Man with a Memory''. Its lead-off single, "
The Impossible", went on to become a No. 3 hit on the ''
Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) charts, and was declared by ''Billboard'' as the tenth most-played country song of 2003.
The same year, his debut album was re-issued under the title ''Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other''.
''Man with a Memory'' earned Nichols a Top New Male Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music, as well as three
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nominations and platinum certification from the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Its second single, "
Brokenheartsville
"Brokenheartsville" is a song written by Donny Kees, Blake Mevis, Randy Boudreaux, and Clint Daniels and recorded by American country music singer Joe Nichols. It was released in November 2002 as the second single from Nichols' 2002 album ''Man wi ...
", became his first No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' country charts in 2003, while "
She Only Smokes When She Drinks
"She Only Smokes When She Drinks" is a song written by Connie Harrington, Tim Nichols, and Tony Martin and recorded by American country music singer Joe Nichols
Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artis ...
" and "Cool to Be a Fool" both reached Top 20.
Also in 2003, Nichols received the
Country Music Association's Horizon Award.
2004–2007: ''Revelation'', ''III'' and ''Real Things''
Nichols spent most of 2004 on tour with
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...
. In June of that year, he issued his third studio album, ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
''. It produced two Top Ten hits in "
If Nobody Believed in You" and "
What's a Guy Gotta Do
"What's a Guy Gotta Do" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released in November 2004 as the second and final single from his 2004 album ''Revelation''. The song peaked at number 4 on the US '' B ...
", at No. 10 and No. 4 respectively. Later that same year, he also issued an album of Christmas music, entitled ''
A Traditional Christmas''. Four of the tracks from this album received enough airplay to enter the country charts.
''
III'' was Nichols' fourth album and was released in October 2005.
Its lead-off single, "
Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off
"Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" is a song written by Gary Hannan and John Wiggins and recorded by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released in August 2005 as the first single from Nichols' album '' III''. The song became Nicho ...
," became his second ''Billboard'' Number One hit, and both the single and the album receiving Gold certifications from the
RIAA. The album also produced the Top Ten hits "
Size Matters (Someday)" and "
I'll Wait for You", at No. 9 and No. 7, respectively. In 2005,
Anna Nicole Smith met Nichols at the
Grand Ole Opry and she became a fan. After Smith's death, he performed two songs ("Wings of a Dove" and "I'll Wait for You") at her funeral service. Nichols joined
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's '' Boomtown'', 19 ...
on tours in both 2005 and 2006.
Nichols' fifth album, ''
Real Things,'' was released in August 2007.
Its two singles,
Another Side of You" and "
It Ain't No Crime," were both Top 20 country hits. The album also included a cover of "Let's Get Drunk and Fight," which Canadian singer
Aaron Lines
Anthony Aaron Lines (born November 17, 1977) is a Canadian country musician. He has recorded for RCA Nashville, BNA and On Ramp Records, and has charted three singles on the Hot Country Songs charts in the United States.
Musical history
''Lo ...
released as a single in 2008.
2008–2011: ''Old Things New'' and ''It's All Good''
Nichols released a new single, "Believers," to radio on March 27, 2009. Written by Ashley Gorley, Wade Kirby and Bill Luther, it was the first single from his sixth album, ''
Old Things New''. The song failed to reach the Top 20, reaching a peak of number 26. However, the album's second single, "
Gimmie That Girl," became Nichols' third Number One hit on the country charts in May 2010. The album's third single, "
The Shape I'm In," was released in July 2010 and peaked at number 17 on the country charts.
Following a merger with his label and Show Dog Records, ''
It's All Good'' was his seventh album released on November 8, 2011, via
Show Dog-Universal Music
Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
. The album's only single "
Take It Off" peaked at number 25 on the country charts, and Nichols parted ways with Show Dog-Universal in May 2012.
2012–2015: ''Crickets''
After parting ways with his longtime label, Nichols signed in October 2012 to Red Bow, a new partnership of
Broken Bow Records
BBR Music Group (formerly Broken Bow Records) is an American record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Craig Morgan ...
and
RED Distribution
RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...
.
On April 22, 2013, "
Sunny and 75" premiered exclusively online at
AOL's The Boot. The song was available on
iTunes May 7, 2013. On Monday, May 13, it was announced that the song had the biggest country radio add week of his entire career, with 52 first week adds. It peaked at number one on the
Country Airplay chart in December 2013. Nichols' eighth studio album, ''
Crickets
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...
'', was released on October 8, 2013. On January 9, 2014, it was announced that "Sunny and 75" was certified Gold by the RIAA for single sales in excess of 500,000 digital downloads. The album's second single, "
Yeah", was released to country radio on January 27, 2014. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2014. The album's third single, "
Hard to Be Cool", was released to country radio on September 1, 2014.
In 2014, he sang, together with
Lucy Hale, the song "Red Dress", which appears on her album, ''
Road Between
''Road Between'' is the debut studio album by American singer Lucy Hale. The album was released on June 3, 2014 by Hollywood Records and Disney Music Group, DMG Nashville.
Background
On June 12, 2012, Hale announced she had signed a record deal wi ...
''.
2015–2020: ''Never Gets Old''
It was announced on Nichols' website that the lead single to his ninth studio album, titled "
Freaks Like Me", would be released to digital retailers on September 18, 2015, and to radio on September 21, 2015. Nichols released the new single "Undone" on May 12, 2016
and released his ninth studio album ''
Never Gets Old
''Never Gets Old'' is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released on July 28, 2017 by Broken Bow Records, Red Bow Records. The album includes the singles "Never Gets Old" and "Billy Graham's Bible".
Content ...
'' on July 28, 2017, on Broken Bow Records. "Freaks Like Me" and "Undone" are not included on the new album. Joe parted ways with Broken Bow Music Group in August 2018.
2021–present: ''Good Day for Living''
On April 23, 2021, Nichols released his first new single in three years titled "Home Run". The song impacted country radio on May 10 under Quartz Hill.
Nichols' likeness, along the Quartz Hills Records logo, was featured on the #8 car of
Tyler Reddick
Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...
at
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
's Goodyear 400 race at
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
on May 9, 2021.
Nichols tenth studio album, ''Good Day for Living'' was released in February 2022.
Personal life
On January 8, 2005, Nichols returned to Nashville to see a therapist after causing a scene in
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, while intoxicated on
amphetamines
Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...
and alcohol. He had been battling an addiction since 2002 after the death of his father. On October 13, 2007, Nichols was checked into a substance abuse rehabilitation program.
Nichols married Heather Singleton on September 9, 2007, in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...
. He had known Singleton since they were both 19 years old. In 2012, the couple had their first child, a daughter named Dylan River. Nichols has another daughter, born 1998, from a previous relationship. On May 20, 2014, Nichols and wife Heather welcomed their second daughter Georgia Blue Nichols.
Nichols is a lifelong fan of the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
.
Discography
*''
Joe Nichols
Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant Records (Warner), Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, ...
'' (1996)
*''
Man with a Memory'' (2002)
*''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' (2004)
*''
III'' (2005)
*''
Real Things'' (2007)
*''
Old Things New'' (2009)
*''
It's All Good'' (2011)
*''
Crickets
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...
'' (2013)
*''
Never Gets Old
''Never Gets Old'' is the ninth studio album by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released on July 28, 2017 by Broken Bow Records, Red Bow Records. The album includes the singles "Never Gets Old" and "Billy Graham's Bible".
Content ...
'' (2017)
*''Good Day for Living'' (2022)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Joe
1976 births
American country singer-songwriters
American people of Cherokee descent
BBR Music Group artists
Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
Country musicians from Arkansas
People from Rogers, Arkansas
Living people
Show Dog-Universal Music artists
21st-century American singers