Lofton Creek Records was an American independent

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, ...

record label. The label is notable for releasing "

I Loved Her First ''I Loved Her First'' is the only studio album by the American country music band Heartland. Issued in 2006, it includes the single "I Loved Her First", a number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. Also released from this album were ...

", a number-one single for the band

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

History

Harold Shafer and his wife Vicky founded Lofton Creek Records in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, in 1999. Three years later, Mike Borchetta (father of record executive

Scott Borchetta Scott Borchetta (born July 3, 1962) is an American record executive and founder of the Big Machine Label Group. He started the label in 2005 with 13 employees, as its president/CEO and encompasses four imprints: Big Machine Records, BMLG Record ...

) and his wife Martha joined as business partners. The label was based in

. In 2003, they also distributed the Big Al label, which was founded by country singer

J. Michael Harter James "J." Michael Harter (born January 7, 1979) is an American country music artist. Signed to the independent Broken Bow Records in 2002, Harter released his debut album ''Unexpected Change'' that year. It produced one single on the ''Billboar ...

. By 2004, the Borchettas owned a twenty percent stake in Lofton Creek, and the label had just signed

Jeffrey Steele Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961), known as Jeffrey Steele, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than 60 hit ...

. The label had its first chart entry in 2004 with Keith Bryant's "Ridin' with the Legend", a tribute song to

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

. This song charted at number 47 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

in late 2004. The label achieved a number-one single on the same chart in 2006 with

's "

". The label signed

Gwen Sebastian Gwen Noel Sebastian is an American country music singer-songwriter. Sebastian was signed to Lofton Creek Records in 2009 and released two singles for the label. In 2012, she was a contestant on the second season of ''The Voice'' but lost in the ...

in 2009.

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

finalist

Carmen Rasmusen Carmen Rasmusen Herbert (born March 25, 1985) is a Canadian-American country music artist who ranked sixth on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003. Rasmusen also plays piano and guitar. Early life Rasmusen was born on March 25, 1985 in ...

also recorded for the label.

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

signed with Lofton Creek in 2007 and released his album ''

Rollin' with the Flow "Rollin' with the Flow" is a song first released by American country music artist T. G. Sheppard, T.G. Sheppard, in 1974 on the B-side of a single and in 1975 on his debut album ''T.G. Sheppard''. It is better known for a version released by Charl ...

'' that year.

signed with Lofton Creek in 2009 prior to her becoming a contestant on ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

''. Harold Shafer died in 2011 after complications from a stroke. The label had no releases after this.

Notable artists

Former

* Keith Bryant *

Drew Davis Band The Drew Davis Band was an American country music group established in 2001 by Drew Davis (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Drake (guitar, harmonica, fiddle), Loren Ellis (banjo, guitar, mandolin, vocals), Jay Hawks (drums), Mo Levone (bass guitar, voc ...

Shawn King Shawn King (born June 24, 1972) is a former National Football League defensive end who played for the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts. He is best remembered for his numerous suspensions due to violating the NFL's drug policy. NFL car ...

* Billy McKnight *

Allison Paige Allison Paige McBryar (born May 27, 1982) is an American country music singer. Early life Paige was born in Refugio, Texas, and began performing in clubs in Texas with Whiskey River when she was 11 years old. She later joined the dancehall ban ...

Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers (born September 24, 1966 in Erath, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs. Sellers won several national ...

Doug Stone Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and actor. He debuted in 1990 with the single "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epic Recor ...

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American country music record labels American independent record labels Record labels established in 1999 1999 establishments in Tennessee Record labels disestablished in 2011