Feb. 9: Country singer Travis Tritt is 48 today.

Travis Tritt signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct Category 5 Records.

Seven of his albums (counting the Greatest Hits) are certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the highest-certified is 1991's It's All About to Change, which is certified triple-platinum.

Tritt has also charted more than forty times on the Hot Country Songs charts, including five number ones — "Help Me Hold On," "Anymore," "Can I Trust You with My Heart," "Foolish Pride" and "Best of Intentions" — and fifteen additional top ten singles. Tritt's musical style is defined by mainstream country and Southern rock influences.
He has received two Grammy Awards, both for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals: in 1992 for "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'," a duet with Marty Stuart, and again in 1998 for "Same Old Train", a collaboration with Stuart and nine other artists. In addition, he has received four awards from the Country Music Association, and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1992.

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James Travis Tritt was born in Marietta, Georgia. He first took interest in singing after his church's Sunday school choir performed "Everything Is Beautiful." He received his first guitar at age eight and taught himself how to play it; in the fourth grade, he performed "Annie's Song" and "King of the Road" for his class at school. At age fourteen, his parents bought him another guitar, Tritt joined his church band, which occasionally performed at other churches.
Tritt began writing music in high school; his first song composition, entitled "Spend a Little Time," was written about a former girlfriend.

Warner Bros.' Nashville division, signed Tritt in 1987 to record six songs, with three of them would be released as singles. He would not be signed on for a full album unless one of the three singles became a hit. His first single was "Country Club." Recorded in late 1988 and released in September 1989, the song spent 26 weeks on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, peaking at number nine. It was the title track to his 1990 debut album, also named  Country Club.


His second single "Help Me Hold On" became his first number one single in 1990. The album's third and fifth singles, "I'm Gonna Be Somebody" and "Drift Off to Dream," respectively peaked at numbers two and three on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. "I'm Gonna Be Somebody" also went to number one on the U.S. country singles charts. Country Club was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 1991.

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In 1990, he won the Top New Male Artist award from Billboard. The Country Music Association (CMA) also nominated him for the Horizon Award (now known as the New Artist Award), which is given to new artists who show have shown the most significant artistic and commercial development from a first or second album.

Over the years, Tritt continued to record and perform. His tenth studio album, My Honky Tonk History, was released in 2004. This album included three charting singles: "The Girl's Gone Wild" at 28, followed by the John Mellencamp duet "What Say You" at number 21 and "I See Me" at number 32.

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