Trace Adkins

Adkins' musical interest came at an early age, when his father taught him to play the guitar.[1] In high school, he joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. Later, Adkins went on to study at Louisiana Tech University; after graduation, he took up work at an oil rig. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident, and asked doctors to re-attach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar.

Adkins then moved on to playing in honky tonk bars around Nashville, Tennessee in the early 1990s. An excutive of Capitol Records had spotted Trace playing at a honky-tonk, and soon signed him to the label. His debut album was 1996's Dreamin' Out Loud, which included several hit singles, including a No. 1 in "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing". His second album, Big Time, produced a Top 5 in "The Rest of Mine" (which was also a crossover hit), but subsequent singles proved less successful. A change in management delayed the release of Adkins' third album[3], but the album (titled More) did produce a top 10 hit in its title track.