Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell Adkins better known as Trace Adkins was born on January 13, 1962, in Springhill, Louisiana.
After studying at Louisiana Tech, Trace Adkins worked as a pipefitter on an off-shore drilling rig for a few years, and was also a member of the gospel quartet, the New Commitments.
Trace Adkins then went solo, singing in the honky-tonk bars of Texas and Louisiana, before moving to Nashville in 1992.
Once in Nashville, Adkins did construction work to pay the bills and sang at night before being discovered whilst singing at Tillie's & Lucy's Pub by a Capitol Records executive Scott Hendricks, who signed him.
Trace Adkins's debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud was a success and included the single (This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing, which was a number one.
He followed up with albums Big Time, More, Chrome, and Comin' on Strong.
Meanwhile there was the odd backward step. In November 2001, Trace Adkins was ordered to serve two days in jail after pleading guilty to drunken driving.
In 2002, People reported how Trace Adkins had treatment for injuries from being pinned under a small off-road vehicle that forced him to cancel two Texas concerts.
In 2005, Trace Adkins had another hit with Honky Tonk Badonkadonk from the album Songs About Me.
In 2006 Adkins released Dangerous Man, which received a good review from EW.
In November 2007 it was announced that Trace Adkins would be one of the celebrities appearing as contestants on The Apprentice in the USA.
In March 2008, Trace Adkins reached the final of Celebrity Apprentice where he lost out to Piers Morgan.
Other contestants on The Apprentice hosted by Donald Trump included Carol Alt, Stephen Baldwin, and Gene Simmons.
More information can be found on Trace Adkins's official site.