Clay Walker biography
Date of birth : 1969-08-19
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Beaumont, Texas
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2011-05-04
Credited as : Country music singer, What's it to you, live until i die
1 votes so far
Clay Walker was born Aug. 19, 1969, in Beaumont, Texas. He fell in love with country music at an early age, when his father gave him a guitar when he was only nine years old. After he graduated from high school, Walker pursued a musical career full-time, playing concerts across the South, the Midwest and Canada. For more than three years, he toured and went to school, taking courses about the music business. During this time, he acted as his own manager.
Eventually, he became the house singer at the Neon Armadillo bar in Beaumont. While performing at the club, producer James Stroud heard Walker and offered to work with the singer. Stroud helped Walker secure a contract with Giant Records, a small label compared to the majors in Nashville, and Walker's commercial sound proved lucrative.
Released in 1993, his first two singles -- "What's It To You" and "Live Until I Die" -- reached No. 1, and he emerged as a popular live performer, especially in Texas. By the end of 1998, he'd notched a dozen Top 5 hits and his first four studio albums were certified platinum. Within two years, his Greatest Hits and the follow-up album Live, Laugh, Love were certified gold.
In the midst of his success, Walker went public with his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1996. When Giant Records shuttered in 2001, Walker released a Christmas album on Warner Bros. in 2002 and A Few Questions on RCA in 2003.
Walker's second album for Asylum-Curb was first announced in June 2009. Its first single, "She Won't Be Lonely Long," was given an official release date of December 2009, although it had already entered the country charts in late November. In advance of his ninth album, Walker released an extended play titled She Won't Be Lonely Long. The album, also titled She Won't Be Lonely Long, was released on June 8, 2010. It includes a cover of Alabama's 1980 single "Feels So Right" with a backing vocal from Alabama's lead singer, Randy Owen. Allmusic reviewer Thom Jurek praised the album for its "straight-up, mainstream contemporary country" sound but said that it did not reflect a change in sound from Fall.
"She Won't Be Lonely Long" peaked at #4 on the country charts in mid-2010. The album's second single, "Where Do I Go from You", was released to radio on August 2, 2010.
