Lee Brice

Lee Brice (born Kenneth Mobley Brice, Jr., June 10, 1979) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released three albums for the label: Love Like Crazy, Hard to Love, and I Don't Dance. He has also released eleven singles, of which four have charted at number one on Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay: "A Woman Like You", "Hard to Love", "I Drive Your Truck", and "I Don't Dance". He has also charted within the top 10 with "Love Like Crazy", "Parking Lot Party", "Drinking Class", and "That Don't Sound Like You." "Love Like Crazy" was the top country song of 2010 according to Billboard Year-End, and broke a 62-year-old record for the longest run on the country chart.

Besides his own material, he has co-written singles for Garth Brooks, Adam Gregory, Eli Young Band, and Tim McGraw. One of Brice's compositions, Brooks's "More Than a Memory", was the first song ever to debut at number one on the country chart, while another, Eli Young Band's "Crazy Girl", was the Billboard Year-End top country song of 2011.

Biography

Lee Brice was born Kenneth Mobley Brice, Jr. on June 10, 1979 in Sumter, South Carolina, to Kenneth, Sr. and Carleen Brice^[1] His younger brother, Lewis, was a contestant on Season 1 of Country Music Television's Can You Duet.^[3] As a child, he played piano and guitar, sang in church, and wrote his own songs.^[2] He entered and won three different talent contests in high school.

He attended Clemson University on a football scholarship. He played on some special teams as the long snapper but after an arm injury, he decided to focus on a country music career.

Musical career

Lee Brice at Billy Bob's Texas for Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic in 2011

By 2007, Brice began working as a songwriter, with cuts by Jason Aldean, Keith Gattis, and Cowboy Crush among others.^[2] Along with Billy Montana and Kyle Jacobs, he co-wrote Garth Brooks's 2007 single "More Than a Memory",^[2] the first single in the history of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart to debut at number one.^[4]

Also in 2007, he signed to Curb Records, releasing his debut single "She Ain't Right", which peaked at number 29 on the country chart.^[5] It was followed by "Happy Endings" and "Upper Middle Class White Trash" at numbers 32 and 44.^[5] All three songs were to have been included on an album entitled Picture of Me,^[2] which was never released. He continued to write songs for others, including Canadian singer Adam Gregory's singles "Crazy Days" and "What It Takes". He appeared on Cledus T. Judd's 2007 album Boogity, Boogity – A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens, singing duet vocals on a rendition of the Albert E. Brumley gospel song "Turn Your Radio On".

2009–10: Love Like Crazy

In August 2009, he charted with his fourth single, "Love Like Crazy",^[6] a song written by Tim James and Doug Johnson. It was the first release from his debut album of the same name, on which he co-produced all but one track with Johnson.^[7] "Love Like Crazy" reached top 10 on the Hot Country Songs chart in July 2010 during its forty-sixth week on the chart, setting a record for the slowest climb into the top 10.^[8] In September 2010, the song charted for a fifty-sixth week, making it the longest-charting song in the chart's history; it broke a record set by Eddy Arnold, whose 1948 single "Bouquet of Roses" spent fifty-four weeks on the chart.^[9] "Love Like Crazy" ultimately peaked at number 3. The album's second single was "Beautiful Every Time" at number 30. Also in 2010, Brice co-wrote labelmate Tim McGraw's single "Still".^[6]

2011–present: Hard 2 Love and I Don't Dance

Lee released his sixth single, "A Woman Like You", in late 2011. It was the first release from a second album for Curb, Hard 2 Love, which was released on April 24, 2012.^[10] In April 2012, it became his first number one on the Country Airplay chart. "Hard to Love" became his second number one in late 2012. The album's third single, "I Drive Your Truck", was released on December 3, 2012 and reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in 2013. The album's fourth single, "Parking Lot Party", was released to country radio on May 13, 2013 and peaked at number 6 on the Country Airplay chart in November 2013. Brice also co-produced the single "Love Is War" for the duo American Young, a duo whose membership includes "A Woman Like You" co-writer Jon Stone.^[11]

In early 2014, Brice released the single "I Don't Dance". It was the lead single to his third studio album of the same name, which was released on September 9, 2014. Brice produced the album by himself.^[12] "I Don't Dance" became Brice's fourth number one hit in August 2014. "Drinking Class" is the album's second single. it peaked at number two on the Country Airplay chart in May 2015. The album's third single, "That Don't Sound Like You" released to country radio on May 11, 2015.

Personal life

In April 2013, Brice married his longtime girlfriend Sara Nanette Reeveley. The couple have two children: Takoda Brice-Reeveley (born in 2008) and Ryker Mobley Brice (born in 2013).^[13] Reeveley is featured on the track "See About a Girl" on Hard 2 Love.^[14]

Discography

Studio albums

• Love Like Crazy (2010)
• Hard 2 Love (2012)
• I Don't Dance (2014)

Songs written by Lee Brice

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Brice.

• Official Lee Brice Website