Bright House Networks, LLC.

The Bright House logo
Type	Private
Industry	Communications
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Syracuse, New York, United States
Key people	Robert Miron, Chairman and CEO[1] Steve Miron, CEO[1] Nomi Bergman, President[1] Kashif Haq, SEO[2] Bill Futera, EVP and CFO
Products	Digital Cable Home Phone Service Business Phone Service High Speed Internet Business Data Solutions
Revenue	$14.8 Million (2007) [3]
Website	http://www.mybrighthouse.com

Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable (video) operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator^[4] in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York. The company provides service to cities including Indianapolis, Central Florida (Orlando/Daytona Beach areas), Tampa Bay area, Lakeland, Birmingham-Hoover area, west suburban Detroit, and Bakersfield. Most of its business is concentrated in Central Florida, where Bright House is the dominant cable system in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets.

History[link]

Prior to 1994, some of the systems were fully owned by A/N under the names Vision Cable and Cable Vision (no relation to Cablevision Systems), while in other areas, Bright House is the successor to Teleprompter Cable TV, Group W Cable, Strategic Cable, Paragon Cable, Shaw Communications and the Tampa Bay / Orlando Time Warner Cable systems in Florida.

All of the systems now owned by Bright House were owned by the Time Warner Entertainment - Advance/Newhouse Partnership but, under a deal struck in 2003, Advance/Newhouse took direct management and operational responsibility for portion of the partnership cable systems roughly equal to their equity. Ostensibly, this was due to A/N's dissatisfaction with Time Warner Cable's strategic direction. Bright House Networks provides customers in Indianapolis, Central Florida, Michigan, Tampa Bay and Alabama with Digital Services.

Bright House Networks currently offers TV Service (analog, digital and HD), high speed internet, wireless home networking, and digital phone in most areas. In addition, Bright House operates two regional local news channels -- Bay News 9 in the Tampa Bay market, and Central Florida News 13 in the Orlando market. Bright House has an extensive fiber optic network in Central Florida and leverages it to provide commercial services including dedicated Internet access, VPN services, and private network transport as well as telecom facilities such as SIP trunking and PRI service.

Naming rights[link]

Bright House Networks owns the naming rights to UCF's Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, Florida; Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, the spring training home of the Phillies; and the Bright House Networks Amphitheatre in Bakersfield, California. There is also a sporting event, the Bright House Networks Open golf tournament, held in Lakeland, Florida.

Carriage controversies[link]

All controversies below primarily involve Time Warner Cable; however, Bright House is also involved in most disputes involving Time Warner Cable, as they also handle negotiations on behalf of Bright House.

• In July 2010, ABC's Parent company, Disney, announced that it is involved in a carriage dispute with Disney for the first time with Time Warner Cable since 2000 (Time Warner Cable was affected in that carriage dispute back in 2000). In Bright House-served areas, the dispute involves the Disney Channel, Disney XD, ABC Family, and all the networks of ESPN. Despite word of an early agreement on August 30, 2010,^[5] it was not until the evening of the September 2 deadline when an agreement was reached between Disney and Time Warner Cable.^[6][7][8]

• In December 2009, the Fox Broadcasting Company announced that a dispute with Time Warner Cable could lead to Fox's owned and operated affiliates to be pulled from Bright House systems in the Detroit, Tampa Bay, Orlando and Gainesville markets, along with Fox's cable and sports channels in all markets served by Bright House. The carriage protests were announced shortly before Fox was to carry the Bowl Championship Series, which included the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. The dispute excluded Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and some regional sports channels, which are on separate contracts.^[9][10] Shortly before the 12 Midnight ET deadline on December 31, 2009, Fox granted Time Warner Cable and Bright House a brief extension during New Year's Day as talks continue, so that viewers would not miss the Sugar Bowl, though the other bowl games and the NFL lineup remained at risk.^[11] A settlement between the two parties was reached the evening of January 1, 2010, though no terms were disclosed; during the discussions that day, none of Fox's channels or stations were blacked out.^[12]
• On September 15, 2008 Bright House temporarily dropped stations owned by the LIN TV Corporation on its Pensacola, DeFuniak Springs and Indiana systems. Affected stations were WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama, WISH-TV/WNDY-TV/WIIH-CA in Indianapolis and WANE-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Even though the controversy was focused on Time Warner Cable systems, Bright House was included in the dispute, in areas where they were formerly owned by Time Warner. With both companies factored in, a total of 15 markets were affected.^[13]
• On December 31, 2008, Time Warner Cable and Viacom's MTV Networks had not agreed to renew any Viacom channel beyond the end of year. Therefore, Time Warner and Bright House Networks would have lost all 19 Viacom channels (including Comedy Central and Nickelodeon) starting on January 1, 2009.^[14][15] This blackout was narrowly avoided when a zero-hour deal was reached shortly after 12 Midnight ET on January 1, 2009.^[16]

See also[link]

• Pivot Wireless

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bright House Networks
• Bright House Networks Business Solutions
• Bright House Networks On Demand

v t e Cable, satellite, and other specialty television providers in the United States Cable Adams Cable Advanced Cable Communications Astound Broadband Atlantic Broadband Armstrong Telephone Company Allegiance Communications Blue Ridge Communications Bright House Networks Broadstripe Buckeye CableSystem Cable One Cablevision Champion Broadband Charter Cobridge Communications Comcast Cox Communications Emery Telcom FairPoint Communications GCI Hargray Insight Knology MCV Broadband Mediacom Midcontinent Communications Northland Cable Television OneLink RCN Satview Broadband Service Electric SRT Suddenlink Time Warner Cable Truvista Communications US Cable Wave Broadband Western Broadband Windjammer Communications WOW! Xfinity (Comcast) Satellite Claro DirecTV (Channels) Dish Network (Channels) Glorystar GlobeCast HITS IPTV Claro Hawaiian Telcom NEP Datastream TV Sky Angel (Channels) SureWest U-verse (AT&T) Fiber FiOS (Verizon) (Channels) FiOptics (Cincinnati Bell) Defunct cable TV Adelphia Alameda Power and Telecom AT&T Broadband MediaOne/Continental Cablevision Tele-Communications Inc. Bresnan Communications Graceba Total Communications Jones Intercable King Videocable Marcus Cable NPG Cable Paragon Cable Precis Communications Rapid Communications UA-Columbia Cablevision Defunct satellite AlphaStar PrimeStar USSB Voom Defunct IPTV VDC Qwest Choice TV Defunct terrestrial USDTV Americas Canada Europe Africa, Asia, and Oceania United States

Bright House may refer to:

Places in the United States[link]

• T. B. Bright House and Farmstead, Danville, Kentucky, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Boyle County, Kentucky
• Bright-Lamkin-Easterling House, Monroe, Louisiana, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
• Bright House (Lewistown, Montana), listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Fergus County, Montana
• Alumni House (College of William & Mary), also known as Bright House, in Virginia

Sports venues[link]

• Bright House Field, a baseball stadium in Clearwater, Florida
• Bright House Networks Stadium, a football stadium in Orlando, Florida

Businesses[link]

• Bright House Networks, a cable television network
• BrightHouse (retailer), a UK retailer
• BrightHouse, an Atlanta-based ideation and marketing consultancy

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011)

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (June 2011)

Les Twins
Background information
Born	(1988-12-06) December 6, 1988 (age 23)
Origin	Sarcelles, Val d'Oise, France
Genres	New Style, Hip-hop dance
Associated acts	Cirque Du Soleil, Criminalz Crew, Veteranz Crew
Website	https://www.facebook.com/pages/Les-TWINS-Organization-Official/109855652372782?sk=info
Members
Laurent Nicolas Bourgeois Larry Nicolas Bourgeois

Larry and Laurent Bourgeois, popularly known as "Les Twins" or Larry " Ca Blaze " Bourgeois and Laurent " Lil Beast " Bourgeois, are a hip hop dance duo originating from Sarcelles, France. The twin brothers who are of Guadeloupean descent (Guadeloupe, F.W.I.), are known worldwide for their talents in New Style dancing. Although they can be seen dancing as a duet, they are also a part of a larger crew known as Criminalz Crew, a group with a variety of dancers that range from b-boys to other new style dancers such as themselves. Les Twins have appeared on the television show Incroyable Talent^[1] as well as the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Les Twins have competed in multiple dance competitions such as: World Of Dance, Battle Of The Stylez, Urban Dance Showcase and won the Juste Debout Dance Competition in the Hip-Hop New Style category in 2011. ^{[2][original research?]} They come from a very large family with 18 siblings, and only 9 of whom dance.

Les Twins have performed with Beyoncé Knowles^[3].^[4] They have also appeared in Jay-Z's That's Rocawear viral video^[5] and the music video for "La Gloria" by French-Argentine band Gotan Project. They were also traveling with Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour as dancers with a newly formed crew especially for the tour, named Veteranz crew until sometime in 2012.

Les Twins are represented by Next Model Management.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Les Twins photo shoot with Shawn Welling

• 

  Les Twins in action

• 

  Les Twins mid-air during a shoot with Shawn Welling

References[link]

External links[link]

• Les Twins Official Contacts: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Les-TWINS-Organization-Official/109855652372782?sk=info

Yo-Yo Ma 馬友友
Ma plays the cello during the "Presentation of the Crystal Award" at the Annual Meeting 2008 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 25, 2008.
Background information
Born	(1955-10-07) October 7, 1955 (age 56) Paris, France
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Cellist, composer, pedagogue
Instruments	Cello, piano, viola, violin
Years active	fl. ca. 1961–present
Labels	CBS, RCA, Sony Classical
Associated acts	Silk Road Ensemble
Website	yo-yoma.com
Notable instruments
Violoncello Davydov 1712 Stradivarius Domenico Montagnana 1733 Luis and Clark

Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is an American^[1] cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001^[2] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.^[3] Ma is regarded by some as the most famous cellist of the modern age.^[4]

Early life[link]

Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris on October 7, 1955, to Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist and professor of music at Nanjing National Central University. His family moved to New York when he was five years old.

At a very young age, Ma began studying violin, and later viola, before settling on the cello in 1960 at age four. According to Ma, his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up cello instead. The child prodigy began performing before audiences at age five, and performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was seven.^[5][6] At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Ma attended Trinity School in New York but transferred to the Professional Children's School which he graduated at fifteen years of age. ^[7]He appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations.

A painting featuring Yo-Yo Ma hanging in Currier House, his residence at Harvard University

Ma studied at the Juilliard School at age nine with Leonard Rose and briefly attended Columbia University before ultimately enrolling at Harvard University later on. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of nonagenarian cellist and conductor Pablo Casals. Ma would ultimately spend four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor his first summer there in 1972.^[8]

However, even before that time, Ma had steadily gained fame and had performed with most of the world's major orchestras. His recordings and performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites recorded in 1983 and again in 1994–1997 are particularly acclaimed. He has also played a good deal of chamber music, often with the pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship back from their days together at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Ma received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1976.^[9] In 1991, he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.^[10]

Career[link]

Ma performs at the White House for (left to right, seated) President Ronald Reagan, Crown Princess Michiko and Crown Prince Akihito of Japan, and First Lady Nancy Reagan, 1987

Ma currently plays with his own Silk Road Ensemble, which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road, and records on the Sony Classical label.^[11] Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed Petunia, built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733. It was named this by a female student that approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck.^[12] This cello, more than 270 years old and valued at US$2.5 million, was lost in the fall of 1999 when Ma accidentally left the instrument in a taxicab in New York City.^[13] It was later recovered undamaged. Another of Ma's cellos, the Davidov Stradivarius, was previously owned by Jacqueline du Pré who passed it to him upon her death, and owned by the Vuitton Foundation. Though Du Pré previously voiced her frustration with the "unpredictability" of this cello, Ma attributed the comment to du Pré's impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player.^{[citation needed]} It was until recently set up in a Baroque manner, since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it. He also owns a modern cello made by Peter and Wendela Moes of Peissenberg, Germany, and one of carbon fiber by the Luis and Clark company of Boston.^[14]

In 1997 he was featured on John Williams' soundtrack to the Hollywood film, Seven Years in Tibet. In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and in 2003 on that of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. He collaborated with Williams again on the original score for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha. Yo-Yo Ma has also worked with world-renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of the Dollars Trilogy including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He also has over 75 albums, 15 of which are Grammy Award winners. Ma is a recipient of the International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

Ma was named Peace Ambassador by UN then Secretary-General Kofi Annan in January 2006.^[15]

On November 3, 2009, President Obama appointed Ma to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.^[16] His music was featured in the 2010 documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.^[17][18][19]

Playing style[link]

Ma with Condoleezza Rice after performing a duet at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards.

Ma has been referred to as "omnivorous" by critics, and possesses a more eclectic repertoire than is typical for classical musicians.^[20] A sampling of his versatility in addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire would include his recordings of Baroque pieces using period instruments; American bluegrass music; traditional Chinese melodies including the soundtrack to the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla; an eclectic and unusual collaboration with Bobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified of the improvisation McFerrin pushed him toward); as well as the music of modern minimalist Philip Glass in such works as the 2002 piece Naqoyqatsi. He is known for his smooth, rich tone as well as his considerable virtuosity, including a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin, Zoltán Kodály's cello sonata, and other demanding works.

Notable live performances[link]

On July 5, 1986, Ma performed on the New York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was televised live on ABC Television.^[21]. The orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, performed in Central Park.

Ma performed a duet with Condoleezza Rice at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards. Ma was the first performer on September 11, 2002, at the site of the World Trade Center, while the first of the names of the dead were read in remembrance on the first anniversary of the attack on the WTC. He played the Sarabande from Bach's Suite in C minor (#5). He performed a special arrangement of Sting's "Fragile" with Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ma has also appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2005.

He performed John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, along with Itzhak Perlman (violin), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet). While the quartet did play live, the music played simultaneously over speakers and on television was a recording made two days prior due to concerns over the cold weather damaging the instruments. Ma was quoted as saying "A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold."^[22]

On May 3, 2009, Ma performed the world premiere of Bruce Adolphe's "Self Comes to Mind" for solo cello and two percussionists with John Ferrari and Ayano Kataoka at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The work is based on a poetic description written for the composer of the evolution of brain into mind by neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, and featured, at the premiere, a film of brain scans provided by Hanna Damasio plus other images, coordinated with the music during the performance.

On August 29, 2009, Ma performed at the funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Pieces he performed included the Sarabande movement from Bach's Cello Suite No. 6, and Franck's Panis Angelicus with Placido Domingo.^[23]

On October 3, 2009, Ma appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa. Harper, a noted fan of The Beatles, played the piano and sang a rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends" while Ma accompanied him on his cello.

On October 16, 2011, Ma performed at the memorial for Steve Jobs held in Stanford University's Memorial Church.^[24]

In 2011, Ma performed with American dancer Charles "Lil Buck" Riley in the United States and in China at the U.S.-China Forum on the Arts and Culture.^[25]

Media appearances[link]

Ma has appeared in an episode of the animated children's television series, Arthur, as well as on The West Wing (episode "Noël", in which he performed the prelude to the Bach Cello Suite No.1 at a Christmas dinner at the White House), Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. In The Simpsons episode "Missionary: Impossible", Ma, (voiced by Hank Azaria) runs after Homer Simpson along with many other frequent guests of PBS.

He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Bach's Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello.

Ma was also seen with former Apple Inc. and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs. Ma was often invited to press events for Jobs's companies, and has performed on stage during event keynote presentations, as well as appearing in a commercial for the Macintosh computer.

Ma was a guest on the Not My Job segment of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on April 7, 2007, where he won for listener Thad Moore.^[26]

On October 27, 2008, Ma appeared as a guest and performer on The Colbert Report.^[27] He was also a show's guest on November 1, 2011, where he performed songs from The Goat Rodeo Sessions with fellow musicians Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile.^[28]

According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series Faces of America, in which Ma made an appearance, a relative had hidden the Ma family genealogy in his home in China to save it from destruction during the Cultural Revolution. Ma's paternal ancestry can be traced back eighteen generations to the year 1217. This genealogy had been compiled in the 18th century by an ancestor, tracing everyone with the surname Ma, through the paternal line, back to one common ancestor in the 3rd century BC. Ma's generation name, "Yo", had been decided by his fourth great grand-uncle, Ma Ji Cang, in 1755.^[29][30]

Personal life[link]

Ma married his long-time girlfriend Jill Hornor, a German language professor, in 1977. He proposed outside her apartment. They have two children, Nicholas and Emily, and reside in Winchester, Massachusetts.^[31] Ma's elder sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, who was also born in Paris, is a violinist married to Michael Dadap, a New York–based guitarist from the Philippines.^[32]

Discography[link]

Awards and recognitions[link]

Avery Fisher Prize

• 1978

Award of Distinction (International Cello Festival)

• 2007

Dan David Prize

• 2006

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) (honoris causa)

• 2005 Princeton University

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

• 1996 Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios (Sony 57499)
• 1993 Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano (Sony 48191)
• 1992 Brahms: Piano Quartets Op. 25, Op. 26 (Sony 45846)
• 1987 Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations (CBS 42121)
• 1986 Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor Op. 38, and F Op. 99 (RCA 17022)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance:

• 1998 Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse (Sony Classical 66299)
• 1995 The New York Album – Works of Albert, Bartók & Bloch (Sony 57961)
• 1993 Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante/Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme (Sony 48382)
• 1990 Barber: Cello Concerto, Op. 22/Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 (CBS 44900)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance:

• 1985 Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites (CBS 37867)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition:

• 1995 The New York Album, Stephen Albert: Cello Concerto (Sony 57961)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:

• 1998 Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse (Sony Classical 66299)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album:

• 2010 Songs of Joy & Peace (Sony Classical B001BN1V8U)
• 2004 Obrigado Brazil (Sony 89935)
• 2001 Appalachian Journey (Sony 66782)
• 1999 Soul of the Tango – The Music of Ástor Piazzolla (Sony Classical 63122)

Glenn Gould Prize

• 1999

Kennedy Center Honor

• 2011

Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album

• 2004 Obrigado Brazil (Sony 89935)

Léonie Sonning Music Prize

• 2006

National Medal of Arts

• 2001^[2]

Presidential Medal of Freedom

• Nominated: November 17, 2010^[33]
• Awarded: February 15, 2011^[34]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Asian Americans portal
	Biography portal
	Music portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yo-Yo Ma

• Official Website
• Yo-Yo Ma at Allmusic
• About Us, The Children's Orchestra Society, ChildrensOrch.org, 2007
• Yo-Yo Ma in Conversation from WGBH Radio Boston
• Yo-Yo Ma Interview on Time.com, October 2008
• Yo-Yo Ma Podcast Series produced by Sony BMG Masterworks
• Yo-Yo Ma TV Interview with Ennio Morricone from C Music TV
• 2006 Dan David Prize laureate
• Welcome to Baku: Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Ensemble with Alim Gasimov and Fargana," by Aida Huseinova in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 14:2 (Summer 2006), p. 14

Trace Adkins
At sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), Nov. 27, 2002
Background information
Birth name	Tracy Darrell Adkins
Born	(1962-01-13) January 13, 1962 (age 50)
Origin	Springhill, Louisiana, USA
Genres	Country, country rock, blues rock
Instruments	Vocals Guitar[1]
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Capitol Nashville, Show Dog-Universal Music
Associated acts	Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, 38 Special, Ronnie Milsap, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton
Website	TraceAdkins.com

Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins (born January 13, 1962) is an American country music artist and actor. He made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations. In addition, he has charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the Number One hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", "Ladies Love Country Boys", and "You're Gonna Miss This", which peaked in 1997, 2007, and 2008, respectively. "I Left Something Turned on at Home" went to #1 on Canada's country chart. All but one of his studio albums have received gold or platinum certification in the United States; his highest-selling to date is 2005's Songs About Me, which has been certified 2× Multi-Platinum for shipping two million copies.

He has also made several appearances on television, including as a panelist on the game shows Hollywood Squares and Pyramid, as a finalist on The Celebrity Apprentice, as the voice for recurring character Elvin on King of the Hill, and in television commercial voice-overs for the KFC fast food restaurant chain. In addition, Adkins has written an autobiography entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck, which was released in late 2007. He has appeared in numerous films, including The Lincoln Lawyer.

Early life[link]

Sarepta, Louisiana, honors its home-town celebrity, Trace Adkins

Adkins was born in Sarepta in Webster Parish in north Louisiana. His parents are Aaron Adkins, a mill worker, and the former Peggy Carraway. His uncle was the Christian musician James W. Carraway (1923–2008). Trace Adkins is of English and Irish descent.^[2][3] His 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. He was also a member of Future Farmers of America. Later, Adkins went on to study at Louisiana Tech University, where he also played defensive end for the Bulldogs football team. Though he never officially graduated he took up work at an oil rig. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident while using a knife to open a bucket, and asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar.^[1] Adkins then moved on to playing in honky tonk bars around Nashville, Tennessee, in the early 1990s. An executive of Capitol Records spotted Adkins playing at a honky tonk, and soon afterwards signed him to the label. Adkins is married to Rhonda Forlaw, his third wife and mother of their three daughters; Adkins has two daughters from his first marriage.^[4]

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Adkins' first single, "There's a Girl in Texas", was released in 1996, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of his debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud, later that year. The album produced several hit singles, including his first Top 5 single, "Every Light in the House", his first Number One in "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", and another Top 5 hit in "I Left Something Turned on at Home". The latter single was also a Number One hit in Canada. His second album, Big Time, produced a Top 5 in "The Rest of Mine", but subsequent singles proved less successful.^[1] A change in management delayed the release of Adkins' third album,^[5] but the album (titled More...) was eventually released in late 1999. Although the album's title track reached Top 10, More... failed to achieve gold status.

2001–2004[link]

In 2001, Adkins was injured in a tractor accident and had to temporarily cancel touring.^[6] He later entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in Nashville,^[7] shortly after the release of his Chrome album. Chrome was the first album by Adkins to reach the Top 5 on the country albums charts; its title track reached Top 10 in late 2002.^[1]

In 2003, Adkins released two albums: a Greatest Hits collection and Comin' on Strong.^[1] The same year, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.^[8] He also made appearances as the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares,^[9] and did voice-overs in commercials for fast-food chain KFC.^[10] Only one single, "Then They Do", was released from the Greatest Hits compilation. Comin' on Strong, which succeeded the Greatest Hits album, produced two singles: the Top 5 single "Hot Mama", and "Rough & Ready", which peaked at #13.

Adkins and Travis Tritt played the roles of prison convicts in a February 2004 episode of the television series Yes, Dear (Greg & Jimmy's Criminals).

2005–2007[link]

In 2005, Adkins released his Songs About Me album.^[1] The album's second single, "Arlington", generated controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery).^[11] It was followed by "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which became a highly successful crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

2006 saw the release of Adkins' seventh studio album, Dangerous Man. "Swing", the album's lead-off single, peaked at #20, while the follow-up "Ladies Love Country Boys" became Adkins' first Number One single on the country charts since "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" in 1997. The album's final release, "I Wanna Feel Something", proved unsuccessful on the charts; as a result, Adkins announced that he would stop supporting the single.

In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled "I Got My Game On".^[12] Originally, the song was planned to be the lead-off to a new album, tentatively titled Game On; however, Adkins decided not to release a full album, and instead released his second Greatest Hits compilation, American Man: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, for which "I Got My Game On" served as the lead-off single.^[13] The album has also produced Adkins' fastest-climbing single to date in its second single, "You're Gonna Miss This".^[14]

"You're Gonna Miss This" has also become his third Number One hit on the Hot Country Songs, as well as the most successful single to date on the Billboard Hot 100 (#12), Billboard Pop 100 (#19), and Hot Digital Songs charts (#8).

Trace released his first book, entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck.^[15]

2008–present[link]

Trace Adkins at Toadlick 2012

In November 2008, Trace Adkins made an appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Trace rode with his family on the "Jimmy Dean" float and performed his popular song "You're Gonna Miss This." In 2009, Adkins appeared in local Kansas City commercials to advertise season tickets and the 50th season of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs.

Adkins recorded a duet with country legend Ronnie Milsap called "My First Ride" to benefit fire-fighters and police officers in the US and Canada. Then, after the song's release the label said 'no' to radio stations playing it with no explanation given. Milsap led a protest at Capitol Records to "Free Trace" and allow the song to be played.

In November 2009, Adkins embarked on the Shine All Night Tour, a co-headling venture with fellow country artist Martina McBride. Also in 2009, Adkins joined fellow country artist Blake Shelton in recording a duet titled "Hillbilly Bone," which was released as the lead-off single from Shelton's upcoming sixth album.

On October 18, 2009, Trace made an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help Ty Pennington and his design team build a new home for the Marshall family.

Two men in a small pickup truck lost their lives after crashing into one of Trace Adkins' tour buses. The truck was believed to have crossed the "no passing" line in the center of the road which resulted in the crash. Several members of Adkins' band were aboard the bus, but did not suffer any major injuries. Adkins himself was not on board the bus at the time.^[16]

In January 2010, Adkins parted ways with his long-time record label, Capitol Nashville, and subsequently signed with Show Dog-Universal Music.^[17][18] Adkins' first single with the label, "This Ain't No Love Song," was released on May 17, 2010, and served as the lead-off single to his ninth studio album, Cowboy's Back In Town. It debuted at #54 on the chart for the week of May 29, 2010. The album's second single "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow" released to country radio on January 10, 2011.

On October 10, 2010, Adkins sang the National Anthem at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.^{[citation needed]}

On December 18, 2010, Trace performed at WWE's annual extravaganza 'Tribute To The Troops' to amazing reception by the soldiers in attendance.^[19] Trace appeared once again on the May 13, 2011, episode of SmackDown live from Nashville, Tennessee, as the special member of the WWE audience.

On June 4, 2011, Adkins' home in Brentwood, Tennessee burned down.^{[citation needed]}

On October 20, 2011, Adkins sang the National Anthem at game 2 of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis, MO.

In February 2012, Adkins will appear as a guest vocalist on Meat Loaf's album Hell in a Handbasket ^[20]

Other ventures[link]

Acting[link]

• 2003-2007 - King of the Hill 5 episodes (Role:Elvin Mackleston, Big John; voice)
• 2004 - Yes, Dear Episode: Greg and Jimmy's Criminals (Role:Curtis)
• 2005 - Higglytown Heroes Episode: Higgly Hoedown/Eubie's Turbo Sled (Role:Cowboy Hero; voice)
• 2008 - Trailer Park of Terror (Role:The Man)
• 2008 - An American Carol (Role:Angel of Death/Trace Adkins)
• 2010 - Tough Trade (Role:Scared)
• 2010 - Lifted (Role:Jimmy Knox)
• 2011 - The Lincoln Lawyer (Role:Eddie Vogel)
• 2012 - American Dad! Episode: The Unbrave One (Role:Transvestite; voice)^[21]
• 2012 - Wyatt Earp's Revenge (Role:Milfin Kennedy)

Celebrity Apprentice[link]

Adkins was a January–March 2008 contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice.^[13] Each celebrity contestant was playing for charitable donations for their selected charity. Adkins was playing for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Adkins chose the charity because his daughter suffers from life-threatening reactions to peanuts, milk and eggs.

In 2008, Trace Adkins released the single "Muddy Water," the lead single from X, which was released on November 25. The video for "Muddy Water" also has an appearance by fellow Celebrity Apprentice competitor Stephen Baldwin as a man being baptised in a muddy river, and later approaching Trace as a friend. X also includes the Top 20 hits "Marry for Money" and "All I Ask For Anymore," both of which reached a peak of #14.

Spokesperson[link]

In 2012, Adkins signed a deal with truck stop chain Pilot Flying J to become the company's new spokesperson.^[22]

Personal life[link]

On July 5, 2001, Adkins was charged with driving under the influence in Nolensville, Tennessee.^[23] The singer pled guilty and was sentenced to 11 months in jail; however, the sentence was suspended after 48 hours.^[1] In addition, he had to pay $350 in fines, and his driver's license was suspended for one year.^[24]