Real Name: | Christopher Alvin Stapleton |
Birthday: | April 15, 1978 |
Net Worth: | $12 million |
Height: | 185 cm |
Occupation: | American Singer-Songwriter, Guitarist, Record Producer |
Chris Stapleton, is an American singer-songwriter born and raised in Kentucky, who spent several years writing many hit songs for other artists. Working behind the scenes, he was very successful at his craft. His songwriting opened many doors for him to start a great career as a singer, and it was also while he worked as a songwriter he met his wife. Chris Stapleton is easily recognizable because of his unique hat, long hair, and a full beard.
When he eventually decided to step out of the shadows in the autumn of 2015, he did it with his debut solo album, Traveller. The album was a huge success, and it eventually went platinum. Chris has not laid back since then, following his initial success with a vast repertoire of songs.
He has not only made a name for himself as a songwriter but as a singer also, he has shown his fans that he is just as good at singing songs as he is writing them. He had won numerous awards throughout his career, including five Grammy Awards, seven Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, and ten Country Music Association (CMA) Awards.
Table of Contents
Early Years
Chris Stapleton was born Christopher Alvin Stapelton, on April 15, 1978, in a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Carol J. (Mace) Stapleton, was a local health department worker, and his father, Herbert Joseph Stapleton, Jr., was a coal miner. His family has a lineage of coal miners.
He grew up with an older brother, Herbert Joseph III, and younger sister, Melanie Brooke, outside of Lexington in the small town of Staffordsville, Kentucky. In a 2015 interview with Lexington Herald-Leader (kentucky.com), Chris looked back to his days growing up with parents who actively listened to country artists from the region around them.
“It’s just part of the fabric of being from Kentucky,” he said, adding that, “Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam and Patty Loveless, the list goes on. Those names are just part of life in Kentucky. It’s almost genetic in the sense that you don’t have an existence that doesn’t involve their music.”
As a teenager, Chris was a popular and clean-cut boy. He played several team sports like football, at Johnson Central High School, and also graduated as valedictorian in 1996. He went on to school in Nashville at Vanderbilt University, where he enrolled to study engineering. His love for the local music scene caused him to drop out after just one year. Later on, in 2016, Chris returned to high school to play a free show, and he also dedicated a new space where students could perform on school grounds.
Wife and Family
Chris Stapleton and Morgane Hayes met in 2003 when they both worked as songwriters for different companies. Their first date was meant to be a songwriting project together, but according to Morgane, they didn’t do much writing that night.
They walked down the aisle in 2007 and have been together since. They are blessed with four children, including a set of twins. During tours, the whole family gets on the road. Also, a talented singer-songwriter, Morgane, works together with her husband and sometimes performs with him.
Career
Chris Stapleton’s career dates back to 1999 when he started a Travis Tritt tribute band for a couple of months in his hometown of Staffordsville, Kentucky. According to him, he listens to Travis Tritt to stay grounded to his roots.
He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2001 to pursue his music career, and just four days after moving, he signed with the publishing house Sea Gayle Music as a songwriter. “That is not anybody’s story,” he acknowledges, “But that’s mine.”
In 2007, Chris became the frontman for the bluegrass group called The Steeldrivers. The group had two hit records that peaked at Number 2 on the Bluegrass Chart before he left in 2010. In 2010, Chris founded a Southern rock band, The Jompson Brothers. He was the lead vocalist, with Greg McKee on guitar, J. T. Cure on bass, and Bard McNamee on drums. The band toured the region for three years and even got to open for the Zac Brown Band at some point. They released a self-titled album independently in November 2010.
In 2013, Chris got signed as a solo artist to Mercury Nashville, a division of Universal Music Group. However, his first single, ‘What Are You Listening To?‘ which was released in 2013, didn’t please the audience as expected. The song was part of a recorded project that never got released.
Also, several songs written by Chris have been included as soundtracks of a couple of feature films like Valentine’s Day, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, and Hell or High Water.
Chris released his debut solo album, Traveller, on May 5, 2015. The album was a huge success come fall 2015.
Awards
Chris became the first artist to ever win Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and New Artist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. He had an outstanding duet performance with Justin Timberlake, and they performed the George Jones classic, Tennessee Whiskey, and Timberlake’s Drink You Away. He has also won five Grammys, including Best Country Album (Traveller) and Best Country Solo Performance.
As a songwriter, he has written many hits for musicians, including George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, and Tim McGraw. He has also appeared as an extra in an episode of Game of Thrones.
Net Worth
Chris Stapleton is estimated to have a fortune of $12 million. Given his success with his career, we can say that he’s doing well for himself.
Summary
Chris Stapleton, the American singer-songwriter and guitarist, has been very hardworking in building his career. From being the name behind several hit songs as a songwriter, he has been able to make his mark in the music industry. The award-winning musician also has a happy home with a loving and supportive wife and four wonderful children.
So far, Chris’s life has been an inspiring story of dedication and proven talent. With the announcement of a fourth studio album, Start Over, set to be released on November 13, 2020, Chris Stapleton’s career is on the right track, and we wish him all the best!
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