Country Music ExpertAre you the "country expert" on your trivia team? Here is your secret weapon: lists of fascinating facts and obscure trivia about your favorite country singers and artists.
Updated December 17, 2021 10.2k votes 2.7k voters 470k views
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Reba. Faith. Tim. George. Kenny. The '90s might not have been the era of country outlaws, but it was still a great decade for country music. Summers were defined by cutoff tees, ripped jeans, and cowboy boots. This was back when you might still hear a steel guitar or fiddle in your favorite songs.
With the fame these singers had in the '90s, coinciding with the rise in the internet, it's surprising to realize there are still things we don't know about them, or maybe we just forgot. Some of these facts are sweet and funny; others are shocking. But one way or another, they'll make you say, "Wow."
"Gone Country" was just one of Alan Jackson's 26 hits that hit No. 1. In 1994, he was asked to sing the catchy tune at the ACM Awards. But there was a catch: He'd have to perform to a pre-recorded track.
Jackson was not a fan of duping his fans, so he made a subtle protest during the performance, asking his drummer to perform without any drumsticks. A careful observer could see the drummer behind Jackson giving the performance of a lifetime with nothing but his fingers. He didn't miss a single beat.
Genres (Music): Country, Neotraditional country
Albums: Let It Be Christmas, Honky Tonk Christmas, Thirty Miles West, What I Do, Drive
George Strait Quit Doing Interviews After The Death Of His Daughter
After graduating from high school in Texas, George Strait eloped with his girlfriend, Norma. A few years later, the Straits had their first child, a daughter named Jenifer Lynn. In 1986, at age 13, Jenifer lost her life in a car accident. The family was devastated, and Strait wouldn't give media interviews for some time after the incident.
Trace Adkins is known for being a tough-as-nails country guy. Not only has he survived a terrible car crash involving a school bus, a hurricane while working on an oil rig, and a house fire, but he's also survived being shot in the chest - by his wife.
In 1994, according to Adkins in his autobiography, his second wife, Julie Curtis, tired of her husband's drinking habits, told him to get out of the house, then pulled a gun on him. When he stepped toward her to try to take the gun away, she fired, and the bullet went through his lungs and heart. Friends and family were saying their final goodbyes to him in the hospital when he made a miraculous recovery.
Toby Keith is known for pushing the envelope in songs like "Who's Your Daddy" and "The Taliban Song," so perhaps it wasn't much of a surprise when his 10th album was titled White Trash With Money, a name Keith found wildly amusing, much to his wife's dismay.
The album title has a backstory. Around the time Keith was mulling over titles for the new album, his teenage daughter Krystal got into a scuffle with a local "debutante." After separating the two, the mother of the other young lady told her not to bother, because the Keith family was just "white trash with money."
When Krystal told her dad about the woman's declaration, he laughed, and knew he had a winner on his hands.
Genres (Music): Country
Albums: Christmas to Christmas, How Do You Like Me Now?!, Clancy's Tavern, A Classic Christmas, Shock'n Y'all
In June 2000, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney headlined the George Strait Country Music Festival in New York. Chesney started talking to the daughter of a state sheriff, then asked her if he could ride her father's police horse. She said sure, so he hopped on and took the horse for a joyride, ignoring all orders to stop.
When nearby police officers attempted to apprehend Chesney, McGraw and his road manager jumped in to help out their buddy. A scuffle ensued, and the two stars were detained.
Chesney was charged with disorderly conduct, a relatively minor charge, but McGraw was charged with assaulting a police officer, a potential felony. Both were acquitted of all charges and claim the whole thing was a big misunderstanding.
Genres (Music): Country
Albums: Welcome to the Fishbowl, No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
Growing up, Tim McGraw didn't know who his father was. In fact, he went by Tim Smith after his mother married Horace Smith. But when he found out his dad was famous baseball player Tug McGraw after coming across his birth certificate when he was 11 years old, it gave him hope.
Rather than being angry that his father abandoned him and offered no financial support, Tim said, "It changed what I thought I could do with my life coming from the circumstances I came from... it made me think that blood is in my veins, so that ability is in there."
Tug finally acknowledged Tim as his son when the latter was about 18. Their relationship had its ups and downs, with years and memories to overcome. Despite his lack of affection or financial support earlier, Tug did help Tim get his music career started when he passed on Tim's demo to a producer at Curb Records.
