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Joe Nichols' musical life seems like a country song in and of itself. He grew up in Rogers, Arkansas, where his first real introduction to music came from watching his father perform as a bass player in a local twangy band. In high school Nichols cut his teeth in a rock 'n' roll band, but following graduation he became infatuated with country music while working a day job as an auto mechanic and a night job as a DJ. The latter job put Nichols in good company where he was able to make the kind of connections that helped land him a solo deal with Intersound, the label that released his self-titled debut in 1996. Nichols scored a low charting hit with that album, and it failed to sell. Still, Warner Bros. flirted with nabbing Nichols after his stint with Intersound, but they balked in the end, and he ended up signing with Universal. In 2002 he unleashed Man with a Memory, which contained the dramatic and heartfelt ballad "The Impossible," which roped in a No.2 hit on the country charts and crossed over into the Top 40. This prompted Universal to reissue his first album, this time under the clever moniker Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other. Then in 2003, "Brokenheartsville," the second single from his Man with a Memory, hit No. 1 on the country charts. The music industry bestowed much praise on Nichols -- he was awarded the Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music and he got to tour with Alan Jackson. He was also nominated for three Grammys and "The Impossible" was declared the 10th most played song of 2003 by Billboard magazine. He hit again with the endearingly witty "She Only Smokes When She Drinks" and released his sophomore major label album Revelation in 2004 before cranking out III the next year. Now living in Nashville, this prolific country artist continues to record and perform using his muscular tenor voice to offer up a seamless blend of honky-tonk and New Country songs written and performed by a variety of Music City's A-list session players and songwriters.
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