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Josh Turner
Background information
Birth name	Joshua Otis Turner
Born	November 20, 1977 (1977-11-20) (age 31)
Origin	Hannah, South Carolina, USA
Genre(s)	Country
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	2001–present
Label(s)	MCA Nashville
Associated acts	John Anderson Ralph Stanley Randy Travis Trisha Yearwood
Website	JoshTurner.com

Joshua Otis (Josh) Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country music artist. Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 2003, Josh made his debut on the American country music charts with the Top 20 single "Long Black Train", a song which gained critical acclaim for its neotraditionalist country stylings. His debut album, also titled Long Black Train, was released in early 2004, and has been certified platinum.

In 2005, Turner charted his first two Number One singles on the Billboard country charts: "Your Man" and "Would You Go With Me", both from his Your Man album, which has been certified 2× Multi-Platinum in the United States. This album also produced the #16-peaking "Me and God", a duet with bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley.

Turner's third studio album, titled Everything Is Fine, was released in October 2007. It produced the #2 hit "Firecracker", the #15 "Another Try" (a duet with Trisha Yearwood) and a Top 30 in its title track.

Biography

Early in his life, Josh Turner sang lead and bass parts in his church choir. He also formed a gospel quartet called Thankful Hearts in which he sang bass and occasionally lead. After attending school at Hannah-Pamplico High School in Florence County, South Carolina, Turner attended Francis Marion University in the state of South Carolina. Josh Turner is also a devout Christian.

In 1996, Turner developed a lesion on his right vocal cord. Surgery was not needed, but he did have to rest his voice for a year. Turner states that he "learned how to whistle really well during that year."¹ Turner was examined by the Vanderbilt voice clinic who advised him to let it heal on his own. While Turner rested his voice back at home, he learned classical vocal techniques and how to take care of his voice and avoid developing further problems.

Shortly afterwards, Turner moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music and attend Belmont University. At Belmont, Turner went through a classical training vocal program. While there, he also met Jennifer, whom he married in 2003, prior to the release of his album.² Jennifer also plays piano and sings background vocals in Turner's road band.

The Turners had a child, Hampton Otis Turner, on October 6, 2006.³

2001-2004: Long Black Train

On December 21, 2001, Turner debuted on the Grand Ole Opry with a song he had written himself, "Long Black Train."

In 2003, Turner released his debut album, also entitled Long Black Train. Prior to its release, Turner had released 7" vinyl singles of "She'll Go on You" and "Long Black Train." Both singles featured Long Black Train album track "Backwoods Boy" as a B-side. While neither "Backwoods Boy" nor "She'll Go on You" were successful (the latter peaking at #46 on the country charts), "Long Black Train" spent more than forty weeks on the Billboard country charts, reaching a peak of #13 and receiving a gold certification. The third single, "What It Ain't", was less successful, reaching #31.

2005-2006: Your Man

In early 2006, Turner released his second album, Your Man. The album's first single and title track, "Your Man", was co-written by Jace Everett and released in late 2005. "Your Man" also climbed the charts slowly, eventually reaching #1 in early 2006. Your Man was certified Gold by the RIAA four weeks after its release, and later went Platinum six months later.⁴

"Would You Go with Me" was the second single released from Your Man. Like the album's title track, "Would You Go with Me" also reached the top of the country singles charts, holding that position for two weeks; it also reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. Turner also performed it on the CMA Awards in November 2006.

Shortly after the album's release, a song called "Me and God" was released as a single to Christian radio. A duet bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley, the song also featured members of the band Diamond Rio on background vocals. "Me and God" reached a peak of #16 on the country charts.

In December 2006, the 49th Annual Grammy Award nominations were announced. Turner received nods for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and for Best Country Album. That same month, featurette on CMT Insider showed Turner in the studio working on the album. He mentioned that he wanted it to sound like music in the 1700s and 1800s. Turner performed at the Ryman Auditorium where a live album was recorded, singing a song called, "Church in the Holler." Turner's album Josh Turner: Live At The Ryman was recorded in April and is available exclusively through Cracker Barrel restaurants.

Turner, along with veteran songwriters Brett James and Don Schlitz, wrote a song entitled "Say Yes"; recorded and released by singer Dusty Drake in 2007, the song was a minor Top 40 country hit for Drake, peaking at #36.⁵

2007-2008: Everything Is Fine

Turner's third studio album for MCA Nashville, titled Everything Is Fine, was released on October 30, 2007. Its lead-off single, titled "Firecracker", has become Turner's third Top Ten hit on the country music charts, peaking at #2. The second single from Everything Is Fine, a duet with Trisha Yearwood entitled "Another Try", was released in late January 2008, peaking at #15. The title track has since been released as the third single.

Grand Ole Opry induction

On September 29, 2007, while giving an award to Roy Clark on Clark's 20th anniversary on the Grand Ole Opry, Josh was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was inducted by Vince Gill on October 27, 2007.⁶

Billy Graham Biopic

Turner has filmed a small role in the upcoming biopic of Billy Graham. Turner will be playing George Beverly Shea. George Beverly Shea led the music on many of Graham's crusades.⁷

Discography

Main article: Josh Turner discography

Awards and nominations

• Grammy Awards^{citation needed}

• CMA Awards⁸

• ACM Awards^{citation needed}

• CMT Music Awards⁹

• Inspirational Country Music Awards¹⁰

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Josh Turner page at Universal Music Group Nashville
• Josh Turner at the Internet Movie Database