Chris Stapleton

About Chris Stapleton

Stapleton grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky, the son of a coal miner and a health department worker. He was valedictorian at Johnson Central High School and briefly attended Vanderbilt to study engineering before leaving to pursue music. His songwriting voice developed through Nashville's publishing houses, where he met his wife Morgane Hayes (herself a songwriter and former Arista Nashville artist). The couple now lives in Nashville with their two children.

Before launching his solo career, Stapleton served as frontman of the bluegrass group The SteelDrivers from 2008 to 2010. His 1978 birth meant he brought a certain maturity to both his songwriting and his debut. Traveller arrived in 2015 to immediate commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard 200 and eventually achieving double platinum certification. The album earned him Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Awards for Album of the Year, plus Grammy recognition for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance. He followed with two albums in quick succession: From A Room: Volume 1 debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 in May 2017 and has sold over 500,000 units, with From A Room: Volume 2 matching that chart position six months later.

Stapleton's catalog as a songwriter extends far beyond his own records. Over 150 songs credited to him appear on albums by major country acts including Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley, plus artists outside country like Adele and Sheryl Crow (whom he has co-written with alongside Vince Gill and Peter Frampton). The Groove Hunter currently tracks 7 editions across his discography, including Traveller, From A Room: Volume 1, Higher, and From A Room: Volume 2 in various pressings and formats.