Lee Brice

Biography

Kenneth Mobley Brice, Jr. was born on June 10, 1979, in Sumter, South Carolina, to Kenneth, Sr. and Carleen Brice His younger brother, Lewis, was a contestant on Season 1 of Country Music Television's Can You Duet. As a child, he played piano and guitar, sang in church, and wrote his own songs. He entered and won three different talent contests in high school.

He attended Clemson University on a football scholarship https://clemsontigers.com/former-clemson-football-player-lee-brice-wins-song-of-the-year/. He played special teams there as the long snapper, but after an arm injury, he decided to focus on a country music career.

Musical career

By 2007, Brice began working as a songwriter, with cuts by Jason Aldean, Keith Gattis, and Cowboy Crush among others. Along with Billy Montana and Kyle Jacobs, he co-wrote Garth Brooks's 2007 single "More Than a Memory", the first single in the history of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart to debut at number one.

Later that year, he signed to Curb Records, releasing his debut single "She Ain't Right", which peaked at number 29 on the country chart. It was followed by "Happy Endings" and "Upper Middle Class White Trash" at numbers 32 and 44. All three songs were to have been included on an album entitled Picture of Me, which was never released. He continued to write songs for others, including Canadian singer Adam Gregory's singles "Crazy Days" and "What It Takes". He appeared on Cledus T. Judd's 2007 album Boogity, Boogity – A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens, singing duet vocals on a rendition of the Albert E. Brumley gospel song "Turn Your Radio On".

2009–2010: ''Love Like Crazy''

In August 2009, he charted with his fourth single, "Love Like Crazy", a song written by Tim James and Doug Johnson. It was the first release from his debut album of the same name, on which he co-produced all but one track with Johnson. "Love Like Crazy" reached top 10 on the Hot Country Songs chart in July 2010 during its forty-sixth week on the chart, setting a record for the slowest climb into the top 10. In September 2010, the song charted for a fifty-sixth week, making it the longest-charting song in the chart's history; it broke a record set by Eddy Arnold, whose 1948 single "Bouquet of Roses" spent fifty-four weeks on the chart. "Love Like Crazy" ultimately peaked at number 3. The album's second single was "Beautiful Every Time" at number 30. Also in 2010, Brice co-wrote labelmate Tim McGraw's single "Still".

2011–2019: ''Hard 2 Love'', ''I Don't Dance'' and ''Lee Brice''

Brice released his sixth single, "A Woman Like You", in late 2011. It was the first release from a second album for Curb, Hard 2 Love, which was released on April 24, 2012. In April 2012, it became his first number one on the Country Airplay chart. "Hard to Love" became his second number one in late 2012. The album's third single, "I Drive Your Truck", was released on December 3, 2012, and reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in 2013. The album's fourth single, "Parking Lot Party", was released to country radio on May 13, 2013, and peaked at number 6 on the Country Airplay chart in November 2013. Brice also co-produced the single "Love Is War" for the duo American Young, a duo whose membership includes "A Woman Like You" co-writer Jon Stone.

In early 2014, Brice released the single "I Don't Dance". It was the lead single to his third studio album of the same name, which was released on September 9, 2014. Brice produced the album by himself. "I Don't Dance" became Brice's fourth number one hit in August 2014. "Drinking Class" is the album's second single. It peaked at number two on the Country Airplay chart in May 2015. The album's third single, "That Don't Sound Like You" released to country radio on May 11, 2015. During this time, he also toured on a very busy schedule, doing over 100 live shows every year between 2011 and 2016.

On November 3, 2017, Brice released the self-titled album, Lee Brice. It is his fourth album and it was released via Curb Records. The album's lead single is "Boy" and features 14 other songs.

In October 2019, Carly Pearce released a duet with Brice titled "I Hope You're Happy Now."

2020–present: ''Hey World''

In April 2020, Brice released the single, "One of Them Girls", as the lead-off single to his fifth studio album, Hey World, due for release November 20, 2020. "One of Them Girls" spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in October 2020, becoming Brice's longest-lasting number one to date. In early 2023, Brice embarked on his headlining "Beer Drinking Opportunity Tour" in Canada, alongside Tenille Arts and Josh Ross.

Personal life

In April 2013, Brice married his longtime girlfriend Sara Nanette Reeveley. The couple have three children: sons Takoda Brice (born in 2008) and Ryker Mobley Brice (born in 2013), and daughter Trulee Nanette Brice (born in 2017). Brice's cousin and often music inspiration, Michael Cericola, serves as the children's godfather. Reeveley is featured on the track "See About a Girl" on Hard 2 Love.

On November 8, 2020, Brice announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic, but was asymptomatic. As a result, he was unable to perform with Carly Pearce on their single, "I Hope You're Happy Now", at the 54th CMA Awards, and Charles Kelley of Lady A performed with Pearce instead.

Discography

Main article: Lee Brice discography

Studio albums

• Love Like Crazy (2010)
• Hard 2 Love (2012)
• I Don't Dance (2014)
• Lee Brice (2017)
• Hey World (2020)

Songs written by Lee Brice

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Phillips, Jessica. (24 May 2010). "Pictures of Lee: Hit songwriter Lee Brice puts the finishing touches on his debut album". [[Country Weekly]].
2. Deming, Mark. "Lee Brice biography". [[Allmusic]].
3. "CMT : Can You Duet : Lewis Brice". Cmt.com.
4. (5 September 2007). "Garth Brooks Back on Top". [[Great American Country]].
5. Whitburn, Joel. (2008). "Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008". Record Research, Inc..
6. Hackett, Vernell. (21 September 2009). "Lee Brice Says It's OK to Let His Songs Go". The Boot.
7. (2010). "Love Like Crazy". Curb Records.
8. Trust, Gary. (8 July 2010). "Chart Beat Thursday: Katy Perry, Lee Brice, Judy Collins".
9. Trust, Gary. (7 September 2010). "Lee Brice Breaks Country Songs Longevity Record".
10. Conaway, Alanna. [http://tasteofcountry.com/lee-brice-hard-2-love-album-release-date/ Lee Brice’s Sophomore Album ‘Hard 2 Love’ in Stores April 24]. TasteofCountry.com. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
11. "''American Young''". Allmusic.
12. (10 June 2014). "Lee Brice Unveils New Album Coming Sept. 9". MusicRow - Nashville's Music Industry Publication - News, Songs From Music City.
13. "''Lee Brice Biography''". Concerty.com.
14. (19 May 2017). "Lee Brice Announces Release Date for New Self-Titled Album & Drops New "Boy" Video [Watch]".
15. Jim Casey. (September 27, 2019). "Carly Pearce and Lee Brice Team Up for Powerful New Single, "I Hope You're Happy Now" [Listen]". Nash Country Daily.
16. Trapp, Philip. (September 12, 2020). "Lee Brice Announces 'Hey World' Album, Releases Video for Somber Title Track". Taste of Country.
17. Lypka, Ben. (January 17, 2023). "Country star Lee Brice bringing Beer Drinking Opportunity Tour to Abbotsford". [[Black Press]].
18. Bonaguro, Alison. (19 February 2014). "Lee Brice Raves About His Superhuman Wife". [[Country Music Television]].
19. (2012). "Hard 2 Love". Curb Records.
20. Iasimone, Ashley. (November 8, 2020). "Lee Brice Tests Positive for COVID-19 Ahead of CMA Awards".
21. Lynch, Joe. (November 11, 2020). "Carly Pearce & Charles Kelley Sing 'I Hope You're Happy Now' at 2020 CMA Awards".
22. "Credits". Allmusic.
23. "Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney lead ACM Award Nominations". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
24. "Grammys 2014: The complete list of nominees and winners". [[Los Angeles Times]].