Joe Nichols was born in Rogers, Ark., on Nov. 26, 1976. His father drove a truck but also played bass and sang. Nichols would hear and watch his dad perform at VFW dates. Like Nichols' grandfather and uncles, his dad played classic country music.

Nichols says, "People like me grew up listening to stuff from a long time ago, and they haven't forgotten the sound, the style. The songs don't have to be about anything unrealistic right now. They can be, for example, about driving around in a boat on a lake. The subject matter may not be about riding horses and shooting guns, but the sound of classic country, it still deals with the homeland, the heartland, even if that's in the form of today's suburban life."

At 19, Nichols secured a record deal on Intersound Records before the label folded. After that, he endured the usual round of Nashville jobs that most aspiring young country singers hold down, from moving furniture to installing cable TV systems to selling steaks door to door. In 1999, he met studio guitarist Brent Rowan, who ultimately produced Nichols’ 2002 album Man With a Memory, the first project from the Universal South imprint. Nichols and the song “The Impossible” earned a total of three Grammy nominations, and “Brokenheartsville” hit No. 1.

Even as “The Impossible” was taking off, Nichols played the Grand Ole Opry every available Saturday night. A few days after his father passed away in 2002, Nichols performed the Merle Haggard classic “Footlights” on the Opry. Alan Jackson invited Nichols to open selected shows on his 2003 tour, the same year he won the the CMA Horizon award.