Jason Aldean

Jason Aldean was born Feb. 28, 1977, and raised by his mother in Macon, Ga., with summers spent with his father in Homestead, Fla. In addition to taking him to concerts by Kenny Rogers, the Gatlin Brothers and Alabama, Aldean's father also wrote out guitar chords on notebook paper to teach him how to play. Eventually, Aldean taught himself songs from listening to the radio. Early favorites included George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away," Hank Williams Jr.'s "The Blues Man" and Alabama's "My Home's in Alabama."

Inspired by a country music awards show on TV, 14-year-old Aldean decided to try performing, so his mother arranged for him to sing two songs at the VFW Hall in Macon. After that, he began performing at area talent contests and local fairs. At 15, he joined the house band at the Macon nightspot Nashville South. A year later, he bought his first vehicle with money he'd earned singing, a 1985 Toyota pickup with a rusted-out tailgate. By the time of his high school graduation, he decided to pursue music full-time.

Aldean's father booked his son's band into college towns in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, then farther up the eastern seaboard. One of the band members was Justin Weaver, with whom Jason began writing songs. Aldean recorded an eight-song album in Nashville in 1996 to sell at his shows.

In 1998, he performed his original songs at a showcase staged by the Atlanta nightclub The Buckboard. None of the record company talent scouts who were there approached him, but Michael Knox, then of the Warner-Chappell publishing company, did. Aldean didn't even know what a song publisher was. Nevertheless, signed to write songs for the company, he moved to Music City on Nov. 1, 1998, at age 21. A month later, he was offered a recording contract. When that didn't pan out, he signed with another label immediately afterward.

However, after postponing his recording sessions repeatedly, the second label dropped him in 2000. The next three years brought a marriage and a daughter but no career progress. But after a showcase at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville in early 2004, manager Lawrence Mathis approached him, impressed with his talent. Aldean said he had six months to make something happen or else he'd be leaving Nashville. Within five weeks, Mathis secured him a record deal with independent label Broken Bow Records.