Note: Troy is taller than Fred!
Bogtrotter52 wrote: “I swear, I have never heard of any of them.”
The first album by Big & Rich (Big Kenny and John Rich), “Horse of a Different Color” (2004), reached number one in both the Billboard national chart as well as the Billboard country music chart. The most successful song from the album was the second single, the Top 15 single “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”. This song reached #11 on country radio, and received wider exposure when ESPN featured the song in commercials for its coverage of the 2005 World Series of Poker. Big & Rich also showcased this song in a country-rap music blowout to conclude a CMT awards show.
In 2004, Big & Rich shared a nationwide sell-out stadium tour with Martina McBride and Tim McGraw. Later that year, the duo embarked on the American Revolution Tour which they coheadlined with Gretchen Wilson and other members of their renegade group known as the MuzikMafia. A live version of the band covering Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” has also surfaced on the Internet.
Their second album, Comin’ To Your City, was released on November 15, 2005. The single “Comin’ To Your City” has grown to be their signature song; so much so that ESPN has utilized an altered version of it as the opening theme for their popular Saturday program College GameDay.
During a benefit concert held on October 9, 2006 in Atlanta, GA to raise money for the construction of the 173d Airborne Memorial, Big & Rich were awarded the status of Honorary Members of the 503d Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade. The concert was the subject of a documentary on Great American Country in November 2006.
In early 2007, the duo released a single called “Lost in this Moment”, which is the lead-off single to their third album, Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace. “Lost in This Moment” has become Big & Rich’s first number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Big and Rich also contributed to the “Instant Karma: Save Darfur” tribute cd with a cover of “Nobody Told Me,” by John Lennon.
Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973)is an American country music singer and guitarist. Her debut album, “Here for the Party,” topped the US country charts in 2004 and reached #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Her two subsequent albums, “All Jacked Up” and “One of the Boys,” have also reached the top of the US country charts.
Gretchen’s awards include 2005 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, 2004 CMA Horizon Award and a 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
Gretchen’s “I Don’t Feel Like Loving You Today” was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country Song. In 2006, Wilson contributed a well-received cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down” on the tribute CD “The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson.” In 2007, Wilson displayed her rock and roll vocals on the cable TV special VH1 Rock Honors, singing Heart’s hit Barracuda, along with Alice in Chains and Heart member Nancy Wilson on guitar.
Cowboy Troy (born Troy Coleman on December 18, 1970 in Victoria, Texas) is an African-American country rap singer-songwriter. He call his music “hick-hop.” (LOL!)
On May 17, 2005, Cowboy Troy released his first major-label solo album, Loco Motive, through the RAYBAW records production label and the Warner Music Group distribution label. The album debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. The first single, “I Play Chicken with the Train,” peaked at #48 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart on April 9, 2005 and was the #1 country download at the iTunes Music Store on April 15, 2005.
The MuzikMafia is an informal collection of singers, songwriters and musicians. It was founded in October of 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Pub of Luv. The founders; Big Kenny, John Rich, Jon Nicholson and Cory Gierman (who handles the business end of things) would meet for informal jam sessions every Tuesday night. These four have come to be known as the Godfathers of the MuzikMafia. The word Mafia in the name comes from Musically Artistic Friends In Alliance. Slowly the group expanded to include an ever-growing circle of friends and members from every genre and even other types of art. The members play a blend of many types of music, Country & Western, Rock and Roll, R&B, Bluegrass and Rap.
The main mission of the Muzik Mafia is to share the love of music with all people and to break down the walls of musical genres and letting people who are passionate about making music do so without those walls. Their philosophy of ‘music without prejudice’ allows for the mixing of different genres for everyone’s pleasure. Gradually, the Muzik Mafia grew and through those sessions Big Kenny and John Rich landed a record deal with Warner Nashville as the duo Big & Rich. Other members have landed contracts since then, including Jon Nicholson, Gretchen Wilson, James Otto, Cowboy Troy.
CMT has run a television series, MuzikMafia TV, which followed the Muzik Mafia on their first stadium tour, the American Revolution Tour. The series documented what happened backstage and between shows. It ran for 6 episodes. It is not known if it will return.
The MuzikMafia has been heavily criticized by many, who consider that their kind of “country music” is destroying the genre completely. Generally, the critics come from Neotraditional Country sectors, as well as from country music’s purists and elders.