Gary Allan
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| Gary Allan | ||
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 Gary Allan
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Gary Allan Herzberg | |
| Also known as | Gary Allan | |
| Born | December 5, 1967 (age 39) | |
| Origin |  Longbeach,California |
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| Genre(s) | Country | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, recording artist, songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | singing | |
| Years active | 1996–present | |
| Label(s) | Decca Records | |
| Website | http://www.garyallan.com/home/index.php/ | |
Gary Allan (born Gary Allan Herzberg on December 5, 1967) is a country singer from Long Beach, California. Throughout his career, Allan has produced six albums: Used Heart For Sale, It Would Be You, the blockbuster Smoke Rings In The Dark, Alright Guy, See If I Care, Tough All Over, and his latest which is a Greatest Hits collection.
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[edit] Early life
Gary grew up on a California cattle ranch with sister Tammy and brother Greg. From early childhood, he was interested in surfing and country music. He was influenced by the stars of the Bakersfield scene, above all Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, and he began playing music himself. As a teenager, he accompanied his father, who made appearances in local bars and clubs. He was offered a record deal at the tender age of fifteen, but turned it down because neither he nor his parents felt that he had developed a sound of his own yet. At age twenty, he founded his own band, the Honky Tonk Wranglers. Three years later he finally felt that he had found his own music signature and was ready to try for another recording contract.
It took several more years before he was heard by Nashville songwriter/producer Byron Hill at a bar in Downey, CA called Lion D'or, a meeting which led to the production of four demo recordings in Nashville, landing him his recording contract with Decca Records in 1996.
Allan has three daughters, Maggie, Tanna, and Dallas, from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. He married again, on November 28, 1998, to Versace model Danette Day, but they divorced after only seven months. His third marriage, celebrated on June 5, 2001 to Angela Herzberg, ended when she shot and killed herself around 1:00 a.m. on 25 October 2004 in their home after a long battle with depression, an eating disorder, and migraines.
Gary Allan is currently a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He currently lives in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
[edit] Career
In 1996,an album produced by Byron Hill and Mark Wright called "Used Heart For Sale" was released. It advanced to the top 20 of the charts. Except for the lead single, "Her Man" (a top 10 hit on Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart), the singles from that album were less successful, because Allan's traditional sounding music was rarely played by radio stations. His second album,"It Would Be You," was released in 1998. The single of the same name became his second top 10 hit that year. At the beginning of 1999, Decca went out of business, and he was subsequently signed into the MCA Label.
Allan was labelled "Country Music's Sexy Star" by People Magazine. He branched into acting with the lead role in the television mini series "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" and another part in the TV Series "Pensacola - Wings of Gold", but did not pursue acting further.
His 1999 album "Smoke Rings In The Dark" went platinum, and it included two successful singles. In 2001 the album "Alright Guy" contained the single "Man To Man," which became his first Billboard No. 1 hit. Despite his previous success, Allan was nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award, typically given to newcomers, in 2003. In 2003, he released "See If I Care", which included his second and third number 1 hits "Tough Little Boys", and "Nothing On But The Radio". "Songs About Rain", was a top 15 hit.
His 2005 Album Tough All Over debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the magazine's Top Country Albums chart. It was subsequently certified gold by the RIAA as of December 20, 2006, and contained the top 10 singles "Best I Ever Had" and "Life Ain't Always Beautiful."
Allan's newest album, a greatest hits collection, was released on March 6, 2007 and debuted the following week at the top of the Billboard Country Charts. A Feelin' Like That, which is recieving considerable airplay already, is one of the two new songs on the album. No word yet if the second one, As The Crow Flies, will be released as a single.
[edit] Discography
- 1996 Used Heart For Sale
- 1998 It Would Be You
- 1999 Smoke Rings in the Dark
- 2001 Alright Guy
- 2003 See If I Care
- 2005 Tough All Over
- 2007 Gary Allan - Greatest Hits
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Country | |||
| 1996 | "Her Man" | - | #7 | Used Heart For Sale |
| 1996 | "Please Come Home For Christmas" | - | #70 | Special Release/CD Single |
| 1997 | "Forever And A Day" | - | #44 | Used Heart For Sale |
| 1997 | "From Where I'm Sitting" | - | #43 | Used Heart For Sale |
| 1997 | "Living In A House Full Of Love" | - | #43 | Used Heart For Sale |
| 1998 | "It Would Be You" | - | #7 | It Would Be You |
| 1999 | "No Man In His Wrong Heart" | - | #43 | It Would Be You |
| 1999 | "I'll Take Today" | - | #47 | It Would Be You |
| 2000 | "Smoke Rings In The Dark" | #76 | #12 | Smoke Rings In The Dark |
| 2000 | "Runaway" | - | #74 | Smoke Rings In The Dark |
| 2000 | "Lovin' You Against My Will" | - | #34 | Smoke Rings In The Dark |
| 2001 | "Right Where I Need To Be" | #42 | #5 | Smoke Rings In The Dark |
| 2001 | "Man Of Me" | - | #18 | Alright Guy |
| 2002 | "The One" | #37 | #3 | Alright Guy |
| 2003 | "Man To Man" | #25 | #1 | Alright Guy |
| 2003 | "Tough Little Boys" | #32 | #1 | See If I Care |
| 2004 | "Songs About Rain" | #71 | #12 | See If I Care |
| 2004 | "Nothing On But The Radio" | #32 | #1 | See If I Care |
| 2005 | "Best I Ever Had" | #51 | #7 | Tough All Over |
| 2006 | "Life Ain't Always Beautiful" | #61 | #4 | Tough All Over |
| 2007 | "A Feelin' Like That"A | #13 | Gary Allan - Greatest Hits | |
ACurrently active on charts
