Country icon Tim McGraw has been powering through his music career since the early 1990s. It doesn’t look like he’ll slow down anytime soon. The “Humble And Kind” hitmaker is still producing music and touring around the country today. He’s won three Grammy Awards and countless country music awards for his work. The vast majority of his albums have toppled the country music charts, particularly Not A Moment Too Soon, A Place In The Sun, Let It Go, The Rest Of Our Life, and more. He’s also embarked on a number of extremely successful tours with his wife, fellow country music star Faith Hill.
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To put it simply, McGraw is a powerhouse talent. And it might be surprising for some fans to hear that early on in his career, Tim McGraw almost quit music entirely.
Years ago on Oprah’s Masterclass, McGraw opened up about how one interaction with a music producer damaged McGraw’s confidence so severely that he almost quit music. This happened way back in the early 1990s before McGraw’s 1993 debut self-title album was even released.
Why Did Tim McGraw Almost Quit Country Music?
According to McGraw, the interaction happened shortly after a particularly rough recording session. During the season, McGraw said that he was “singing over and over again” and could not quite get it right. After the session, he had dinner with the producer who facilitated the recording session. During that dinner, the producer in question almost smashed McGraw’s dreams of country music stardom.
“He [the unnamed producer] goes, ‘You know, you’re a nice guy, but I don’t think this is for you,’” said McGraw. “’Unless you want to find another part of this business you want to work in, you should not be involved in being a singer.’”
The rough words cut through McGraw’s heart. He was devastated and even believed what the producer said. McGraw went on to say that he questioned himself and whether or not he should be involved in music at all anymore.
Luckily, McGraw made the choice to hang in there. With only $150 in his pocket and no one to help him after the producer in question dropped him, McGraw decided to do something a little different.
“I got all these musicians together,” McGraw continued. “I said, ‘Look, I want to do a show down at this place called Diamond-n-the-Ruff.’ It was a little bar that was in downtown Nashville. We learned all these songs. And I sent out letters to all these different producers and record labels and everybody all over town.”
Producer Byron Gallimore heeded the call and decided to work with McGraw after seeing him perform. Now, he’s a Grammy Award-winning country legend. Aspiring musicians should take this story to heart.
Photo by Jason Kempin
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