Brett Eldredge
Some life-changing moments are only apparent in retrospect. Brett Eldredge … Read Full Bio ↴Some life-changing moments are only apparent in retrospect. Brett Eldredge recognized his as it was happening.
The Paris, IL, native was visiting Nashville for the first time early in his sophomore year at Chicago's Elmhurst College. He was at the Station Inn, an historic bluegrass/country venue where many of the greats of both worlds have played. His cousin Terry, a veteran of Dolly Parton's band and now a member of the Grascals, was playing with a band called the Sidemen, and a mesmerized Brett was in the crowd.
"There was something so real and truthful about the songs they were playing," he says. “What happened next came as a shock.”
"He asked me to come up on stage and told me to pick a song to play with the band," says Brett. I said, 'Amarillo By Morning,' and when I heard that fiddle intro, chills shot up my spine. I sang it for the crowd there and it was a magical experience. That was the point where I thought, 'This is it. This is something I've got to do.'"
By the start of the next school year, he had transferred to Middle Tennessee State University and begun the round of writers' nights and writing appointments that led him eventually to a record deal.
The talent that let him turn that dream into reality—the depth of his writing and the sheer power of his smoky and expressive baritone—are both apparent in his first single. "Raymond" is the poignant tale of a nursing home employee mistaken by a patient with Alzheimer's for her deceased son, who was killed at war. It is a song whose inspiring reaffirmation of their mutual humanity is affecting listeners deeply. The single rings true for Eldredge as his Grandmother currently struggles through the disease.
"There are a lot of things I'll play live where people will say, 'I like that,' or 'That's a really cool song,'" Brett says, "but when I do this one, I get the chance to tell people how special a thing it's been in my life, and it always touches someone. A lot of people know someone with Alzheimer's and people react in a really emotional way to it."
Brett has earned a reputation as much for the strength of his writing as for his world-class voice. He and co-writer Pat McLaughlin landed a song called "I Think I've Had Enough" on Gary Allan's latest album, Get Off On The Pain, and one of his frequent collaborators is Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry stalwart Bill Anderson.
"He's one of my favorite people to write with," says Brett. "I love the fact that he believes in country music so much, because it's something I really believe in. My dream, as I find my place in country music, is one day to be an Opry member."
Brett heard all kinds of music growing up, and became a particular fan of the classic pop singers he heard in his grandfather's car.
"I heard a lot of Frank Sinatra, who is still a favorite of mine, and Ray Charles and Bobby Darin," he says. "When my mother convinced me to sing 'Mack The Knife' at a talent show, I got hooked on singing in public."
That was in Paris, a town of 9,000 with "cornfields and factories and lake right in the middle." Brett, his older brother and his parents—a traveling grain salesman and a nurse—lived on the lake and, says Brett, "We were on the water every day, from the time I was so little they could pull me on water skis in a paddle boat until I left for college at 18." Sports were a big part of his life, and he played basketball, baseball and football in high school.
He also sang everywhere he could, often the Big Band music of Sinatra, earning spending money and learning to work a stage. His appreciation for country music became a passion when he turned 16 and he and a friend rode around listening to a Brooks & Dunn greatest hits album.
"There was something about it that just struck me," he says. "I couldn't get enough of it. Ronnie Dunn is one of my favorite singers of all time—I love the soul in his voice—and one of the main reasons I got into this in the first place."
Brett spent two years in Chicago, where his older brother lived, performing with a school jazz band and with a Big Band around the region.
"One of the coolest gigs," he says, "was at the Field Museum, I was singing in front of a 12-piece band under this huge Tyrannosaurus Rex statue near some mammoths. It was quite the experience."
Then came that fateful visit to Nashville and his transfer to MTSU. He studied classic country stylists like Ray Price and George Jones, and later Vince Gill, absorbing everything he could.
"I was driving back and forth Nashville every day from Murfreesboro, which is thirty miles away," he says. "I had a guitar Terry had given me, which was originally a gift from Dolly, and I'd pretty much lock myself in my room and make myself learn songs. I would play writers' nights all around Nashville. There might be two people, there might be 40 or 50. I'd go play my songs and see what people liked and what they didn't. I'd screw up royally in front of them, but I learned."
He earned a degree, which, he says, "made Mom and Dad happy, and then I moved on to what I really wanted to do.
A staff writer for hit producer/publisher Byron Gallimore heard him at a writers' night and introduced him to Byron, who signed him.
"I wrote for about two years, developing my craft and writing with everyone I could. In the beginning, Byron just let me kind of find myself, because that takes a while. As you write more you starting homing in on what you sound good on. Eventually, Byron said, 'You've got something here' and we went in and started cutting songs. We did a showcase, and Carole Ann Mobley from Warner Music Nashville said, 'We've gotta sign this kid'. Mobley and Craig Kallman then signed Brett to Atlantic Records, making him the first official signing for the new imprint.
As he worked with his band tightening his show, he was offered a particularly gratifying gig.
"I opened for Blake Shelton at The Ryman and it was the coolest experience. I flew back from this house gig and all of a sudden I'm thrown into playing the Mother Church of Country Music, something I always dreamed of doing. I was operating on almost no sleep, but stepping out on that stage where everybody who's anybody in country music has been meant the world to me."
He remains active in sports, playing basketball and volleyball and playing on an intramural softball team in Nashville, and rooting for the Cubs and Bears. Meanwhile, he is dedicated to improving his craft.
"As a songwriter," he says, "my aim is to portray a little bit of me and my life along with the stories of other people and turn them into something that can really touch somebody's heart and soul. We sit down on Music Row every day and write songs and every once in a while a song like ‘Raymond’ comes from such a real place. I hope it's that real to other people and that I can make them feel the way I felt when I wrote it and when I sing it."
Judging from audience reaction, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
The Paris, IL, native was visiting Nashville for the first time early in his sophomore year at Chicago's Elmhurst College. He was at the Station Inn, an historic bluegrass/country venue where many of the greats of both worlds have played. His cousin Terry, a veteran of Dolly Parton's band and now a member of the Grascals, was playing with a band called the Sidemen, and a mesmerized Brett was in the crowd.
"There was something so real and truthful about the songs they were playing," he says. “What happened next came as a shock.”
"He asked me to come up on stage and told me to pick a song to play with the band," says Brett. I said, 'Amarillo By Morning,' and when I heard that fiddle intro, chills shot up my spine. I sang it for the crowd there and it was a magical experience. That was the point where I thought, 'This is it. This is something I've got to do.'"
By the start of the next school year, he had transferred to Middle Tennessee State University and begun the round of writers' nights and writing appointments that led him eventually to a record deal.
The talent that let him turn that dream into reality—the depth of his writing and the sheer power of his smoky and expressive baritone—are both apparent in his first single. "Raymond" is the poignant tale of a nursing home employee mistaken by a patient with Alzheimer's for her deceased son, who was killed at war. It is a song whose inspiring reaffirmation of their mutual humanity is affecting listeners deeply. The single rings true for Eldredge as his Grandmother currently struggles through the disease.
"There are a lot of things I'll play live where people will say, 'I like that,' or 'That's a really cool song,'" Brett says, "but when I do this one, I get the chance to tell people how special a thing it's been in my life, and it always touches someone. A lot of people know someone with Alzheimer's and people react in a really emotional way to it."
Brett has earned a reputation as much for the strength of his writing as for his world-class voice. He and co-writer Pat McLaughlin landed a song called "I Think I've Had Enough" on Gary Allan's latest album, Get Off On The Pain, and one of his frequent collaborators is Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry stalwart Bill Anderson.
"He's one of my favorite people to write with," says Brett. "I love the fact that he believes in country music so much, because it's something I really believe in. My dream, as I find my place in country music, is one day to be an Opry member."
Brett heard all kinds of music growing up, and became a particular fan of the classic pop singers he heard in his grandfather's car.
"I heard a lot of Frank Sinatra, who is still a favorite of mine, and Ray Charles and Bobby Darin," he says. "When my mother convinced me to sing 'Mack The Knife' at a talent show, I got hooked on singing in public."
That was in Paris, a town of 9,000 with "cornfields and factories and lake right in the middle." Brett, his older brother and his parents—a traveling grain salesman and a nurse—lived on the lake and, says Brett, "We were on the water every day, from the time I was so little they could pull me on water skis in a paddle boat until I left for college at 18." Sports were a big part of his life, and he played basketball, baseball and football in high school.
He also sang everywhere he could, often the Big Band music of Sinatra, earning spending money and learning to work a stage. His appreciation for country music became a passion when he turned 16 and he and a friend rode around listening to a Brooks & Dunn greatest hits album.
"There was something about it that just struck me," he says. "I couldn't get enough of it. Ronnie Dunn is one of my favorite singers of all time—I love the soul in his voice—and one of the main reasons I got into this in the first place."
Brett spent two years in Chicago, where his older brother lived, performing with a school jazz band and with a Big Band around the region.
"One of the coolest gigs," he says, "was at the Field Museum, I was singing in front of a 12-piece band under this huge Tyrannosaurus Rex statue near some mammoths. It was quite the experience."
Then came that fateful visit to Nashville and his transfer to MTSU. He studied classic country stylists like Ray Price and George Jones, and later Vince Gill, absorbing everything he could.
"I was driving back and forth Nashville every day from Murfreesboro, which is thirty miles away," he says. "I had a guitar Terry had given me, which was originally a gift from Dolly, and I'd pretty much lock myself in my room and make myself learn songs. I would play writers' nights all around Nashville. There might be two people, there might be 40 or 50. I'd go play my songs and see what people liked and what they didn't. I'd screw up royally in front of them, but I learned."
He earned a degree, which, he says, "made Mom and Dad happy, and then I moved on to what I really wanted to do.
A staff writer for hit producer/publisher Byron Gallimore heard him at a writers' night and introduced him to Byron, who signed him.
"I wrote for about two years, developing my craft and writing with everyone I could. In the beginning, Byron just let me kind of find myself, because that takes a while. As you write more you starting homing in on what you sound good on. Eventually, Byron said, 'You've got something here' and we went in and started cutting songs. We did a showcase, and Carole Ann Mobley from Warner Music Nashville said, 'We've gotta sign this kid'. Mobley and Craig Kallman then signed Brett to Atlantic Records, making him the first official signing for the new imprint.
As he worked with his band tightening his show, he was offered a particularly gratifying gig.
"I opened for Blake Shelton at The Ryman and it was the coolest experience. I flew back from this house gig and all of a sudden I'm thrown into playing the Mother Church of Country Music, something I always dreamed of doing. I was operating on almost no sleep, but stepping out on that stage where everybody who's anybody in country music has been meant the world to me."
He remains active in sports, playing basketball and volleyball and playing on an intramural softball team in Nashville, and rooting for the Cubs and Bears. Meanwhile, he is dedicated to improving his craft.
"As a songwriter," he says, "my aim is to portray a little bit of me and my life along with the stories of other people and turn them into something that can really touch somebody's heart and soul. We sit down on Music Row every day and write songs and every once in a while a song like ‘Raymond’ comes from such a real place. I hope it's that real to other people and that I can make them feel the way I felt when I wrote it and when I sing it."
Judging from audience reaction, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
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Brett Eldredge Lyrics
A Holly Jolly Christmas Have a holly, jolly Christmas It's the best time of the…
Baby It's Cold Outside I really can't stay Baby, it's cold outside I got to go…
Beat of the Music Well I just met you a couple hours ago My last…
Bring You Back It happened on a Sunday, Outside and the sun was shinning. T…
Brother Brother, I think it's time we talked Why do guys like…
Castaway I tried to fly but I ran out of sky And…
Christmas Time Is Here Christmas time is here Happiness and cheer Fun for all that …
Crowd My Mind Sun comes up on the coastline Watch your shadow dance on…
Crystal Clear Here I am One flip flop and a farmer's tan Floatin' 'round…
Cycles I know you too well Sounds like you're on your way The…
Don Girl, you cut those jeans just right I know you didn't…
Dont Ya Girl you cut those jeans just right I know you didn't…
Drunk On Your Love The second she walked through the door, I caught a…
Fall for Me Leaves breaking from trees Caught in the wind That's just gr…
Feels Like Christmas Banisters wrapped in holly and lights Evergreen candle and c…
Fire You look good in the palm of my hands Watch the…
Gabrielle I was caught up in your brown eyes Lookin' up at…
Glow This fire is nice But so are your eyes They twinkle when…
Go On Without Me Every man has his place in time Everyone has a love…
Going Away For A While I'm going away for a while Don't care how many miles It…
Good Day I think I'll start my mornin' with Sinatra Let those blue…
Gotta Get There Put me on a train Put me on a one-way runway…
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be lig…
Haven't Met You Oh oh Oh oh There's a half a million sunsets I haven't…
Heartbreaker You're better than the movies I know how it ends, but…
Hideaway Every now and then, I get to thinkin' What if I…
I Wanna Be That Song The radio and a sundress Making my world all a mess Back…
I'll Be Home For Christmas I'm dreaming tonight of a place that I love Even more…
If You Were My Girl You light up every street light You stop every heart when…
Illinois I come from the heart of the Heartland Where pictures shows…
It Ain't Gotta Be Love Can I bum a light from you baby? If you let…
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Everywhere you g…
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year It's the most wonderful time of the year With the kids…
Just A Taste All I can do is try to drink you in And…
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Oh, the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so…
Lose It All At first you gotta learn how not to listen When she…
Lose My Mind You put me on a roller coaster, fly me on…
Love Someone Oh baby, would you look right there The way the sun…
Magnolia One, two Come on, baby Oh, yeah Deep in the heart of the…
Mean To Me If I could be the reason your hair's a mess, The…
Mr. Christmas You miss a sparkle but you could glow You just need…
No Stopping You Ever since you were a little girl Daddy told you, you…
On And On People say I'm a little shy and I keep to…
One Mississippi One Mississippi, two Mississippi Counting down the seconds, …
Phone Call To God On the back of a quarter I found on the floorboard It's…
Raymond I work down at Ashbury Hill Minimum wage, but it pays…
Shadow I got a shadow and it follows me around Wherever I…
Signs Welcome to Paris, home of the Tigers. State champs '63. Gosp…
Silent Night Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yo…
Somethin' I'm Good At I'm a real bad liar, I'm a burnt toast kinda…
Songs About You I was walking in Chicago By a Wrigleyville bar Caught a scen…
Superhero See that girl there tapping her toes? Nervous, crying out "H…
Tell Me Where To Park I got the chrome all shined up Look how the moon…
The Christmas Song Chestnuts roasting on an open fire Jack Frost nipping at you…
The First Noel The First Noel the angel did say Was to certain poor…
The Long Way Don't think I've ever seen your kind of pretty Wanderin' 'ro…
The One You Need When it's cold outside And you can't sleep When there's no o…
The Reason Sitting at the bar, telling fairy tales Pouring whiskey in w…
Then You Do Gon' stay in, no need to see some cover charge…
Time Well Spent I've been racing, chasing, caught up in the grind Damn near…
Waited To Long Hmm I got my hands in my pockets 'cause it's been…
Wanna Be That Song The radio and a sundress Making my world all a mess Back…
When I Die Oh, yeah Mmm Mmm-mm I been sippin' this cold cold liquor Ce…
Where Do I Sign You got it together I know you do No matter the weather Sun'…
Where the Heart Is What in the world, what in the world Are we all…
Where the Light Meets the Sea When you wake up, I'll be gone just like a…
White Christmas I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I…
Winter Wonderland Sleigh bells ring Are you listening In the lane Snow…
You Can't Stop Me Oh oh Wall to wall, it's packed Give your hands a smack Poli…