Allan was born and raised in La Mirada, California, to Harley and Mary Herzberg. To ensure that the family would focus on music, Allan's mother insisted that the family's guitars would always remain visible in the home. At age thirteen, Allan began playing in honky tonks with his father. Two years later, he was offered his first recording contract, from A&M Records, but rejected the deal. His parents wanted him to finish his education and his father felt that Allan had yet to develop his own distinctive style. Despite his commitment to finishing school, Allan reflects that he was rarely alert in class. "I played the bars at night, I was half asleep when I got to school. I thought sleep was what you did when you got to school." After finishing school, he continued to play in the bars with his band, the Honky Tonk Wranglers. Many of the venues they played were packed, and promoters often tried to move them to larger clubs. The moves would have required him to stop playing some of the older country music, such as covers of George Jones songs, so Allan refused.
Allan was introduced to songwriter/producer Byron Hill on August 28, 1993 by a mutual friend and talent-scout Jim Seal at a bar called the Lion D'or in Downey, California, where Allan was already regularly performing. Seal and Hill had asked Allan if they could showcase an unsigned act that they were developing there. Hill had arranged to bring the head of A&R from a major label to the show to see this other act perform. Allan kindly let them use his stage for the event, giving the new act the opening performance slot that night. Hill promised Gary that they would make sure the A&R person remained there to see his portion of the show. Everyone was knocked out with Allan's performance, and very impressed with his voice. From that point on, Hill began sending Allan songs. Without any serious funding at the time, Hill arranged for Allan to go into Seal's small studio in California to try his vocals on some of existing demo tracks that Hill had sent to Allan from Nashville, Tennessee. Meanwhile, Hill became head of A&R at BNA Entertainment on October 29 of that same year and immediately wanted to sign Allan to BNA, but the then current roster conditions and other circumstances related to the planned restructuring of RCA/BNA Nashville stood in the way.
In the meantime, Allan took a job selling cars. He left a demo tape in the glove box of a car purchased by a wealthy couple. When the couple discovered that he was the singer, they wrote him a check for $12,000. This independent funding allowed Allan to go to Nashville to record some of the songs that were on that early demo tape with Hill as producer. On September 11, 1995, they worked at Javelina Studios for a couple of days on the four songs that Hill immediately showed to labels. Allan's recordings brought serious responses from several labels including Mercury, RCA, and Decca. A meeting was then held at a Nashville hotel among Hill, Allan, and friend of Allan's, who was a program director for a radio station in California, to arrange two showcases in Los Angeles, California, to put Allan on stage at two of the radio station's regular nights at a local club. Byron arranged for staffers at the Nashville office of Decca Records to attend the first showcase held on November 1, 1995. Decca immediately wanted to sign Allan, and knowing that Byron was lining up other labels to see Gary, Decca asked them to cancel the second showcase. A rep from RCA was already booked to see the second showcase the following week, but the "bird-in-hand" deal offer was too tempting for both Hill and Allan, so they committed to the Decca offer.
His first deal, with Decca Records Nashville, produced the 1996 album Used Heart for Sale. The album was named "Best of the Month" by Stereo Review. It advanced to the top 20 of the charts, and produced a Top 10 country hit with the track Her Man (previously recorded by Waylon Jennings). Other tracks from the album, however, proved less successful.
His second album, It Would Be You, was released in 1998. Although Allan had been writing songs since he was a teenager, he does not hesitate to bump his work from his albums in favor of those written by other songwriters he respects. For his second album, Allan replaced one of his songs with No Judgement Day, written by Allen Shamblin. Although the song was a hidden acoustic track, radio stations began giving it heavy airplay. The song tells the story of a shopkeeper in Texas, whose children killed him in search of money. The title track of the album became Allan's second top 10 hit of the year, remaining in the top 10 after 21 weeks of radio play, "way beyond the tenure of most disposable radio hits." At the beginning of 1999, Decca Records folded, and when Allan moved to the parent label, MCA Nashville, It Would Be You was left in limbo.
In 1999, Allan released Smoke Rings in the Dark, an album he recorded while in the midst of a divorce from his second wife, Versace model Danette Day, after only seven months of marriage. Unlike his first two albums, Smoke Rings in the Dark made fuller use of background singers and stringed instruments, "resulting in a lusher, fuller sound." The new album avoided the "devil-may-care brashness" of the first two, instead presenting a tone balanced between youthful optimism and "the knowledge that some of life's experiences exact a high toll." Smoke Rings in the Dark was certified platinum, and it included two successful singles.
In 2001 the album Alright Guy was released. It contained the singles The One, Man of Me, and Man to Man, the latter of which became his first Billboard No. 1 hit. The same year, Allan married for the third time, to Angela, a flight attendant he met on an airplane.
Despite his previous success and eight years in the music business, Allan was nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award, typically given to newcomers, in 2003. The same year he released his fifth album, See If I Care. Allan had to fight to keep the title, which he felt epitomized his attitude towards the music business, that he would continue to make the music that he wanted to make regardless of whether the record label chose to back him or people chose to buy the album. See If I Care included his second and third Number One singles, Tough Little Boys and Nothing On but the Radio. Songs About Rain was a top 15 hit.
In 2003, Allan and his wife, Angela Herzberg, moved to Tennessee from California. On October 25, 2004, Angela Herzberg committed suicide after suffering from depression and migraines. Allan initially put his career on hold, but soon turned to music to deal with the loss of his wife. This resulted in 2005's "heart-wrenchingly personal album," Tough All Over. He included several songs which he wrote or cowrote, including Puttin' Memories Away and I Just Got Back from Hell, which dealt directly with his grief. Several years later, Gary discussed his wife's suicide on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Tough All Over sold over 99,000 copies in its first week, debuting 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 (written by Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell) and Life Ain't Always Beautiful, co-written by country singer Cyndi Thomson (under the name Cyndi Goodman).
Allan's first Greatest Hits collection was released on March 6, 2007. A Number One album on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, the album reprised the greatest hits from his first six albums, as well as two new songs. One of these, titled A Feelin' Like That, was co-written by David Lee Murphy and Ira Dean (the latter a former member of Trick Pony); the single peaked at #12 on the country singles charts.
Allan's album titled Living Hard, was released on October 23, 2007. Serving as its lead-off single was the song Watching Airplanes, which spent more than thirty weeks on the country charts, where it reached a peak of #2 and went #1 on the Mediabase Chart. The song's music video was filmed during live concerts, including one at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Second single Learning How to Bend – co-written by Allan – quickly became another hit song, peaking at #13. The video was filmed during a live performance at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Following this song is third single She's So California, which Allan co-wrote with Jaime Hanna (of Hanna-McEuen) and Jon Randall, and it peaked at #24, becoming his first single to miss the top 20 since Lovin' You Against My Will in 2000.
Today was released on June 12, 2009, serving as the lead-off single to Allan's studio album, Get Off on the Pain, which was released on March 9, 2010. Title track, Get Off on the Pain, was the album's second single. It debuted at #42 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the highest-debuting single of his career. Kiss Me When I'm Down the album's third single released to radio in 2010. It debuted at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
http://www.garyallan.com/pain/
Man to Man
Gary Allan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I'm turning over a new leaf, gonna get myself in gear
'Cause I've got a woman who is better than most
And I've made a mess of her plans
Startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
'Cause I've been a wild catter, and a go-go getter
Been an S.O.B. right down to the letter
I'm even more than I can stand
But startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
I'm gonna give it all back, 'cause all I've done is take
Well I've put her on the back-burner while I was out on the make
But I've got a woman who is good enough to give me
A second chance again
And startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
'Cause I've been a wild catter, and a go-go getter
Been an S.O.B. right down to the letter
I've had misadventures, I've even got pictures
I'm even more than I can stand
But startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
I'm a little bit late but I'm wisin' up
Now I'm takin' her by the hand
And startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
In Gary Allan's song Her Man, the singer expresses his desire to change his ways and become a better person for his significant other. He acknowledges that he has made mistakes in the past, living a wild and reckless life as a "wild catter" and "go-go getter." He admits to being an "S.O.B. right down to the letter" and has "had misadventures" which he even has pictures of. However, he is willing to give it all back because he recognizes that he has taken more than he has given, and he wants to show his woman that she is important to him by being a better man from now on. He concludes by pledging to take her by the hand and be her man from that day forward.
The song talks about the importance of changing for the better for the one you love. It depicts the realization that one has been selfish and careless, leading them to lose sight of what's important, but at the same time highlighting the need to make amends and learn from their mistakes.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna change my way of doin' things around here
I plan to turn over a new leaf and improve my life
Well I'm turning over a new leaf, gonna get myself in gear
I'm ready to change my old ways and be more productive
'Cause I've got a woman who is better than most
I have a phenomenal woman in my life
And I've made a mess of her plans
I've messed up her plans because of my actions
Startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
I'm committed to being my woman's loyal partner and loving protector
'Cause I've been a wild catter, and a go-go getter
I've been reckless and overly ambitious in my pursuits
Been an S.O.B. right down to the letter
I've acted like a jerk without regard for others
I've had misadventures, I've even got pictures
I've made mistakes and have photographic evidence of my misbehavior
I'm even more than I can stand
I'm ashamed of who I've been and what I've done
But startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
Starting today, I'm committed to being my woman's loyal partner and loving protector
I'm gonna give it all back, 'cause all I've done is take
I plan to make amends for my selfish actions and give back to my woman
Well I've put her on the back-burner while I was out on the make
I've neglected my woman while I was pursuing other things
But I've got a woman who is good enough to give me
I have a great woman who is willing to forgive me
A second chance again
She's giving me another chance to make things right
And startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
Starting today, I'm committed to being my woman's loyal partner and loving protector
I'm a little bit late but I'm wisin' up
I'm aware that I should have changed my behavior sooner, but now I'm ready to be better
Now I'm takin' her by the hand
I'm showing her that I'm here for her, and I'll guide her through anything
And startin' today, all I'm gonna be is her man
Starting today, I'm committed to being my woman's loyal partner and loving protector
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Kent M. Robbins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Megan D
This was my favorite song when I was growing up. I still love it, never gets old!
Jerry Bass
If you do talk man to man it's nice
If you do agree once twice or thrice
If you do disagree be very precise
If you agree to disagree it's a price
If this advice is concise it'll suffice
Savage Lionheart111
This man is by far one of the greatest Country singers ever. He comes from Cali and has made it big. He lost his wife to suicide and is still going strong. He sings about real things in life and not things that cant happen.
Shark Mama
That is so sad about his wife. I never knew that. I do know that Gary Allan is one AWESOME SINGER.
itschallenger
yea too bad he and his band literally drinks and hold bottles while on stage.
Kathy Jo & SSD Dylan Wagner
Unkown Lionheart Yes that's so true. Gary Allen is a good county singer.
RS Law100
itschallenger
Your right. I saw him and they were definitely intoxicated and really didn't sound very good at all. I was so dissapointed. They are a great band but I can not figure out for the life of me why some artist don't realize their fans like the songs played and sung the way they know them from the original recording. These guys don't get that at least the times I have seen. They play much slower and it is just too far away from the original. You can tell it's same song but I just think they don't care But. They will all retire wealthy so what do I know.
RS Law100
Michael Bath
Because the music the fans love doesn't sound near the same.
Jodie Smith
There's a true story to this song. It started with the guy that I thought was the one. Then I caught him with someone else. A few weeks later this guy I met was restless. He would leave notes on my door , call and ask me out to dinner with my daughter. That never happened before. Always treated me with the utmost respect, open doors and anything else you can think of. 23 years later, we're still going strong. Except for the cancer. He holds me tight. Says I'll go with you. 😢
Jesse Perez
My wife had a few bad relationships before I met her and I love to sing so I sang her this song and she cried cause she had never heard this song before, I love her and am glad she’s happily married to me 8 years on the 9th of July. Great song Gary !