10 Things You Didn’t Know About Trace Adkins

Happy birthday, Trace Adkins! Adkins has been a fixture in country music since 1996, when his debut album ‘Dreamin’ Out Loud’ was released. Since then, he’s released nine studio albums and two greatest hits albums, with more than 20 of his singles charting on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Adkins has also appeared in several television and film productions during his career, including a spot on Donald Trump’s competitive show ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’ In honor of the baritone’s birthday, Taste of Country has compiled a list of 10 interesting facts that you might have not known about Adkins, including the worst gig he has ever played and his biggest guilty pleasure.

10. In high school, Adkins was part of a gospel singing group. The group was called the New Commitment Quartet, and they recorded two albums and toured locally. “I think having sung gospel music was the most valuable thing I ever learned about music,” Adkins said. “I learned more about music in the five years that I sang bass in the gospel quartet than any other time.”

9. He has some pet peeves: He hates slow drivers, and he is afraid of snakes – which is odd considering he is a mammoth of a man, standing at 6′ 6″.

8. While he was on ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ Adkins played for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. The nonprofit organization is close to his heart because Adkins’ daughter Brianna suffers from severe allergic reactions to peanuts, milk and eggs.

7. Adkins idolizes country stars like Merle Haggard and Ronnie Milsap, but also rock bands like the Eagles, Journey and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He believes that “the best rock ‘n’ roll was made between ’75 and ’85.” He also prefers the Rolling Stones over the Beatles. Adkins once said that he “was never a Beatles fan.”

6. His second wife, Julie, with whom he has two daughters, shot him in the chest during a domestic dispute. Adkins never pressed charges, but the pair divorced shortly after. However, Adkins was able to move on from the situation. He proposed to his current wife, Rhonda Forlaw, on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in 1996. The couple married in 1997 and they now have three daughters together.

5. After he graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in petroleum technology, his left pinky was cut off while he was working on an oil rig. Doctors were able to reattach the finger, but it is permanently bent at an angle. This makes it difficult for Adkins to play many guitar chords.

4. He voiced the recurring handlebar-mustached character Elvin Mackleston on the animated series ‘King of the Hill.’ He also voiced Big John in the episode ‘Livin’ on Reds, Vitamin C and Propane.’ Click here to see Adkins’ character Elvin, who enters the scene about four minutes into the video.

3. Adkins says that the best piece of advice he’s been given that he actually follows is “don’t spend your own money” — except if it’s on tractors. He loves tractors and he cites them as his guilty pleasure. “I’ve got three [tractors], and I can’t justify having three. I guess that’s a guilty pleasure,” he said.

2. He had a starring role as a mysterious and devilish man in the 2008 horror movie ‘Trailer Park of Terror.‘ Click here to see a clip of Trace Adkins in ‘Trailer Park of Terror.’

1. The worst gig he’s ever played was at a wedding reception. “We played the song for the bride and groom to dance to, and the next song was going to be grandparents and the parents and all that. So, we started the second song and about half way through, grandma fell dead on the floor,” Adkins said. “And we were still playing, and finally, the father turned around and yelled, “Stop! For God’s sake, stop playing. My mother’s dead.”