Tracy Byrd - photo by Mike Carroll
A little over two years ago, Tracy Byrd told his hometown newspaper that he’s “taking a break” from his music career. He then closed his Facebook and Twitter accounts, canceled all tour dates, shut down his fan club, and even sold his tour bus. He very quietly has disappeared and been forgotten since then.
Tracy Byrd has released 26 singles, has thirteen Top 10 hits, four Gold albums, and one Double Platinum album. He is best known for hits such as “Keeper of the Stars,” “Holdin’ Heaven,” “Watermelon Crawl,” “I’m From the Country,” “Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo,” “Drinkin’ Bone” and many more.
He also had two other songs that he recorded that went on to be big hits for other artists. First, he recorded “Making Memories of Us” on his 2003 album The Truth About Men. He never released it as a single, and two years later Keith Urban hit #1 with it for five weeks. Then, in 2005, he recorded “Johnny Cash” for his Greatest Hits album. Two years later, Jason Aldean hit #6 on the charts with it. Interestingly enough, this song was co-written by John Rich of Big and Rich, so it really has bounced around Nashville a lot!
It’s a shame that such a great talent as Tracy Byrd is taking a break, as he put it, and we can only hope he finds the fire again to hit the road and entertain his legion of fans soon!