At the age of 30, Trace Adkins left the oil fields of Louisiana for Nashville in 1992. After playing honky-tonks in the early ’90s, he got a record deal, and by 1996, he had hit the ground running with his first single, “There’s a Girl in Texas.”
Below, Adkins recalls where he was when he heard himself on the radio for the very first time.
I was sitting in a parking lot in a car with Jay Jenson, who was the regional [representative] for the Southwest for Capitol Records, and we had just left the radio station in Shreveport, [La.]. We were about to leave, turned on the radio, and the guy played my song before we left. I was brand-new, and I didn’t think he was going to play the record, but I guess they must have had a discussion about it.
I was excited. I had just gotten a record deal, and that was my first record. At that time, I was plugged into a big machine at Capitol Records, and they turned the machine on and got the process going. It seemed like it was back in the time when record labels had a lot more power than they do these days.
My heart started pounding faster. It was exciting, especially to hear it on my hometown radio station for the first time.
This story was originally written by Pat Gallagher, and revised by Angela Stefano.
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This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
