Born in Sarepta, LA on January 13, 1962, Tracy Darrell Adkins found his love of music early in life when his father began teaching him to play the guitar. By the time he reached high school, his musical talent had already begun to sprout and he joined a gospel music group, New Commitments. After high school, Adkins went to study at Louisiana Tech University and then started work on an oil rig after graduation. During his work on the oil rigs, he lost his pinky finger on his left hand in an accident. He asked the doctors to deliberately reattach the finger at an angle so he could continue to play the guitar. When he was able to play once more, he started playing around honky tonk bars in Nashville, TN in the early 1990's. During this time, he was spotted by an executive from Capitol Records and was soon signed to the label.
His first single from Capitol Records, "There's A Girl In Texas", was released in 1996 and hit the top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Dreamin' Out Loud, Adkins' debut album, followed right behind the hit single, producing several other hit singles, such as "This Ain't No Thinkin' Thing". The next album, Big Time, spawned more hit singles, such as "The Rest of Mine", although none hit as high as the singles from his debut album. When Capitol went through a change in management, it delayed the release of his third album, and the album, More, failed to live up to it's successors achievements.
Then, in 2001, he was charged with a DUI in Nolensville, TN and plead guilty to the charges. Although he was sentenced to 11 months in jail, the sentence was suspended after only 48 hours. He still had to pay his fines and lost his driver's license for one year. After this setback, Adkins was injured in a tractor accident and had to stop touring to recover. Shortly after this, he entered alcohol rehabilitation in Nashville right after his newest album, Chrome, was released. Chrome was the first album that reached the top 5 on the country charts and the title track reached the top 10 toward the end of 2002. Then, in 2003, Adkins released two albums: Comin' on Strong and a Greatest Hits Collection. He also made appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, Hollywood Squares, and even did voice overs for KFC commercials. While only one single was released from the Greatest Hits Collection, Comin' on Strong produced two singles, "Hot Mama" which hit the top 5, and "Rough & Ready" which hit the top 20.
2005 to 2007 saw an increase in Adkins' career. While he sparked controversy over his song "Arlington" (which is about a fictional soldier about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery), "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" hit the top 40 on the Billboard charts and boosted him to stardom once more. In 2006, he released his seventh album, Dangerous Man. This album's singles hit the top of the charts, and the single "Ladies Love Country Boys" hit #1, which was Adkins' first #1 single since "This Ain't No Thinkin' Thing". Then, in 2007, Adkins released a new single titled "I Got My Game On". While this song was originally planned to be a lead to his new album, the album was canceled and instead his Greatest Hits #2 was released. During 2007, Adkins also published a book, A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck, and starred on the NBC television show The Celebrity Apprentice.