Big & Rich is an American country music duo from Nashville, Tennessee. The duo consists of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo artist for Hollywood Records.
Their first studio album, Horse of a Different Color, was released in 2004. This album produced four straight Top 40 country hits, including the number 11 "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", plus collaborations with Cowboy Troy, Gretchen Wilson, and Martina McBride. Comin' to Your City was released in November 2005, followed by another Top 20 single the Vietnam War-inspired "8th of November" and two more Top 40 hits. Joining the duo on this album were Cowboy Troy, Wilson, and Kris Kristofferson. Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace, released in 2007, produced their only No. 1 single, "Lost in This Moment". Both before and during the duo's hiatus, Rich has worked as a producer and songwriter for several other artists.
After this album, both members went on hiatus and released solo albums in 2009—Big Kenny's The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy and Rich's Son of a Preacher Man. These also produced the duo's first Top 40 solo entries—Big Kenny with "Long After I'm Gone" and Rich with "Shuttin' Detroit Down". In 2010, Big Kenny released his second solo country album, Big Kenny's Love Everybody Traveling Musical Medicine Show Mix Tape, Vol. 1 and in 2011, Rich released the extended plays For the Kids and Rich Rocks, the latter of which included the Top 40 country single "Country Done Come to Town". Big & Rich reunited on May 13, 2011 to release "Fake ID", a cut from the soundtrack to the 2011 film Footloose. A year later, the duo released their fourth album, Hillbilly Jedi, which produced the Top 20 hit "That's Why I Pray". In July 2013, Rich announced that the duo had begun work on their fifth studio album, Gravity, which was released independently. Another independent album, Did it For the Party, was announced in 2017 for release in September, led by the single "California".
History Prior to Big & Rich's foundation, John Rich was a founding member of the band Texassee, which later became Lonestar. Rich played bass guitar in the band and alternated with Richie McDonald on lead vocals; he also co-wrote their singles "Come Cryin' to Me" and "Say When".Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 14 After Lonestar released their second studio album, Rich departed from the band in 1998, leaving McDonald as the band's sole lead singer. Kenny Alphin (aka Big Kenny) was signed to Hollywood Records in 1998,Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 11 where he recorded a rock album called Live a Little a year later. Although one of its songs was featured in the soundtrack to the film Gun Shy, Live a Little was not released, and Hollywood Records held the rights to the songs for five years. In the meantime, The Mavericks recorded one of Alphin's songs ("I Hope You Want Me Too") on their 1998 album Trampoline, and Danni Leigh recorded his "Beatin' My Head Against the Wall" on her album 29 Nights. Big Kenny then befriended Rich after meeting him at a club, and the two began writing songs together. Their first songwriting collaboration was "I Pray for You," which they wrote in October 1998.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 15
Following his departure from Hollywood Records, Big Kenny recorded in a short-lived band called luvjOi, whose lead guitarist Adam Shoenfeld and drummer Larry Babb would later become part of Big & Rich's road band.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 12 In 2000, Rich began recording as a solo artist as well. He charted two singles of his own — "I Pray for You" and "Forever Loving You," which respectively reached numbers 53 and number 46 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs charts — but his debut album, Underneath the Same Moon, was not released at the time. The two then founded the MuzikMafia (an abbreviation for Musically Artistic Friends in Alliance),Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 30 a roundtable aggregation of singer-songwriters including Cowboy Troy, James Otto, Gretchen Wilson and Shannon Lawson. This group held its first official show at a Nashville, Tennessee, nightclub in 2001.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 33 Big & Rich performed at The Bluebird Cafe on January 1, 2002.
Among Big Kenny and John Rich's first outside cuts as songwriters was "Amarillo Sky", which was the title track to McBride & the Ride's 2002 album Amarillo Sky and later a top 5 hit for Jason Aldean in 2007. The two also wrote and sang backing vocals on "She's a Butterfly", which was recorded by Martina McBride on her album Martina. After McBride cut this song, manager Marc Oswald suggested that Rich and Big Kenny begin recording as a duo. Rich was apprehensive at first, as he had been told by BNA staff that he was "too rock for country" and was unsure of what major labels would think of Big Kenny's rock influences.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, pp. 56–57 The two began recording songs together at a songwriting seminar. After they recorded a demo of "Holy Water", Rich was convinced that the duo would be successful.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 62 They then met with Paul Worley, a record producer who was then the head of creative affairs at Warner Bros. Records Nashville, and Worley helped sign Big & Rich to a recording contract in late 2003.
In 2007, Reservoir Media Management acquired the publishing rights to Rich's and Kenny's song catalogs.
Major-label career
2004–2005: Horse of a Different Color The two then began writing songs for their debut album. Among these was "Wild West Show," which they wrote before a trip to Deadwood, South Dakota. The duo decided to use wild West imagery to convey "an argument between a man and a woman".Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, pp. 65–66 In February 2004, it was released as their debut single, going on to peak at number 21 on the Billboard country singles charts.Whitburn, p. 49 It was the first release from their debut album Horse of a Different Color. Following the album's release, Big & Rich began touring with Tim McGraw.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 92
Big & Rich debuted their second single, "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", at that year's Academy of Country Music awards.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 130 For this song, Big & Rich employed Deaton-Flanigen Productions, a music video directing duo composed of Robert Deaton and George Flanigen IV.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 86 Deaton-Flanigen and Oswald, along with the duo, decided to make "a big, big show of a video", featuring cameo appearances from Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy, as well as a marching band and a dancing troupe. The song peaked at number 11 on the country singles charts, and the video was the most-requested on the television networks Country Music Television (CMT) and Great American Country (GAC) for four weeks.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 90 "Save a Horse" was also a minor hit in Germany, reaching number 87 on the Media Control Charts. ESPN also used the song as the theme music for its World Series of Poker.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 91 They and Cowboy Troy performed "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)" at the Country Music Association awards telecast, where they were also nominated for the Horizon Award. (Now known as the New Artist award, this is awarded to new artists who make significant commercial success from a first or second album.)Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 129
"Holy Water" was the third single release, reaching number 15 on the country singles charts. The duo wrote this song about Big Kenny's sister Charlene, a domestic abuse victim.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, p. 93 Finishing off the album's single releases was "Big Time", which peaked at number 20 in early 2005. Big & Rich also released a special Independence Day single titled "Our America", with guest vocals from Wilson and Cowboy Troy, which charted for two weeks and peaked at number 44.
Horse of a Different Color was met with generally positive reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it "wilder and stranger than most contemporary country albums of 2004", and Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly said that "the disc really flies when Big & Rich just honor the straight-up rowdiness of Bocephus". Country Weekly also gave a positive review, praising the variety of musical influences and saying that all of the songs worked "ridiculously well".
2005–2006: Comin' to Your City The duo's second album, Comin' to Your City, was released on November 15, 2005. The first single, "Comin' to Your City" received a similar reaction as "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" had a year earlier, although rather than poker, ESPN utilized an altered version of the song as the opening theme for its Saturday program College GameDay. The song peaked at number 21. In its music video, the duo appeared in a guitar-shaped spaceship.Rich, Big Kenny, Rucker, pp. 99–101
Their next single, "Never Mind Me", reached a peak at number 34. Next came "8th of November", while only peaking at number 18, garnered the duo nominations for the CMA Awards, Grammy Awards, and the ACM Awards. The song was inspired by the story of Niles Harris. A subsequent documentary titled "November 8: a true American story of honor" was released also, debuting on Great American Country television network over the July 4 weekend. The documentary tells the story of Niles Harris and shows the making of the music video for the single.
An extended play of live studio performances, Rolling Stone Original, was also released in November 2005. During a benefit concert held on October 9, 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia to raise money for the construction of the 173d Airborne Memorial, Big & Rich were awarded the status of Honorary Members of the 503d Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade. The concert was the subject of a documentary on Great American Country in November 2006.
Also in 2005, Hollywood Records released Big Kenny's debut album and in 2006 BNA Records released Rich's.
2007–2008: Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace In early 2007, the duo released "Lost in This Moment", which was the lead-off single to their third album, Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace. "Lost in This Moment" became Big & Rich's only Number One single, spending two weeks at the top of the country music charts. The song also began receiving airplay on adult contemporary radio and became their first chart entry for that format, reaching number 12.
They released their second single, "Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace" to country radio in August 2007, although it failed to make an impact on the charts, peaking at number 37; follow-up "Loud" became the duo's first single to miss the Top 40. Another cut from this album, a cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", also charted at number 59 as a non-single two months before the release of the title track.
The duo also released three live in the studio extended plays during 2007: Walmart Soundcheck, Rhapsody Originals and Unplugged at Studio 330.
2008–2011: Hiatus, solo projects, and reunion In 2008, Rich announced that Big & Rich would go on hiatus while Big Kenny recovered from an existing neck injury. In the meantime, Rich said that he would release a solo album, "with Kenny's blessing". Warner Bros. released Rich's second solo album, Son of a Preacher Man, in early 2009. The album produced three singles, including the number 12 country hit "Shuttin' Detroit Down". Later in the same year, Big Kenny released The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy via his own Glotown label, and charted at number 34 with the single "Long After I'm Gone".