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Tracy Lawrence

For a true artist, life is art and art is life. Maybe that bit of wisdom explains the brilliance, power and intensity of Atlantic Records superstar Tracy Lawrence and this new disc, LESSONS LEARNED. From the very beginning of his hit-making career, this unique singer-songwriter-producer has written and chosen material that sticks in both the head and the heart, becoming one of county radio's most distinctive voices along the way.

In less than 10 years, Tracy has sold more than seven million discs, hitting the top of the country singles charts 16 times with such classics as "Time Marches On," "Sticks And Stones" and "If The World Had a Front Porch." Listeners worldwide recognize him as one of the most influential country performers of the 90's, an artist who has near-magical ability to translate their own innermost thoughts and feelings into unforgettable songs.

But even with all of that on his resume, Tracy Lawrence scales new heights with LESS0N'S LEARNED, which he co-produced with Flip Anderson and Butch Carr. It's his fifth studio release and his first new Atlantic Records album in more than two years. It's also, he says, "the most important record of my career.”

"The reason I chose that as a title," he adds, "is because the album is about lessons learned. It's about many different aspects of life. It’s about relationships that have gone wrong. It's about the things you'll do to find love. It's about mistakes that you’ve made. It's about life and death. It's about all of those things.”

And if that sounds like a tall order, one listen to the disc will tell you that; Tracy Lawrence is the guy to deliver it. Among the standout tracks on this standout album are "Unforgiven,” a powerful take on the need for forgiveness; "Lonely," a country music "Eleanor Rigby” with the same timeless message; and “From the Inside Out," in which a man realizes too late that his stoic lover has been "breaking from the inside out."

Then there's the title cut, based on one of Tracy's own childhood experiences. "Like all young kids, you’re going to push the limit and see what you get away with and I had stolen something,” he recalls. “My teacher called from the school and Daddy came to school, picked me up, took me home and whipped me, then took me back to school to face my friends. That's something that stuck with me for years.”

"When I was home for the holidays this past year, Dad and I had a conversation about it, and we both sat there and cried at the table. And I guess it was about two months later, when I was really getting into writing this new record, I woke up at about three o'clock in the morning and sat down at my house until about 7,working on the melody and the chorus and the first verse to the song. Even at this point, when I listen to it, it makes me tear up.

Dallas Turner, nighttime radio jock on WSIX in Nashville says, "At a time when country artists are crafting their music toward the contemporary pop side, Tracy turns in a solid country album, which takes you on a most personal journey. From the “The Man I Was” to “Lonely” and “Unforgiven” you sense the honest truth and pain Tracy had to face over the last few years to get to this new place in his life."

Three other songs on LESSONS LEARNED are Lawrence originals. The rest are the product of Nashville's best writers, eight numbers Lawrence painstakingly culled from the thousands offered him over the past couple of years. They had to be songs, he says, "that really hit me personally." Every one of them is a song that will hit each of his listeners personally as well.

In addition to his music videos-always among the top-requested on CMT and the Great American Country network--Tracy will hit television screens soon with his own TNN special. It's made up of footage from his recent USO tour, in which he entertained troops involved in the Kosovo effort at military bases in Germany, England and Iceland. "I liked the fact that they took me to some of the places where no one has been in a long time," he notes. "At two of the air bases I visited, they couldn't remember the last time an act came through on a USO tour. The appreciation factor and just everything about it was very fulfilling to me."

A couple of months later, Tracy was in Las Vegas to entertain at the Professional Bull Riders World Championship Finals and help launch Sierra Sports' new computer bull- riding simulation, Professional BullRider. The CD-ROM includes Tracy's image and the song "Up All Night” a rodeo rocker from LESSONS LEARNED; it's the first ever pairing of a country-music artist with an interactive video game.

But then Tracy Lawrence has always been a trailblazer, always evolving, but never leaving his audience behind. LESSONS LEARNED is the last and greatest evidence of the art that's come out of Tracy Lawrence's life. It's art you can dance to, dream to and sing along with. It's art that teaches and art that delights. It's art that stirs the soul and moves the feet. And it's from a Life that hasn't always been easy, but has always been worthwhile.

“For every lesson learned and every mistake I've made," Tracy says, "I feel I’ve grown as a person out of it. I'm approaching everything that I’m doing now with the energy of a young artist, but with the wisdom of someone who is a bit older and little bit wiser. I’ve begun to realize again the only thing that matters to me is just being the best artist I can be.”

Biography courtesty Rogers & Cowan

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