Tim McGraw Biography

Country singer. Born May 1, 1967 (some sources say 1966), in Delhi, Louisiana. One of the most popular "Young Country" stars to emerge in the 1990s, Tim McGraw quickly began to top charts and pack arenas after the release of his second album in 1994. With his high-pitched, rather growly voice, McGraw became known for his ability to stir up a range of emotions with everything from jumping dance tunes to heartfelt ballads. As he remarked to David Zimmerman in USA Today, "There's a lot of people who can pick up a guitar and sing you a great song, but there's very few people that can tell you how they feel. That's the main purpose of acting or doing an opera or painting or anything. It's to tell somebody how you feel and more importantly, tell them how they feel."

McGraw's strong appeal has led to millions upon millions of album sales, and a healthy list of awards from the likes of the Academy of Country Music, Billboard, the Country Music Association, Country Music Television, and more. Though some critics wondered after his first hit the controversial "Indian Outlaw" if he was going to be a one-hit wonder and fade into oblivion, McGraw has continued to score hits. In 1999, he released A Place in the Sun and toured with George Strait and then the Dixie Chicks. McGraw is married to another celebrated country star, Faith Hill.

The son of Betty Smith (now Betty Trimble) and Tug McGraw, Tim grew up thinking that his mother's husband, Horace Smith, a trucker, was his father. The couple divorced when McGraw was nine, and after that, he and his mother were often forced to relocate around Richland Parish. One time after moving, McGraw, then 11, opened a box that contained his birth certificate, which had his father's name scribbled out but listed the occupation as "baseball player." His mother eventually divulged that she had a brief summer romance with Tug McGraw, who was a minor league pitcher at the time. He quickly left her, though, and she married Smith when her son was seven months old.

Tug McGraw went on to make his name with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. By the early 1970s, he was the highest-paid and most popular relief pitcher in professional baseball. McGraw met him once at a game in Houston, but his biological father showed little interest in maintaining a close relationship. The baseball star had married and had two other children by then, though he and his wife divorced in 1988. McGraw was initially angry at his father for not supporting him, but later forgave him, telling Steve Dougherty and Meg Grant in People, "He was 22 and immature when it happened." Ironically, McGraw had his father's baseball card taped to his bedroom wall even before he knew he was his father.

Though he was raised in Start, Louisiana, a tiny town in Richland Parish, McGraw spent a good deal of time on the road in the cab of Smith's 18-wheeler. In the truck, he would sing along to country artists like Charley Pride, Johnny Paycheck, and George Jones. "By the time I was six," McGraw related to Christopher John Farley in Time, "I felt as if I knew the words to every album Merle Haggard ever recorded." He also sang spirituals in church, and belted show tunes in elementary school plays. Though he played Little League as a boy, McGraw had given up his dreams of becoming a pro ball player like his dad by the time he went to college. When he was a senior at Monroe Christian High School, he met up again with Tug McGraw, who agreed to pay for his higher education. McGraw graduated as salutatorian in 1985. Shortly after that he changed his surname to match that of his biological father, though he continues to consider his stepfather, Smith, as his true dad.