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To discuss Rascal Flatts is to speak in superlatives--sold-out concerts, multi-platinum albums, peer and fan awards. Theirs is the sound of modern country music reaching the broadest possible audience, creating a level of excitement that has made them nothing short of a phenomenon.
Their superstar status has many components--soaring vocal harmonies, a stage show unsurpassed for energy, and a profound connection with an audience that crosses age and genre lines with ease.
At its core, though, the foundation of their success lies in the songs they choose and in the passion they bring to each performance. Through hit after monster hit, they have woven stories and tugged at heartstrings with equal skill, returning to the top of the charts time after time and earning a secure spot in the upper reaches of popular music.
The proof can be found in Greatest Hits, Volume 1, a compliation that comes as close to bottling magic as it's possible to get. The CD brings together the best of the first four of Rascal Flatts' five studio albums, and its 13 cuts--7 of them #1 singles--bring into clear focus the path Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have taken to the top.
The view from that lofty perch is one few acts in any genre of music get to see. Since becoming headliners in 2002, just two albums into their storied career, they have grown consistently as concert draws. In the year ending in the fall of 2008, Rascal Flatts headlined 72 shows--47 that sold out and 10 that set venue records--and sold 1.2 million tickets, earning them Pollstar's ranking as #1 country tour for the first quarter. In good and bad times for record sales in general and the country marketplace in particular, they have remained among the best-sellers across the board. In 2006, they outsold every act in every genre. Every one of their albums is multi-platinum, and their total sales now exceed 17 million units. They are the reigning Vocal Group of the Year by everyone who gives out such an award, and their sixth consecutive win at the 2008 ACM Awards ties them with a mark set by Alabama.
It is a climb Greatest Hits, Volume I catalogs, one step at a time.
The journey began in 2000 with the release of their first single "Prayin' For Daylight," a track whose fresh harmonies and high energy announced a distinctive new sound. Fans took immediately to the trio, pushing sales of their self-titled debut to more than two million. The album's "I'm Movin' On" showed the depth of emotion the band could bring to the airwaves and to the concert stage, and gave them their second Top 5 single. The CD led Rascal Flatts to the CMA's Horizon Award in 2002, and "I'm Movin' On" was named the ACM's 2003 Song of the Year.
Their 2002 sophomore album, Melt, which they co-produced, pushed the group into the forefront of country music, selling three million copies and leading to the first of many Vocal Group of the Year awards. Its debut single, "These Days," written by Jeffrey Steele, Danny Wells and Steve Robson drew countless new fans with its combination of passion and harmony, and gave them their first chart-topping single, staying at #1 for three weeks. "I Melt" surged to the #2 spot and its dramatic video, with its brief flash of Joe Don's backside, brought the band additional notoriety and a win at the CMT Music Awards. Its follow-up, "Mayberry," a light and melodic look at the modern desire for simplicity, reached #1 in May of 2004 and climbed to #21 on the pop charts, a sure sign of widespread appeal.
"Feels Like Today," the first single from the album of the same name, won CMT's Group/Duo Video of the Year award while becoming the trio's ninth consecutive Top 10 hit. With its follow-up, "Bless The Broken Road," Rascal Flatts nailed down their claim to superstar status. The song spent six weeks in the #1 position and won a Grammy as Country Song of the Year. "Fast Cars And Freedom" followed "Bless The Broken Road" to the #1 position, where it stayed for three weeks, and "Skin (Sarabeth)," a hidden track on early pressings of the CD, charted as an album track before being released as a single. Its touching story and dramatic, award-winning video helped take it all the way to #2. Feels Like Today, which debuted at #1 on both the pop and country charts, was the best-selling country album of 2005 and went on to sell more than five million copies.
Their fourth CD, Me And My Gang, sold nearly three-quarters of a million copies in its first week and debuted at the top of the pop and country charts when it released in 2006. The project went on to quadruple-platinum status and led Rascal Flatts to become that year’s biggest-selling artist in any genre—something no country artist had achieved in 14 years—both on CD and digitally. Its leadoff single, "What Hurts The Most," was a huge song even by Rascal Flatts' elevated standards. It topped the country charts for four weeks and reached #6 on the Hot 100, earning Grammy nominations for Country Song of the Year and Best Country Performance by a Country Duo or Group and being named BMI's Song of the Year. The album's "My Wish," a three-week #1, became the group's fourth single--with "Life Is A Highway," "Bless The Broken Road" and "What Hurts The Most"--to pass a million downloads, something no other country act has done. "My Wish" topped the country charts the same week "What Hurts The Most" stood atop the Radio & Records Adult Contemporary chart, a two-chart feat only two other country artists had ever accomplished. The last single from Me and My Gang, "Stand," gave them back-to-back #1s for the second time and became their seventh chart-topper.
The group’s cover of Tom Cochrane’s “Life Is A Highway” was cut originally for the Disney/Pixar animated film Cars, and was included as a bonus track on later versions of Me and My Gang. Never officially released to country radio, it nevertheless became a Top 20 country hit as it crossed generational lines and welcomed new fans into the genre, while soaring into Top 10 on the pop charts. It was named “Favorite Song from a Movie” at the 33rd People’s Choice Awards and has become a perennial favorite in the band’s live shows.
That year they also soared to new heights with their live show when they sold out 61 of 74 tour dates, appeared before more than a million fans, and were named Billboard's Top 200 Artist and Country Artist of the Year, becoming the first group in history to do so.
The trio shows no sign of slowing down--among their many 2008 awards was the People's Choice Award for Favorite Group, as well as the 2008 ACM/Home Depot Humanitarian Award, recognition of the extent of their charitable efforts.
Even as Greatest Hits, Volume 1 catalogs the first part of their journey, Rascal Flatts continues to make music that thrills fans in arena after arena and continues to bring to the airwaves one of country's most distinctive and well-loved sounds.
