Dierks Bentley

One of the most successful country singers in the business, Deirks Bentley started his career out in bars of Second Avenue working for tips. Some people believe Nashville isn’t what it once was- the talented dreamers without any connections and don't stand a chance. Either no one told Dierks Bentley he was against all odds, or he wanted to prove Music City's that he could run with the big dogs of County Music. 

 

 

Deirks Bentley-  Calling the Shots
Dierks Bentley grew up in Phoenix, Arizona  listening to the infamous George Strait and Hank Williams. Bentley moved to the Country Music capital of Nashville at 19 and immersed himself into the music scene. It also helped that his day job at The Nashville Network involved searching through old footage of country performances. By day he wrote classic and obscure country songs and by night he spent hours at Nashville’s Station Inn. While at the Inn, Bentley focused his attention to the way the world’s great bluegrass singers and pickers crafted their magic. He wrote songs and achieved his self-imposed goal of showcasing them at the famed Bluebird Café before his 23rd birthday.

 

Bentley kept striving forward, with a self-released album that helped him land a publishing deal and launching what would be a successful working relationship with songwriter/producer Brett Beavers. Bentley’s frequent shows on Lower Broadway and Second Avenue attracted fans to the barstools and side musicians to his stage. Capitol Records took a chance with Dierks and let him call the shots on his debut recording. In 2003, Capitol Nashville released his self-titles debut album which featured his first single, “What Was I Thinking’?”

 

Deirks Bentley- Then and Now

In 2005, Modern Day Drifter boosted his image, with the hits "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do," "Come a Little Closer" and "Settle For a Slowdown" -- all the while maintaining his extensive touring profile. He won the CMA Horizon Award in November 2005 and married in Mexico with his high school sweetheart, Cassidy, a few weeks later.

 

After selling almost 5 million copies of his previous three studio albums, which included 10 top singles and five No. 1 hits, Bentley is ready for the next phase: the Feb. 3 release of Feel That Fire, a 12-song serving of rockers and ballads with a dash of honky tonk and bluegrass.

For Bentley, Feel That Fire is about the passion of the moment.  "As a songwriter and a human being, I want to experience all that I can in this one life we are given...it's all about moving forward but remembering where you came from...the best music is made in the journey."

 

Bentley has spent most of his last five years looking at the world through the perspective of a bus windshield and from a stage, so there is truth and life in the singles "Every Mile a Memory" and "Free & Easy," both of which reached No. 1

 

"I put a lot of pressure on myself as far as upping the ante on every show," says Dierks. "Every night's gotta be more meaningful than the night before, or there would be no other reason for being out here. And every record has to be a step up from the one before.”

 

 

Deirks Bentley- Discography

 

Albums:

Modern Day Drifter

Deirks Bentley

What Was I Thinkin

Long Trip Alone

Feel That Fire

 

Singles:

“So So Long”

“Gonna Get There Someday”

“Settle for a Slowdown”

“Is Anybody Loving You These Days”

 “Distant Shore”

 “What Was I Thinkin'”

“Trying to Stop Your Leaving”

“Every Mile a Memory”

 “Can't Live It Down”

“Whiskey Tears”
“Life on the Run”

“I Wanna Make Your Eyes Close”

“Sideways”

“Little Heartwrecker”

 

Fun Facts:

·         Deirks was nominated for the 2007 CMA Award for Album of the Year  for Long Trip Alone

·         Dierks shares a birthday with fellow country superstar Josh Turner ( Bentley’s D.O.B. is 11-20-1975)

·         Dierks was nominated for the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year award in 2006

·         Dierks was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on October 1, 2005. This made him the youngest current member.

·         In 2004, Dierks took home the CMT Flameworthy Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year.

·         Dierks won the Academy of Country Music Top Male Vocalist Award in 2003.

·         In 2005, Dierks won the CMA Horizan Award.

 

References: www.dierks.com and www.gactv.com