Rascal Flatts

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Rascal Flatts  
Award-winning group Rascal Flatts is at the top of their game. After winning multiple Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards and Country Music Association (CMA) awards, the band continues to wow fans across the country. With a single that crossed over onto the pop charts and was featured in the Disney movie Cars in 2006, members Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney reach fans across multiple genres of music.
 
rascal-flatts  
 
From the Beginning
 
Never in their wildest dreams did the band expect to achieve the success they have, much less be the top-selling artist of 2006 out of all genres of music.  Two of the band members, LeVox and Demarcus, grew up together as second cousins in Columbus, Ohio. DeMarcus moved to Nashville and met Joe Don Rooney playing with Chely Wright. Later DeMarcus convinced LeVox to move to Tennessee, the three got together and the rest is history.  
 
“Prayin’ For Daylight” was their first single released from their debut album Rascal Flatts in 2000 on Lyric Street Records. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Country charts, but set the tone for many hit records to come. “I’m Movin On” was the last single released from that album and reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country charts.  
 
Their next album, Melt, produced two #1 singles, “These Days” and “Mayberry.”  The videos from this album produced two interesting stories.  Member Jay DeMarcus met his future wife, Allison Alderson, on the set of the video for “These Days”.  Also, the video for “I Melt” garnered attention from national media sources for a scene that included brief nudity.    
 
Three #1’s in a Row
 
With the release of Rascal Flatt’s album Feels Like Today in 2004, the band entered an entirely new spectrum and audience of music.  Debuting at #1 on both the country and pop charts, it was also the best-selling album of 2005.  With singles like “Bless the Broken Road,” “Feels Like Today” and “Fast Cars and Freedom” spending multiple weeks at #1 on various charts, the band finally reached the top of the country music world.  The band was named the 2005 Billboard Magazine Artist of the Year, along with receiving multiple other awards including a Grammy, ACM, CMA, and ASCAP awards.  
 
Me and My Gang, released in the spring of 2006, also debuted at #1 on the pop and country charts. The single “What Hurts the Most” spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Country chart. The song was also named the 2007 BMI Song of the Year. According to rascalflatts.com, they’re the only male or group to have a #1 song on the Adult Contemporary and Country charts in the 45 year history of Billboard.  They were also the first Country Music act to have three songs pass the 1 million download mark for three songs:  “What Hurts the Most,” “Life is a Highway,” and “Bless the Broken Road.”  
 
Once again the band has been able to achieve success with their most recent release, Still Feels Good. It sold 547,000 copies the first week it was out. The first single “Take Me There,” co-written by Kenny Chesney, went straight to #1 on the Billboard Country chart. The album also includes the band’s first duet with actor and musician Jamie Foxx.  


Several Successful Tours Draw Fans  
 
After going on tour with Toby Keith in 2002 after the release of their first album, Rascal Flatts started off on a roller coaster of touring dates. They went on tour with Brooks & Dunn and participated in the CMT Tour. They headlined their own “I Melt” tour in 2002 and 2003, playing to sold-out crowds. In 2005, their “Here’s To You” tour was the #2 tour . They played for over 750,000 people in seventy different cities.  The “Me & My Gang” tour reached over 1 million people in 74 cities. The band sold out sixty-one shows in venues like New York’s Madison Square Garden and The Staple Center in Los Angeles.  
 
Charity Brings Multiple Rewards  
Rascal Flatts has been known for their involvement with charity work. As members of the National Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet since 2004, the group has helped many people including those affected by a tornado that hit Joe Don Rooney’s hometown of Picher, KS. They were recently awarded the 2008 ACM/Home Depot Humanitarian Award for their $1.4 million donation to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.    
 
Band Member Facts:  
 
Gary LeVox:  born Gary Wayne Vernon on July 10, 1970, in Columbus, Ohio; graduated from Ohio State University; left job with Ohio Department of Mental Retardation in 1997 to move to Nashville; married in 1999 to wife Tara, has two daughters: Brittany and Brooklyn; sings lead vocals  
 
Jay DeMarcus:  born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus, Jr. on April 26, 1971 in Columbus, Ohio; is Gary’s second cousin; attended Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. for three years; played in two Christian bands before working for Chely Wright, which is where he met Jon Don Rooney; married Allison Alderson in 2004, she is a former Miss Tennessee; DeMarcus has also produced albums for James Otto and Jo Dee Messina; and he plays keyboard, bass guitar and vocals  


Joe Don Rooney:  born September 13, 1975 in Baxter Springs, Kansas; was raised in Picher, Kansas; played for Chely Wright before meeting Jay DeMarcus; involved with Kassidy Osbourn of SHeDAISY for 2 years, but the relationship ended in 2003.  Married 2005 Playmate of the Year Tiffany Fallon in 2006 and they’re expecting their first child in May 2008.  Plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, mandolin and sings vocals.  
       
 
Rascal Flatts Hit Albums & Singles  
(Album name: Song Title)  

  • Rascal Flatts: “Prayin’ for Daylight”
  • Rascal Flatts: “I’m Movin On”
  • Melt: “These Days”
  • Melt: “Love You Out Loud”
  • Melt: “I Melt”
  • Melt: “Mayberry”
  • Feels Like Today: “Feels Like Today”
  • Feels Like Today: “Bless the Broken Road”
  • Feels Like Today: “Fast Cars & Freedom”
  • Feels Like Today: “Skin (Sarabeth”
  • Me & My Gang: “What Hurts the Most”
  • Me & My Gang: “My Wish”
  • Cars: “Life is a Highway”
  • Still Feels Good:  “Take Me There”

  Rascal Flatts Awards & Recognition  

  • 2000 ACM Top New Vocal Duo or Group
  • 2002 CMA Horizon Award
  • 2002 ACM Song of the Year (I’m Movin On)
  • 2002 ACM Top Vocal Group
  • 2003 CMT Flameworthy Video Music Award for Group/Duo of the Year
  • 2003 CMA Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2003 ACM Top Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2004 CMT Flameworthy Music Video Award for Group/Duo of the Year
  • 2004 CMA Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2004 ACM Top Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2005 CMT Music Award for Group/Duo of the Year
  • 2005 CMA Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2005 ACM Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2006 CMA Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2006 ACM Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2006 AMA Favorite Country Band, Duo or Group
  • 2006 People’s Choice Award, Favorite Song from a Movie
  • 2006 Grammy Award for Best Country Song (“Bless the Broken Road”)
  • 2007 CMT Best Group Video of the Year
  • 2007 ACM Top Vocal Group
  • 2007 CMA Vocal Group of the Year
  • 2007 AMA Favorite Band, Duo or Group
  • 2008 People’s Choice Award Favorite Country Song
  • 2008 People’s Choice Award Favorite Group
  • 2008 CMT Music Award for Group Video of the Year
  • 2008 ACM Top Vocal Group
  • 2008 ACM/Home Depot Humanitarian of the Year Award