Before He Made It Big: Trace Adkins

Trace Adkins had a lot going on before he made it big. He was shot, got married a couple and held down a job on the oil rig. It’s no surprise at all that the ‘Million Dollar View’ singer held down a rigorous, blue collar job before hitting it big time in country music.

When music was just a hobby to Adkins he was alcohol ridden which took control of his life.

I am not defined by what I do now. ‘Rough neck’ defines me good. What I do now is a hobby that got way out of control and turned into my career, but what served me better than anything was taking the work ethic I learned out here and applied it to that.”

 

That life full of working on the rig and alcohol led complications with his first marriage, where his ex-spouse actually pulled a gun on him because she was so fed up with the always-loopy Trace Adkins. During this hard time of his life working on the oil rig was primary and music was just a secondary hobby “I would still be here if I hadn’t made it in the music business,” Adkins said in the episode.

“That’s the only thing I know how to do — poke holes in the ground. I loved it.”. I’m sure of all people this man knows the value of a hard earned dollar; sweating and doing hard manual labor in the blistering sun out in Louisiana. Today, Trace Adkins is gearing up to be in a feature film called 'Lifted'.