A country trio known primarily for its pleasing harmony and Grammy-winning songcraft,
Rascal Flatts are comprised of
Gary LeVox,
Jay Demarcus, and
Joe Don Rooney. Cousins
Demarcus and
LeVox grew up in Columbus, Ohio, a town
Demarcus eventually left in 1992 to pursue a music career in Nashville. Meanwhile,
LeVox pursued his own musical success with a Christian group; at the behest of his cousin, however, he also relocated to Nashville toward the decade's end. Although
LeVox quickly found work as the keyboardist for country star
Chely Wright, he still found time to play local shows with
Demarcus. One night, the duo asked Oklahoma native
Joe Don Rooney (who played guitar in
Wright's band) to join them during a Printer's Alley gig in Nashville. A bond was quickly formed, and the musicians abandoned their other duties in favor of forming
Rascal Flatts in the late '90s.
After landing a record deal with Lyric Street Records,
Rascal Flatts recorded an eclectic mix of country and pop for the trio's self-titled debut. The album arrived in 2000, and "Prayin' for Daylight" became the group's first smash single.
Rascal Flatts ultimately sent four singles to the Top Ten before the band's second album,
Melt, appeared in October 2002. Co-produced by the bandmates themselves,
Melt sold a million copies in eight weeks and yielded the band's first number one country hit, "These Days." By this time,
Rascal Flatts had established themselves as a highly successful country act, with a particularly strong following among younger listeners (an elusive demographic to most country stars). A live album served as an amiable segue between
Melt and 2004's chart-topping
Feels Like Today, while
Me and My Gang arrived in April 2006.
Rascal Flatts' 2007 release,
Still Feels Good, enjoyed a similar reception, going platinum before the year's end and yielding another number one hit, "Take Me There."
Unstoppable followed in 2009. After Lyric Street Records ceased operations, the trio signed with Big Machine Records and released its seventh studio album, Nothing Like This, in 2010. Nothing Like This was another hit, thanks in part to the Natasha Bedingfield duet "Easy," and the group released The Best of Rascal Flatts Live in time for the Christmas season of 2011. Changed,
Rascal Flatts' seventh studio album, and the first with the Big Machine Label Group, appeared early in 2012.
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Andrew Leahey & Rick Cohoon, Rovi