November 19: country music artist Billy Currington - "People Are Crazy," "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" - is 40-years-old today.

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William Matthew "Billy" Currington was born in Savannah, Georgia, raised in Rincon, Georgia, and currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee. When he was a junior in high school, Currington auditioned for a spot at Opryland. Failing the audition, after high school he moved to Nashville to pursue his career in country music.

In Nashville, Currington worked for a concrete company, and also as a personal trainer. One of the clients he worked with as a personal trainer led Currington to recording demo tapes, as well as writing songs. He eventually had cuts by George Strait, Tracy Byrd, and Marty Raybon.

Billy signed with Mercury Records in 2003. His self-titled debut album was released in 2003. The first single was "Walk a Little Straighter" about his relationship with his alcoholic stepfather, including a chorus that Currington wrote when he was twelve years old.

"Walk a Little Straighter" went on to peak at #8 that year on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and established Currington as a major Country performer in Nashville.

Billy first hit the Top 5 on the country charts with his second single, "I Got a Feelin'," also from his debut album. He scored a third consecutive top 10 hit with Shania Twain in late 2004, on the song "Party for Two." The song was from Twain's Greatest Hits album and was released in two formats: a pop version with Mark McGrath as Twain's duet partner, and the country version, which featured Currington.

In 2005, Currington released a second album entitled Doin' Somethin' Right, which peaked at #2 on the Top Country Albums chart and #11 on the Billboard 200. Doin' Somethin' Right produced his first Number One in "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right," followed by "Why, Why, Why" at #13 and another Number One in "Good Directions." Co-written by Capitol Records artist Luke Bryan, the latter was the #2 country song of 2007 according to the Billboard Year-End charts.

He was absent from the charts for nearly a year before the release of his next single, "Don't," in mid-2008. It was the first single from his third studio album, Little Bit of Everything. "Don't" peaked at #2 on the country charts in early 2009.

"People Are Crazy," co-written by Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones, was released as the second single from the album in March 2009 and this became his third Number One hit. The third single to be issued, "That's How Country Boys Roll" became his fourth Number One hit in March 2010.

On August 1, 2009, Currington suffered a concussion at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta after the stage on which he was performing collapsed during a massive wind storm that also injured Currington's bass guitarist and killed a spectator.

In May 2010, he released his tenth solo single overall, "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer," which hit #1 in September. It was the first single from his fourth studio album, entitled Enjoy Yourself-which was released on September 21, 2010. The album's second single "Let Me Down Easy" reached #1 in 2011. The album's third single "Love Done Gone" reached #11 later that year. The album's fourth single "Like My Dog" peaked at #24 in 2012.

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For more about Billy, visit his Website at -

www.BillyCurrington.com

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