Zac Brown Band
The lineup consists of Zac Brown, (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, lead and background vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, organ), Chris Fryar (drums) and Clay Cook (guitar, organ, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals). The band has toured throughout the United States, including a slot on the 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival.
They have also recorded four studio albums, and charted two singles on the Billboard country charts in the Number One "Chicken Fried" and "Whatever It Is".
History
Zac Brown, born the 11th of 12 children, was raised in Dahlonega, Georgia. Previously, Brown and his father owned a restaurant in the Lake Oconee area of Georgia called "Zac's Place".
Zac Brown also began work as a philanthropist and humanitarian, planning income from his current album to enable the funding of the non-profit Homegrown Camp, designed as an "all inclusive children's camp that will teach diversity, freedom, teamwork, social justice, nutritional awareness, liberty and life skills as well as music and art".
The Zac Brown Band released their first album, Far from Einstyne, in 2004, followed by Home Grown a year later. A live album entitled Live from the Rock Bus Tour followed in 2007 on the Home Grown label.
The Zac Brown Band then signed to Live Nation Records in 2008.
Their first single, "Chicken Fried", was originally recorded in 2003 and included on the Home Grown album, but later re-recorded and released to country radio in 2008. This song was also recorded by The Lost Trailers, whose 2006 recording was released as a single but withdrawn after Brown decided that he wanted to release it himself instead.
In October 2008, Atlantic Records took over distribution of "Chicken Fried".
The band's album, The Foundation, was released under Atlantic Records' newly re-established country division in association with Home Grown/Big Picture label on November 18, 2008. The group had been previously signed with Live Nation Artists Records. "Chicken Fried" reached Number One on the country charts in November 2008, making them the first country band to reach Number One with a debut single since Heartland did so in 2006 with "I Loved Her First". In January 2009, Clay Cook joined as a multi-instrumentalist, and the band released its second single, "Whatever It Is".