Craig Morgan

Craig Morgan. . Country music star Craig Morgan is a Grand Ole Opry member who scored his first No. 1 hit in 2005 with "That's What I Love About Sunday." An Army veteran, he has played many overseas shows for service members and their families and has consistently supported military charities. He has become an actor in film and a television personality, appearing in outdoor shows and reality programming, and an author. , Craig Morgan Greer was born in Nashville on July 17, 1964, and grew up in Kingston Springs. His mother was a homemaker and caterer; his father was a cabinetmaker and part-time musician. His father and uncles had a band, the CMLs (Country Music Lovers), which played locally and made television appearances. Growing up, Morgan's influences included Gene Watson, Jim Ed Brown, John Conlee and Merle Haggard. ,
After high school, Morgan worked as an emergency medical technician in Nashville. He then enlisted in the Army, serving in the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. During 10 1/2 years of active duty and a further 6 1/2 years in the Reserves, Morgan served several tours of duty overseas and was based in Nashville, Fort Campbell near Clarksville, and at other bases in the United States and overseas. He served as a 13F forward observer and achieved the rank of staff sergeant. , Even before leaving the armed forces, Morgan had his sights set on a career in country music. Based at Fort Polk, Louisiana, an evaluator in the fire support division, he came to Nashville on four-day weekends. His initial objective was to become a songwriter. , Morgan became affiliated with the band Alabama's music publishing company before being hired by producer-songwriter Buddy Cannon to sing demos. Cannon introduced Morgan to Atlantic Records' Nashville division as a songwriter, but label head Bryan Switzer signed him as an artist. Morgan's self-titled first album was released in May 2000. He co-wrote seven of the eleven songs. Including his first single, "Something to Write Home About." , After Atlantic's Nashville division closed, Morgan signed with Broken Bow Records, and his second album for the label, My Kind of Livin', went gold. Three songs from the album charted: "That's What I Love about Sunday" (No. 1), "Redneck Yacht Club" (No. 2) and "I Got You" (No. 12). John Conlee sang on one song. The follow-up albums were also successful. , On Sept. 18, 2008, Conlee traveled to Fort Bragg, where Morgan was performing for enlisted service members, to invite Morgan to join the cast of the Grand Ole Opry. Morgan has performed regularly on the show. , A frequent presence on television with many appearances on talk and music shows, Morgan appeared on Lifetime Television's Army Wives and A Welcome Home Christmas, TNT's Rizzoli and Isles, UPtv's After The Storm and Morgan Family Strong, and eight seasons hosting his own Craig Morgan-All Access Outdoors. In 2020, he hosted Craig's World on Circle Network, and, in 2022, he drew upon his experience in jungle combat to participate in the adventure reality show Beyond the Edge on CBS. In Beyond the Edge, he competed on behalf of a military charity, Operation Finally Home. He has performed on USO tours for service members and has always been outspoken in advocating for their welfare. , A resident of Dickson, Morgan and his family opened a business, Morgan Farms, in 2017 and regularly staged charity concerts and events there. , In 2022, Morgan released a memoir and an album, both entitled, God, Family, Country.