Recalling Trace Adkins’ First No. 1 Single
Monday (April 5) marks the 13th anniversary of Trace Adkins’ first No. 1 single, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing.” In retrospect, it’s almost a miracle that Adkins’ weathered the era at Capitol Nashville in the late ’90s when management upheavals were underway at the label. Several other artists at Capitol fell to the wayside, but Adkins seemed to persevere through patience and tenacity. And the hits, as they say, kept on coming during the next decade, including No. 1′s such as “Ladies Love Country Boys” and “You’re Gonna Miss This.” And if some of the singles — including material as diverse as “Honkytonk Badonkadonk” and “Arlington” — didn’t make it to the top of Billboard’s country chart, they helped solidify Adkins’ identity as an artist. That sort of identity isn’t established overnight. No doubt, longtime friend Toby Keith recognized this fact when he invited Adkins to move to the roster at his label, Show Dog-Universal. Adkins is a savvy businessman, and so is Keith, so this is going to be a particularly interesting phase of Adkins’ career.
