Cole Swindell
A head shot of country music singer Cole Swindell
Swindell in 2021
Background information
Birth nameColden Rainey Swindell[1]
Born (1983-06-30) June 30, 1983 (age 40)[1]
Bronwood, Georgia, U.S.
OriginFranklin, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2013–present
LabelsWarner Bros. Nashville
Websitecoleswindell.com

Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for Warner Bros. Records Nashville. He has released thirteen singles, eight of which have reached number one on the Hot Country Songs and/or Country Airplay charts. Three more singles have reached the Top 10.

Early life

Swindell was born on June 30, 1983, to William Keith Swindell and Betty Carol Rainey. His father died on September 2, 2013, at 65,[2] while his mother died in September 2021.[3] He grew up in Dawson, Georgia, and has two brothers and a stepbrother.[2]

Swindell attended Terrell Academy in Dawson, Georgia.[4] Swindell attended Georgia Southern University, where he majored in marketing.[5] He met Luke Bryan, who attended the same university some years earlier and was also a fellow Sigma Chi member,[6] at the fraternity house when Bryan came back to Statesboro to do a show. They kept in touch, and after Swindell left college in 2007 and moved to Nashville, he sold merchandise for Bryan for three years, and wrote songs on the road.[7]

Music career

Songwriting

In 2010, Swindell signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Swindell wrote Craig Campbell's "Outta My Head",[8] Luke Bryan's "Just a Sip", "Beer in the Headlights", "Roller Coaster", "Out Like That", "I'm Hungover", "In Love with the Girl", Florida Georgia Line’s "This Is How We Roll" with Bryan, who was featured on the song. Chris Young also had a song on his A.M. album co-written by Swindell, "Nothin' but the Cooler Left

2013–2015: Cole Swindell

In 2013, Swindell's independently released debut single "Chillin' It", buoyed by heavy airplay on SiriusXM satellite radio channel "The Highway", became a hit[1] and Swindell signed a record deal with Warner Music Nashville. The demo of "Chillin' It" was sent to radio before it had been mastered.[9]

Swindell released his self-titled debut album on February 18, 2014.[10] Luke Bryan's guitarist, Michael Carter, produced the rest of the album. Along with Lee Brice, Swindell opened Bryan's 2014 That's My Kind of Night Tour.[11] "Chillin' It" became a top-five hit on Country Airplay and number 1 single on Hot Country Songs. The album's second single is "Hope You Get Lonely Tonight", which Swindell co-wrote with both members of Florida Georgia Line. The album's third single, "Ain't Worth the Whiskey", was released to country radio on November 3, 2014. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in April 2015. The album's fourth single, "Let Me See Ya Girl", was released to country radio on April 20, 2015. It reached number two on the Country Airplay chart in November 2015.

On November 17, 2014, Swindell released a five-song digital EP, The Down Home Sessions. The release coincided with his headlining tour of the same name.[12]

Swindell won the ACM New Artist of the Year Award in April 2015.[13]

2015–2018: You Should Be Here

The album's first single, "You Should Be Here" was released to country radio on December 14, 2015. It was written with Ashley Gorley. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts in April 2016. The album's second single, "Middle of a Memory" released to country radio on May 2, 2016. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay in November 2016. The album's third single, "Flatliner" (featuring Dierks Bentley) released to country radio on January 23, 2017. It reached at number two on the Country Airplay in August 2017. The album's fourth single, "Stay Downtown" released to country radio on September 5, 2017. "You Should Be Here", "Middle of a Memory" and "Flatliner" all hit No.1 on Mediabase country radio singles chart.[14]

Swindell also released a music video for the song which featured a video of him telling his father he received a record contract and subsequent montages of Cole and his brothers grieving outside of the family home and at their father's grave. The video also shows images of Swindell's rising popularity while clearly conveying that he wanted to be able to see his father and share this fame experience with him.[15]

2018–present: All of It and Stereotype

Swindell released "Break Up in the End", the lead single from his third album, on February 23, 2018.[16] Swindell's third album, All of It, was released on August 17, 2018.[17] After the album became available for pre-order in July 2018, Swindell released the number-one track "Love You Too Late" as a promotional single.[18] "Love You Too Late" was announced as the album's official second single, being released to radio on November 19, 2018.[19]

The lead single from Swindell's fourth studio album, "Single Saturday Night", was released on May 22, 2020.[20] It was followed by "Never Say Never", a duet with Lainey Wilson, on November 19, 2021.[21] Swindell released his fourth album Stereotype on April 8, 2022.[22] Swindell followed the album up with its third single, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina", a remake of Jo Dee Messina's 1996 single "Heads Carolina, Tails California". This single has gone on to become the biggest single of Swindell's career so far, having spent four weeks at number one on the Country Airplay chart, as well as becoming his first Top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified three-times Platinum by RIAA.

Discography

Main article: Cole Swindell discography

Studio albums

Tours

Headlining

Supporting

Awards and nominations

Year Awards Category Recipient/Work Result Ref
2014 CMT Music Awards Breakthrough Video of the Year "Chillin’ It" Nominated [25]
2015 Academy of Country Music Awards New Artist of the Year Cole Swindell Won [26]
2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Best New Artist Nominated [27]
2016 Country Music Association Awards New Artist of the Year Nominated [28]
2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Song of the Year "You Should Be Here" Nominated [29]
Best Lyrics Nominated
CMT Music Awards Video of the Year "Middle of a Memory" Nominated [30]
2019 CMT Music Awards Male Video of the Year "Break Up in the End" Nominated [31]
2019 Grammy Awards Best Country Song "Break Up in the End" Nominated [32]
2019 Academy of Country Music Awards Song of the Year "Break Up in the End" Nominated [33]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Leggett, Steve. "Cole Swindell biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b Swindell family (September 4, 2013). "William Swindell Obituary". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  3. ^ Dukes, Billy (September 13, 2021). "Cole Swindell's Mom Has Died". Taste of Country. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Swindell talks wild year, Terrell Academy days". WALB. May 6, 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  5. ^ Cindy Watts (June 14, 2015). "Cole Swindell savors his 'defining days'". The Tennessean.
  6. ^ Brian Mansfield (February 16, 2014). "On the Verge: Cole Swindell no longer cooling his heels". USA TODAY.
  7. ^ Annie Reuter (February 13, 2014). "New Music to Know: How Cole Swindell Went From Luke Bryan's Merch Guy to Opening Act". Radio.com.
  8. ^ "Craig Campbell's "Outta My Head" Lyric Video". Country Weekly.
  9. ^ Watts, Cindy (12 February 2014). "Father and son producers Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens celebrate No. 1 and No. 2 hits". The Tennessean. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Cole Swindell Rides 'Chillin' It' to Label Deal". Billboard. 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  11. ^ "Luke Bryan Announces 2014 Tour: Lee Brice, Cole Swindell Will Open Shows". CMT. 2013-10-17.
  12. ^ Chuck Dauphin (November 20, 2014). "Cole Swindell Brings His Fans 'Down Home' With New EP". Billboard.
  13. ^ Swindell Talks ACMs Best New Artist Award: 'I Never Want to Let It Go'[permanent dead link] ET Online. 19 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Cole Swindell's "Flatliner" Reaches #1 At Country Radio". Headline Planet. 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  15. ^ Cindy Watts (December 14, 2015). "Cole Swindell tells dad: 'You should be here' in song". The Tennessean.
  16. ^ Tom Roland (April 4, 2018). "It's Personal: Cole Swindell Finds the Heart Of 'Break Up In The End'". Billboard.
  17. ^ Carena Liptak (June 1, 2018). "Everything We Know About Cole Swindell's New Album, 'All of It'". The Boot.
  18. ^ Hermanson, Wendy (12 July 2018). "Cole Swindell Teases New Song, 'Love You Too Late'". Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  19. ^ Jacklyn Krol (July 31, 2019). "Cole Swindell Brings the Action in 'Love You Too Late' Video". Taste of Country. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  20. ^ Cillea Houghton (May 22, 2020). "Cole Swindell Finds Love in 'Single Saturday Night' [LISTEN]". Taste of Country.
  21. ^ Billy Dukes (November 22, 2021). "Cole Swindell + Lainey Wilson's Smoldering 'Never Say Never' Recalls the Best Bad Decisions [Listen]". Taste of Country.
  22. ^ Buddy Iahn (February 4, 2022). "Cole Swindell announces 'Stereotype'". The Music Universe.
  23. ^ Cillea Houghton (23 July 2018). "Cole Swindell Announces Tour With Dustin Lynch, Lauren Alaina". Tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  24. ^ "Cole Announces The Down Home Tour presented by Monster Energy Outbreak". Cole Swindell. August 25, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  25. ^ "2014 CMT Music Awards Nominees Announced". Taste of Country. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  26. ^ "ACM Awards 2015: And the Winners Are ..." Billboard. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  27. ^ "2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees Announced!". E! News. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Nominees - 2016 CMA Awards". 2016 CMA Awards. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  29. ^ "Here's The Complete List Of #iHeartAwards Winners | iHeartRadio Music Awards | iHeartRadio". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  30. ^ "CMT Music Awards 2017 Nominees Announced". Us Weekly. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  31. ^ Freeman, Jon (6 June 2019). "2019 CMT Music Awards: The Complete Winners List". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  32. ^ "COLE SWINDELL'S GRAMMY AND ACM NOMINATED "BREAK UP IN THE END" CERTIFIED PLATINUM BY RIAA - Cole Swindell Official Blog". Cole Swindell Official Website. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  33. ^ "Academy of Country Music 54th ACM Awards Nominees". Academy of Country Music. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
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