Discover more about country music star Chris Stapleton facts! After branching out as a solo artist, Chris Stapleton set Nashville on fire with his debut studio album Traveller in 2015. The record took him straight to the top and the singer-songwriter won the 2015 Country Music Association Award for Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year! At the 2021 CMA Awards, Stapleton won 6 awards including song and single of the year for “Starting Over” and album of the year for his record of the same name. He won two more trophies as a producer on the single and album. He also won male vocalist of the year for the fifth time.
Watch the Life of Chris Stapleton video and test your knowledge of the “Tennessee Whiskey” singer with a collection of interesting Chris Stapleton facts below.
The Life of Chris Stapleton Video
16 Interesting Chris Stapleton Facts
- Full Name: Christopher Alvin Stapleton
- Birthdate: April 15, 1978
- Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky
- Family: Chris grew up in a working-class family. His father was a coal miner, and his mother worked at the local health department.
- Education: He attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, but left after a year to pursue his music career.
1) Stapleton has written or co-written over 170 songs, including hits for artists like George Strait (“Love’s Gonna Make It Alright”), Kenny Chesney (“Never Wanted Nothing More”), and Adele (“If It Hadn’t Been for Love”). His songwriting prowess earned him multiple awards even before he became a solo artist. The Kentucky native has penned six country number-one songs recorded by other artists, including Kenny Chesney’s five-week number one “Never Wanted Nothing More,” George Strait’s “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright,” and Darius Rucker’s “Come Back Song.”
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2) Chris Stapleton can also count major pop stars Justin Timberlake, Adele, and Joss Stone among his fans. Adele even recorded Chris’ former band The SteelDrivers’ song “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” as a bonus track on her hit album 21. His song with Justin Timberlake “Say Something” gave listeners a bit of country jazz mixed with acoustic guitar and radio-pop beats. It produced a completely new sound that isn’t always heard on the radio, and fans responded well to it. In fact, the track won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Watch Chris Stapleton’s collaboration with Justin Timberlake below.
3) His wife Morgane had the words, “You Are My Sunshine,” secretly engraved inside his wedding ring. The pair often perform the beloved folk song together— enjoy a live performance below. Stapleton met Morgane Hayes in 2003 when they were both working as songwriters. Morgane worked in an adjacent building and would visit her friend at Sea Gayle Music, hoping to run into Chris while visiting. After a few months, Chris asked Morgane if she would like to write a song together and that became their first date. The couple married in 2007.
4) He and Morgane have five children together. The pair live and work with their children in Nashville, Tennessee when they are not on tour. The couple is very private about their children and Chris stated, “I signed up for this. My children did not. I am a very private person, and in that respect, I keep my children out of it. They’re children, and they deserve the chance to be children.”
5) ‘Whiskey’ is a key element in many of Stapleton’s songs. For example, “Whiskey and You,” “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey,” and “Guitars, Whiskey, Guns and Knives,” just to pinpoint a few.
6) Before music called him away, Stapleton used to work at Papa John’s Pizza. He hung onto his employee badge as a way to remember his humble start. He also drove an ice truck and did odd jobs from the local paper.
7) When he first came to Nashville, Chris was a baby-faced kid with little facial hair!
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8) Before choosing music as a career, Stapleton studied engineering at Vanderbilt University. He dropped out after a year.
9) As a songwriter, over 170 of Stapleton’s songs have appeared on albums by such artists as Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and Dierks Bentley.
10) He played all the parts on his debut Traveller album— the electric guitar, mandolin, and acoustic guitar.
11) If he would have followed family tradition, he would have become a Kentucky coal miner. Chris grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky where his father was a coal miner. The town is in eastern Kentucky and counts as a really small town of about 200 people.
12) Chris was his class valedictorian at Johnson Central High School and attended Vanderbilt University for one year in 1996 where he studied engineering before dropping out
13) Chris Stapleton Awards and Recognition
- Stapleton has won 8 Grammy Awards, 15 CMA Awards, and 10 ACM Awards (as of 2024).
- His soulful performances have led to numerous standing ovations, including a memorable duet with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards. He is considered one of the best live performers in modern country music.
14) We only know the names of four out of five of Chris and Morgane’s children— Waylon, Ada, Macon, and Samuel. The couple’s youngest son was born in May 2019 and his name remains unknown.
15) In 2019, the star appeared as a Wildling-turned-White Walker in the Game of Thrones episode titled “The Long Night.”
16) Chris Stapleton Musical Beginnings
- Chris moved to Nashville in 2001 to focus on songwriting. Before his solo career, Stapleton was the lead vocalist for the bluegrass band The SteelDrivers from 2008 to 2010.
- He also founded the Southern rock band The Jompson Brothers, active from 2010 to 2013.
Other Fun Facts
- Chris co-wrote “Crash and Burn” for Thomas Rhett, which became a chart-topping hit.
- He has made cameo appearances in movies, including a role as a stormtrooper in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
- Stapleton has performed the national anthem at major events, including the 2023 Super Bowl.
