Jake Owen @ AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
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Today's catch of the day comes from an artist that once saw him self spending more time driving and puttering around than he did as a country music star.

Joshua Ryan "Jake" Owen and his twin brother. Jarrod, grew up as natural athletes, with Jake taking up and becoming quite good at golf at an early age. He won his first tournament at age 15, and eventually set his sights on the PGA tour. After graduating from Vero Beach High School, Jake attended Florida State University on a golf scholarship. During his junior year, a wake-boarding accident resulted in reconstructive surgery, leaving Owen unable to play the sport on a competitive level.

While recovering from his injuries, he borrowed a neighbor's guitar and began to teach himself how to play it. After seeing a guitarist perform at a campus bar, he asked the bar's owner if he could play a gig there. Eventually, he became a regular at the bar, and soon took up writing his own material as well. He then moved to Nashville making his first stop at a bank to open a savings account; after telling the bank teller that he was a singer and songwriter, the teller then asked if he had any recordings available. He gave her a CD of his work, which she sent to the Warner/Chappell Music publishing company.

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Although Warner/Chappell did not sign him to a contract, Owen eventually met record producer and songwriter Jimmy Ritchey. They, along with songwriter Chuck Jones, wrote a song titled "Ghosts", intending it for Kenny Chesney. Chesney turned the song down, but it drew the attention of Sony BMG Nashville, who signed Owen in 2005. Per their suggestion, Owen changed his first name to Jake, so as to avoid confusion with Josh Turner and Josh Gracin.

In early 2006, Jake Owen released his debut single, titled "Yee Haw". The single peaked at No. 16 and served as the first single off of his debut album, Startin' with Me.

Released in July, 2006, the album featured 11 tracks, all co-written by him and his producer. The album's title track, a ballad that was released as his second single. Spending more than thirty-five weeks on the Billboard country chart, "Startin' with Me" became his first Top ten hit, peaking at #6.

Jake Owen @ 2015 Stagecoach California's Country Music Festival
photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment
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Own has released four studio albums, including 2011's Barefoot, Blue Jean Night,which featured his first four #1 hits,"Alone With You", "The One That Got Away", "Anywhere With You" and the album's title track. Owen hit the top for the fifth time in 2014 with "Beachin'" from his 2013 album Days of Gold. The album also featured the top 20 hits "What We Ain't Got" and the title track.

Owen is back in the studio, working on an as yet unnamed album scheduled for release later this year, and the first single from this project is in our spotlight today. Jake Owen and "Real Life" is our Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.

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