‘Catch of the Day’ – Luke Bryan [AUDIO]

Our catch of the day today comes from an artist who has been making headlines lately, not with what he does or says, but instead by what some people have taken what he has said.

Luke Bryan has been in the Country music headlines recently, after an interview in which he stated he wasn't "outlaw country" (Luke, tell us something that we didn't already know.) He went on to talk about the excesses of country artists in the 70's and 80's, issues that he wouldn't fall "victim" to. Several individuals felt Luke was calling certain artists out in particular, while all he was doing was making a general statement about the difference between today's artists and those that were popular in previous eras.

Bryan was born in rural Leesburg, GA, the son of a peanut farmer. Shortly moving to Nashville at 19, tragedy struck Luke's family, as older brother Chris was killed in an automobile accident. Luke knew that at some point Nashville awaited, but just couldn't leave his family. Instead, he attended Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, graduating in 1999.

While at GSU, Bryan met the woman who would become his wife. Caroline Boyer was a freshman when Luke was a senior. Luke was performing in a local club when they met. After graduation with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Bryan would head to Nashville in 2003, after his father told him to pack his bags and chase his dream. Bryan would soon sell his first song, "My Honky-Tonk History" to Travis Tritt, who would cut it as the title-track to his 2004 album. This was soon followed by Billy Currington recording "Good Directions", which would climb to #1 for Currington in 2007.

At the same time, Bryan was putting a few of his songs away for himself as he signed with Capitol Records in 2005. One of the first songs he wrote in Nashville, "All My Friends Say" had been shopped around by Bryan's publishing company, with little interest, so Bryan decided to hold onto it and record it for his debut album, 2007's I'll Stay Me. Bryan wrote or co-wrote all but one of the album's 11 songs.

When Luke was invited to perform at the famous Grand Ole Opry in April of 2007, his older sister, Kelly, organized 129 people to attend his Opry debut. Before launching into “All My Friends Say,” Bryan would tell the story of the day that he and his guitar player, Michael Carter, had mistakenly found their way in to the Grand Ole Opry House as part of a tour group. They figured the historic site was just open to anyone, until they noticed everyone in the group was wearing wristbands. The pair snuck away from the group, heading down to the stage to sit in the front row. They just sat there in the quiet, in awe, not saying a word to each for a solid hour. A few days after this performance, Bryan's sister Kelly suddenly died at home, for unknown reasons.

In October of 2013, Bryan performed the song "Drink A Beer" from his second full studio album Crash My Party at the CMA awards, dedicating the song to his siblings. The performance featured Bryan on a dark, smokey pictures and in the end, faded to pictures of the Bryans and closed with with the dedication. Bryan was obviously moved during the performance. Soon after this performance, Kelly's husband, Ben Lee Chesire would also pass away. Luke and wife Caroline, married in 2006, would assume the roll of raising their nephew Tilden, along with their own two children Bo and Tate.

Bryan's second album, Crash My Party, set a modern day mark producing six #1 singles. The first single from his third album, Kill The Lights, released in July, has also hit the top of the chart. Not one for resting on his laurels, Bryan has released the second single from that album, which is in our spotlight today. Luke Bryan and "Strip It Down" is our Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.