‘Catch of the Day’ – Colt Ford – “4 Lane Gone” [AUDIO]

Today we feature an artist who spent time prior to starting his music career as a pro golfer, and whose biggest break may have actually been his leg.

Born Jason Ferris Brown, Colt Ford had his targets set on a PGA career, having played on the Nationwide tour, which is golf's version of AAA baseball. But an unfortunate incident after a tournament doomed Brown's golf career, turning him to the world of country music. He was attending a reception after a tournament when he tripped on a sprinkler head, breaking his leg. Brown would turn his attention to music, assuming his stage name, developing a blend of hip-hop and country music, unique in Nashville. His 2008 debut album Ride Through The Country, hit the country music world like a five-iron to the jaw, and included the singles "No Trash In My Trailer", "Cold Beer" (with Jamey Johnson) and the title track (with John Michael Montgomery). Ford's combination of hip-hop and country did not meet with wide spread acceptance in Nashville, and all three of the album's singles fell short of the top-50 on the Billboard Country chart.

Ford has released four albums since his debut, all five of the albums produced on the label he co-founded, Average Joes Entertainment. The albums have not met with success single wise, with his highest charting singles coming from his 2012 album Declaration of Independence. The two singles, "Back" (with Jake Owen) and "Drivin' Around Song" (with Jason Aldean) both topped out at #40. The album, which hit #1 on both the Country Albums and Indie Albums chart was his best selling before his 2014 album Thanks For Listening sold over 100,000 copies.

He would also develop a penchant for writing, working Brantley Gilbert to write the song "Dirt Road Anthem", which would appear on Ford's debut album, and then Gilbert would re-record the song for his 2011 debut album Halfway to Heaven (also released by Average Joes Entertainment). The song would be covered by Jason Aldean, who took it to #1 in 2011, and it became the first song by a solo male country artist to top the 2 million mark in digital sales, and would also be Aldean's first (and so far only) top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Ford has released a new single, a definite detour from his standard hip-hop/country hybrid style, from an undetermined project, and we have it in our spotlight today. Colt Ford and "4 Lane Gone" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you're gonna want to hear it again.