For other uses, see Lonestar (disambiguation).
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Lonestar is an American country music band consisting of Richie McDonald (born Richard Vance McDonald, 6 February 1962, in Mesquite, Texas), Michael Britt (born Michael Wayne Britt, 15 June 1966, in Fort Worth, Texas), Keech Rainwater (born Randy Keech Rainwater, 24 January 1963, in Plano, Texas) and Dean Sams (born Kenneth Dean Sams, 3 August 1966, in Garland, Texas).
Lonestar began in 1992 as a band named Texassee; this name was derived from the fact that all five members were natives of Texas, and met in Nashville, Tennessee's Opryland USA theme park. The original lineup consisted of lead singer Richie McDonald; guitarist Michael Britt; drummer Keech Rainwater; keyboardist Dean Sams; and bass guitarist/co-lead vocalist John Rich. The band's name was later changed to Lonestar. They first played at a concert in Nashville in 1993 and began touring after a booking agent then added the group to his roster. A live EP was released in 1994, shortly before the group signed to BNA Records. Their first single, "Tequila Talkin'", reached a peak of #8 on the U.S. Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It was followed by the release of their eponymous debut album. Certified for gold sales by the RIAA, the album also produced the band's first Number One single in the hit "No News". In 1996, lead singer Richie McDonald also sang harmony vocals on Mindy McCready's Top 20 single "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now". This song and "Heartbroke Every Day" (the only single on which John Rich sang lead) overlapped on the charts.
In 1997, the band released its second album, Crazy Nights. Two of the singles from this album -- "Say When" (one of the band's first ballads) and "Come Cryin' to Me" (their second Number One) were co-written by John Rich, while the 1998 single "Everything's Changed" was co-written by McDonald. Shortly after the release of "Everything's Changed", Rich left to pursue a solo career on BNA, which would later prove unsuccessful. He has since become one half of the successful country rock duo Big & Rich.
Lonely Grill, the first album not to include Rich, was released in 1999. Its first single, "Saturday Night", failed to reach Top 40; however, it was soon followed by the ballad "Amazed", which became a highly successful crossover hit. Having spent eight weeks at Number One on the country charts, "Amazed" would later reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 as well, making Lonestar the first country act to top both the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts since 1983, when Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton accomplished the same feat with "Islands in the Stream".
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The group continued to produce hit singles throughout the 2000s, including the Number One singles "Smile", "Tell Her", "What About Now", "I'm Already There", "My Front Porch Looking In", and "Mr. Mom". Starting with their 2005 album Coming Home, however, sales and chart performance started to decline. Only two singles were released from Coming Home before the album Mountains was released, also to disappointing sales.
In March 2007, Lonestar parted ways with its record label, BNA Records, due to declining sales. Lead singer Richie McDonald has also announced that he will be leaving the group at the end of 2007 in search of a solo career. Guitarist Michael Britt attributes the group's downfall to the label's choices in song, stating, "I think we painted ourselves into a corner... They started putting out a bunch of family-type songs. I think that really pigeonholed us. The majority of the band didn't really want to continue doing that same thing. But that's what kept getting put out."
In July 2007, McDonald released his first solo single. It is titled "God's Still in America". Drummer Keech Rainwater has confirmed that a new lead vocalist has been picked for Lonestar. He has also confirmed that, contrary to popular rumors, Josh Gracin (who filled in at one show when Richie had laryngitis) will not be the new lead singer.
Year
Title
US Country
US Billboard 200
RIAA certification
Lonestar Live (EP)
Lonestar
11
69
Gold
Crazy Nights
16
166
Gold
Lonely Grill
3
28
3x Platinum
This Christmas Time
11
95
I'm Already There
1
9
Platinum
From There to Here: Greatest Hits
1
7
2x Platinum
Let's Be Us Again
2
14
Gold
Coming Home
3
26
Mountains
10
37
Year
Title
Chart Positions
Album
US Country
US Hot 100
"Tequila Talkin'"
8
Lonestar
"No News"
1
122
"Runnin' Away With My Heart"
8
"Heartbroke Every Day"
18
"When Cowboys Didn't Dance"
45
"Come Cryin' To Me"
1
Crazy Nights
"You Walked In"
12
93
"Say When"
13
"Everything's Changed"
2
95
"All My Love for Christmas"A
61
"Saturday Night"
47
Lonely Grill
"Amazed"B
1
1
"Smile"
1
39
"What About Now"
1
30
"Tell Her"
1
30
"Winter Wonderland"A
72
This Christmas Time
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"A
71
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"A
67
"The Little Drummer Boy"A
46
"I'm Already There"
1
24
I'm Already There
"With Me"
10
63
"Unusually Unusual"
12
66
"Not A Day Goes By"
3
36
"My Front Porch Looking In"
1
23
From There to Here: Greatest Hits
"Walking in Memphis"
8
61
"Let's Be Us Again"
4
38
Let's Be Us Again
"Somebody's Someone"A
53
"Mr. Mom"
1
33
"Class Reunion (That Used To Be Us)"
16
97
"You're Like Comin' Home"
8
63
Coming Home
"I'll Die Tryin'"
43
"Mountains"C
10
75
Mountains
"Nothing To Prove"
51
