Parker Yancey McCollum (born June 15, 1992)[4] is an American country singer-songwriter based in Texas. The owner of PYM Music, he released his first single and EP in 2013;[5] his debut album, The Limestone Kid, was released on February 24, 2015.[6] The Austin Chronicle gave the release 3.5/5 stars, writing that "it's too early to declare The Limestone Kid debut of the year, but it's already one to beat", and comparing McCollum's music to Charlie Robison's.[2] McCollum and his backing band announced a 2015 tour[6] of Texas in support of the album,[4] performing at events such as RedGorilla Music Fest.[7] McCollum released the EP Probably Wrong: Session One on July 7, 2017, and followed it with Probably Wrong: Session Two on September 8, 2017. The full Probably Wrong album was released on November 10, 2017. His major-label debut album, Gold Chain Cowboy, was released July 30, 2021.
Parker McCollum | |
|---|---|
 McCollum in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Parker Yancey McCollum |
| Born | June 15, 1992 Conroe, Texas, U.S. |
| Origin | Austin, Texas, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | parkermccollum |
Early life
editParker McCollum was born in 1992[4] and raised in Conroe, Texas, near Houston.[4] Early in his life he listened to classic country musicians such as Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, and Porter Wagoner,[4] and his family introduced him to red dirt musicians such as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Pat Green, and Chris Knight.[5] Working summers on a cattle ranch with his grandfather,[8] McCollum was further exposed to artists such as Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and Steve Earle.[5] McCollum has referred to neotraditional country pioneer and fellow Texan George Strait as his musical hero, and has covered several Strait songs in his performances.[9][10]
In elementary school McCollum learned violin and played in the school orchestra,[5] and he started learning guitar at age thirteen.[8] At thirteen he also began writing his own music,[11] mixing genres such as Texas country music, Americana, and indie rock.[5] According to McCollum, he was greatly influenced by his older brother Tyler's lyrics and songwriting.[11] After performing at a number of local open mics with his guitar,[5] he started learning harmonica at age fifteen.[8] By sixteen he was securing gigs at local venues[5] and continued to work on his material through high school, The Woodlands College Park High School.[5][8] After graduation he moved to Austin, Texas,[11] where he began attending college.[5]
Music career
editSingles and A Red Town View (2013–2014)
editMcCollum continued to perform as a singer-songwriter while living in Austin and he went on his first tour with the Texas band Six Market Blvd. The tour inspired the lyrics for his first single, "Highway",[5] which was released on June 5, 2013, and later included on his debut EP A Red Town View. Released on November 19, 2013, the EP was produced by Corby Schaub, who is also known as the former guitarist for Ryan Bingham.[5]
The Limestone Kid (2015)
editMcCollum's debut album The Limestone Kid was recorded at Cedar Creek Recording in Austin,[8] and includes styles such as Americana,[7] Texas country, and folk-rock.[8] McCollum handles vocals, acoustic guitar, and harmonica,[7][8] and his Austin-based backing band included Kurt Grien on lead guitar, Jason Newberry on bass, Will Hoback on drums, and Charlie Magnone on keyboards and piano.[8] Multi-instrumentalist Corby Schaub produced the album.[8] Lloyd Maines contributed pedal steel guitar.[12]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Parker McCollum — Meet You In The Middle Live at The Saxon Pub (Feb 2015) |
McCollum wrote or co-wrote nine of the eleven tracks,[8] and two of the songs were written by McCollum's family members.[7][8] Many of the lyrics are about his experiences growing up in Limestone County, Texas,[8][12] and the album's title is a reference to the nickname he earned working summers at a Limestone County ranch.[4] The first single on the album, McCollum's original track "Meet You in the Middle", was released to Texas radio prior to the album.[7]
The debut album The Limestone Kid was released on February 24, 2015.[6] The Austin Chronicle gave it 3.5/5 stars, writing that "it's too early to declare The Limestone Kid debut of the year, but it's already one to beat", and comparing him to Charlie Robison.[2] Texas Music Pickers wrote that "[McCollum's] stories are not all happy, or sad, or even have resolution; they're just straightforward accounts of life. It's like Todd Snider meets Whiskeytown."[13] "High Above The Water" reached the top 50 of the Texas Regional Radio Report.[14]
McCollum and his backing band announced a tour[6] of Texas in support of the album,[4] with February and March dates set for venues in Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth. The band performed at the RedGorilla Music Fest, and Texas Crawfish and Music Festival in Spring, Texas.[7] He won the T-Birds Songwriter Award, and in 2015 performed at Larry Joe Taylor's Texas Music Festival.[15]
Probably Wrong (2017)
editMcCollum released an EP titled Probably Wrong: Session One on July 7, 2017.[16] It was his first release to appear on the Billboard charts, debuting at No. 6 on Heatseekers Albums,[17] No. 14 on Independent Albums,[18] and No. 15 on Country Album Sales , with 2,000 copies sold in the US in its first week.[19] Probably Wrong Session Two was released shortly thereafter on September 8, 2017.[20] The full 10-track Probably Wrong album was released on November 10, 2017, and includes all the previous sessions which features the singles "I Can't Breathe" and "Misunderstood", plus two new tracks, including "Hell of a Year". The full Probably Wrong album was produced by Grammy Award-winning Lloyd Maines.[citation needed] McCollum toured through the end of 2017 to promote his newest releases.
MCA Nashville
editMcCollum signed with Universal Music Group on June 27, 2019.[21] His first single under the label was "Pretty Heart".[22] On October 16, 2020, McCollum released the EP Hollywood Gold.[23][24]
Gold Chain Cowboy (2021)
editOn July 30, 2021, McCollum released his third studio album to mostly positive reviews. Country Swag states that this album is "sonically more polished than his first two albums", and that what "Parker McCollum does best on Gold Chain Cowboy is refrain from sounding like everyone else on country radio."[25] In March 2022, he went on to win the New Male Artist of the Year at the American Country Music Awards.[26]
In March 2022, McCollum performed for the first time at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to an attendance of 73,243.[10]
Never Enough (2023)
editOn August 5, 2022, McCollum released "Handle on You" as the lead single from his second major label studio album (fourth overall), Never Enough. He subsequently released the tracks "Stoned", "I Ain't Going Nowhere", and "Speed" as promotional singles.
Musical style and influences
editParker McCollum's music incorporates genres as diverse as blues, roots rock,[13] soul, and folk rock, though his albums have primarily been described as country[5] and Americana. His music has received rotation on Americana radio stations in particular, and he has referenced Americana singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham as a significant influence. Other stylistic influences include alternative country musician Ryan Adams, blues and folk artist Townes Van Zandt, pop-rock artist John Mayer, and country musician George Strait.[5][27]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [28] |
US Country [29] | ||||
| The Limestone Kid |
|
— | — | ||
| Probably Wrong |
|
— | — |
|
|
| Gold Chain Cowboy |
|
60 | 6 |
| |
| Never Enough |
|
56 | 12 | ||
EPs
edit| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [28] |
US Country [29] |
US Heat [34] |
US Folk [35] |
US Indie [36] | |||
| A Red Town View |
|
— | — | — | — | — | |
| Probably Wrong: Session One[16] |
|
— | — | 6 | 23 | 14 |
|
| Probably Wrong: Session Two[20] |
|
— | — | 16 | — | 50 |
|
| Hollywood Gold[23] |
|
99 | 10 | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [38] |
US Country [39] |
US Country Airplay [40] |
CAN [41] |
CAN Country [42] | ||||||
| 2013 | "Highway"' | — | — | — | — | — | A Red Town View | |||
| 2015 | "Meet You in the Middle" | — | — | — | — | — | The Limestone Kid | |||
| "High Above the Water" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2016 | "All Day" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2017 | "I Can't Breathe" | — | — | — | — | — |
|
Probably Wrong | ||
| "Hell of a Year" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2018 | "Misunderstood" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2020 | "Pretty Heart" | 36 | 4 | 1 | 70 | 11 | Gold Chain Cowboy | |||
| 2021 | "To Be Loved by You" | 41 | 6 | 1 | — | 33 |
| |||
| 2022 | "Handle on You" | 30 | 10 | 2 | 81 | 4 |
|
Never Enough | ||
| 2023 | "Burn It Down" | 42 | 7 | 1 | — | 4 |
| |||
| 2024 | "What Kinda Man" | — | — | 40 | — | — | TBA | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Promotional singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [39] | |||||||||||
| 2020 | "Like a Cowboy" | —[A] |
|
Hollywood Gold | |||||||
| "Young Man's Blues" | 50 |
| |||||||||
| 2022 | "Stoned" | 40 | Never Enough | ||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
Other appearances
edit| Year | Title | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | "Road to Abilene" | Ronnie Dunn | 100 Proof Neon |
Awards and nominations
editCMT Music Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | "To Be Loved by You" | Breakthrough Video of the Year | Won |
Academy of Country Music Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Parker McCollum | New Male Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2022 | Won | ||
| 2024 | "Burn It Down" | Single of the Year | Nominated |
| Visual Media of the Year | Won |
Country Music Association Awards
edit| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Parker McCollum | New Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| 2023 | Nominated | ||
| 2024 | "Burn It Down" | Song of the Year | Pending |
Notes
edit- ^ "Like a Cowboy" did not enter the Hot Country Songs chart, but peaked at number 22 on the Country Digital Song Sales chart.[44]
References
edit- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Artist Biography - Parker McCollum". AllMusic. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c Caligiuri, Jim (February 20, 2015). "Parker McCollum – The Limestone Kid". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ Papadatos, Markos (January 2, 2022). "Review: Parker McCollum stays true to his roots on 'Gold Chain Cowboy' album". Digital Journal. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Parton, Chris (February 12, 2015). "Parker McCollum Surveys the Limestone Landscape". CMT Edge. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Biography of Parker McCollum". sonicbids.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "About". parkermccollum.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f Harr, Dan (February 4, 2015). "Parker McCollum To Release Debut Album 'The Limestone Kid' Feb. 24". Music News Nashville. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Biography". lonestarmusic.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ Young, Casey. "Parker McCollum Pays Tribute To His Musical Hero, George Strait, With Cover Of "Carrying Your Love With Me"". WhiskeyRiff. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Guerra, Joey (March 13, 2022). "Rodeo Review: Conroe's Parker McCollum strikes gold with RodeoHouston debut". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c Powers, Calvin (March 17, 2015). "Ep237 Parker McCollum drives a truck from the 70s". Americana Music Show. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Underwood, Shawn (February 19, 2015). "Parker McCollum – The Limestone Kid". Twangville.com. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Fox, Chris (February 23, 2015). "Album Spotlight: Parker McCollum – The Limestone Kid". Texas Music Pickers. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ "Indie Extreme – Success Stories". Indie Extreme. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ "Parker McCollum". larryjoetaylor.com. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Fox, Chris (July 6, 2017). "Parker McCollum Does it Right with "Probably Wrong: Session One"". Texas Music Pickers.
- ^ "Heatseeker Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. July 27, 2017.
- ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. July 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Bjorke, Matt (July 17, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: July 17, 2017". Roughstock.
- ^ a b "Probably Wrong: Session Two – EP: Parker McCollum". iTunes.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Joins Universal Music Group Nashville Roster". June 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ Logan, Buddy. "Listen Up! Parker McCollum Drops New Song 'Pretty Heart'". Radio Texas, Live!. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "Parker McCollum Set to Release New EP Hollywood Gold October 16". UMG Nashville. September 29, 2020.
- ^ Liptak, Carena. "As he releases his new EP, Parker McCollum brings home some 'Hollywood Gold' of his own". ABC News Radio Online. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ Bernheim, Lucie (July 30, 2021). "Parker McCollum: 'Gold Chain Cowboy' – Album Review". CS. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ "Academy of Country Music | Winners". Acmcountry.com.
- ^ Tom Roland (September 7, 2022). "Makin' Tracks: Parker McCollum Gets a 'Handle' on His George Strait Influences". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ a b "Parker McCollum Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ a b "Parker McCollum Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (November 21, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: November 20, 2017". Roughstock.
- ^ Hueslman, Morgan (June 1, 2021). "Parker McCollum Has New Album 'Gold Chain Cowboy' Coming Out This Summer". The Bobby Bones Show.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "American certifications – Parker McCollum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Announces Upcoming Album, Never Enough, Out May 12". ParkerMcCollum.com. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Parker McCollum: Chart History: Heatseeker Albums". Billboard.
- ^ "Parker McCollum: Chart History: Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard.
- ^ "Parker McCollum: Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (September 19, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: September 18, 2017". Roughstock.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ a b "Parker McCollum Chart History: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Chart History: Country Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Chart History: Canada Country". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian certifications – Pretty Heart". Music Canada. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ "Parker McCollum Chart History: Country Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
Further reading
edit- "Parker McCollum Surveys the Limestone Landscape". CMT Edge. February 12, 2015.
- "Parker McCollum – The Limestone Kid". The Austin Chronicle. February 20, 2015.
- "Ep237 – Parker McCollum drives a truck from the 70s". Americana Music Show. March 17, 2015.
External links
edit