US singer-songwriter John Rich (b. 7 January 1974, Amarillo, Texas, USA) enjoyed notable commercial success in the mid-90s as a member of country rock outfit Lonestar, but left this band shortly before the release of their second album. He launched a solo career but was struggling to replicate the success he had enjoyed with Lonestar by the time he teamed up in a new recording partnership with fellow Nashville, Tennessee-based songwriter Big Kenny (b. William Kenneth Alphin, 1 November 1963, Culpeper, Virginia, USA). Alphin had also attempted to launch a solo career after the failure of his rock band luvjOi, but was finding the process equally frustrating. The duo began performing and writing together, out of which grew a weekly event called the MuzikMafia. This Nashville-based round-table night saw them joined by a number of other hopefuls, including future country notables Gretchen Wilson and James Otto. The night was not limited to country music, however, with an open invitation for attendees to perform any genre of music they liked.
This eclectic approach spilled over into Big Kenny and Rich’s own music, which they unveiled to the public in 2004 under the Big And Rich moniker. The duo’s hugely enjoyable debut, Horse Of A Different Color, drew indiscriminately from country, pop and rap and was a huge crossover success, reaching the US Top 10 in the summer and staying in the upper regions of the charts over the next few months. The singles ‘Wild West Show’, ‘Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)’, ‘Holy Water’ and ‘Big Time’ were all major hits. The duo’s live show, featuring a 6 feet 5 inches black rapper called Cowboy Troy, a dwarf called Two Foot Fred and a beer-guzzling macaw named Santana, proved equally popular.
The duo’s follow-up 2005 album Comin’ To Your City was another major success, achieving platinum status and spawning the hit singles ‘Comin’ To Your City’, ‘Never Mind Me’ and ‘8th Of November’. A third collection, Between Raising Hell And Amazing Grace, released in 2007, featured their first country Top 10 hit ‘Lost In This Moment’ and a cover version of AC/DC’s hard rock classic ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’.
