On this day: Chris Stapleton topped the country charts in 2015 with his legendary debut studio album “Traveller”

Modern history of country music.

On this day in 2015, the only Chris Stapleton topped the country charts with his debut studio album Traveller.

It was obviously a breakthrough for him, as it turned the genre on its head and received critical acclaim, including being nominated for Album of the Year at the 58th Grammy Awards and winning Best Country Album. The title track also won Best Country Solo Performance.

At the 2015 Country Music Association Awards, where he also performed a groundbreaking duet with Justin Timberlake from “Tennessee Whiskey”, Chris won the coveted “Album of the Year” award.

At the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards Traveller won Album of the Year and “Nobody to Blame,” which also won Song of the Year.

Produced by Dave Cobb, the record has now been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA and is undoubtedly one of the best country albums of the last 15 years (or, to be honest, maybe even longer).

I mean, Chris went from being Nashville’s best-kept secret and in-demand songwriter to being a country superstar as quickly as possible (from the outside, of course, he had been in town working on his music for years).

The Country Music Hall of Fame previously shared some insights into the inspiration behind it and how the album came about:

“In December 2013, Morgane Stapleton purchased a 1979 Jeep Cherokee for Chris Stapleton in Phoenix, Arizona, and they spent eleven days driving the vehicle back to Nashville.

The old Jeep was struggling with mechanical problems, the generator had to be replaced, the windshield wipers stopped working and the gas tank could not be completely filled, but musically the trip proved to be fruitful: Early in the morning Stapleton composed the lyrics for his song “Traveller”, which was to become the title track of his first album.

The Stapletons were accompanied on the trip by photographer Becky Fluke, who took many Polaroid photos during their travels. The last photo in this series became the cover image of the album “Traveller”.

It essentially became a smash-hit, No. 1 country album, and you can still find it on the charts to this day. Its influence on the direction of country music (which wasn’t exactly stellar in 2015) cannot be overstated.

Blending country, southern rock, and some blues, he released an album that defined an important time for the genre and is as timeless and relevant today as it was nearly 10 years ago. Stapleton is obviously a rare, massive talent, and it’s easy to see how this launched his entire career as an artist.

A quick glance at the track listing is enough to see how this near-perfect record produced country superstar Chris Stapleton, who is brilliant and more than deserving of his title.

Will turn it on today…

“Traveller”

“Tennessee Whiskey”

“Fire free”

“When the stars come out”