Brad Douglas Paisley is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album “Who Needs Pictures,” he has released 11 studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified Gold or higher by the RIAA. Take a look below for 31 more awesome and fun facts about Brad Paisley.

1. He has scored 32 Top 10 singles on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart, 19 of which have reached number 1.

2. He set a new record in 2009 for the most consecutive singles (10) reaching the top spot on that chart.

3. Paisley has sold over 11 million albums and has won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards.

4. He has also earned country music’s crowning achievement, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

5. Paisley also wrote songs for Pixar’s “Cars” franchise.

6. Paisley was born on October 28, 1972, in Glen Dale, West Virginia.

7. He is the only child of Douglas Edward “Doug” Paisley, who worked for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, and Sandra Jean “Sandy” Paisley, a teacher.

8. He was raised in Glen Dale, West Virginia.

9. He has stated that his love of country music stems from his maternal grandfather, Warren Jarvis, who gave him his first guitar, a Sears Danelectro Silvertone, and taught him how to play at 8 years old.

10. In third grade, he performed for the first time in public by singing in his church. Initially, they were just going to have him play the song on the guitar instead of a piano. But then the adults heard him sing the tune and said, “forget the choir, let’s just have Brad do the whole thing.”

11. After that, he never had to ask for a gig until he left Glen Dale. He later recalled that “Pretty soon, I was performing at every Christmas party and Mother’s Day event.

12. At age 13, he wrote his first song, “Born on Christmas Day”, which later appeared on his album Brad Paisley Christmas.

13. He had been taking lessons with local guitarist Clarence “Hank” Goddard.

14. By 13, Goddard and Paisley formed a band called “Brad Paisley and the C-Notes”, with the addition of two of Paisley’s adult friends.

15. While in junior high, his principal heard him perform “Born On Christmas Day” and invited him to play at the local Rotary Club meeting. In attendance was Tom Miller, the program director of a radio station in Wheeling, West Virginia.

16. Miller asked him if he would like to be a guest on Jamboree USA.

17. After his first performance, he was asked to become a member of the show’s weekly lineup.

18. For the next eight years, he opened for country singers such as The Judds, Ricky Skaggs and George Jones.

19. He would become the youngest person inducted into the Jamboree USA Hall of Fame.

20. He also performed at the Jamboree in the Hills.

21. Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, West Virginia, in 1991, and then studied for two years at West Liberty State College in West Liberty, West Virginia.

22. He was awarded a fully paid ASCAP scholarship to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he majored in music business and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Mike Curb School of Music Business in 1995.

23. He interned at ASCAP, Atlantic Records, and the Fitzgerald-Hartley management firm.

24. While in college, he met Frank Rogers, a fellow student who went on to serve as his producer.

25. Paisley also met Kelley Lovelace, who became his songwriting partner. He also met Chris DuBois in college, and he, too, would write songs for him.

26. Within a week after graduating from Belmont, Paisley signed a songwriting contract with EMI Music Publishing; and he wrote David Kersh’s “Top 5” hit, “Another You”, as well as David Ball’s 1999 single, “Watching My Baby Not Come Back”. The latter song was also co-written by Ball.

27. In the last months of 2000, Paisley had a relationship with fellow country music singer Chely Wright. Unbeknownst to Paisley, Wright and her female partner had moved together into a new home earlier in the year. In her autobiography, Wright expressed regret for how she treated him.

28. Paisley and actress Kimberly Williams began dating in 2001.

29. The two married on March 15, 2003, at Stauffer Chapel on the campus of Pepperdine University after a nine-month engagement. They live in Franklin, Tennessee, and had another home in Pacific Palisades that was sold in 2013.

30. Paisley and Williams’ first son, William Huckleberry, or “Huck”, was born on February 22, 2007, in Nashville.

31. Their second son, Jasper Warren, named after his grandfather, who bought Paisley his first guitar, was born on April 17, 2009.