Things You Might Not Know About Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan is a staple artist in country music. He rose to fame back in 2007 after the release of his debut album, “I’ll Stay Me,” and he’s been topping charts ever since. Bryan’s fan base spans far and wide as he appeals not only to country music fans, but some of his singles also appeal to pop music as well. His biggest hits have been singles like, “Country Girl (Shake It for Me),” “Rain Is a Good Thing,” “Strip it Down,” “Crash My Party,” and “Drunk on You,” just to name a few. He’s sold over 7 million albums and 27 million singles worldwide, won numerous awards including Entertainer of the Year three consecutive years in a row (which might be due to his famous dance moves on stage) and he’s a well credited songwriter in the industry. In honor of Luke Bryan’s birthday, here’s a look at 10 things you might not have known about this country music star!

10. Childhood

Born Thomas Luther Bryan in 1976 and raised in the small town of Leesburg, Georgia, Luke was the youngest son in the family. Growing up on his father’s peanut farm meant that Bryan spent the majority of his childhood outside either working on the farm or hunting and fishing. Fun fact: Luke’s name is featured on the roadside sign, along with other famous locals like the San Francisco Giants All-Star catcher Buster Posey and American Idol singer, Phillips Phillips.

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9. Musical Career

From a young age, Luke Bryan was interested in music. He grew up listening to his parents’ records which included country artists like Merle Haggard, George Strait and Conway Twitty. When he was 14, his parents bought him a guitar and he quickly taught himself how to play and sing. The first place he ever sang was in church, but he soon began playing with local musicians, writing his own songs and performing in high school musicals. When he graduated, he was ready to move to Nashville and pursue a career as a musician, but his older brother, Chris, was killed unexpectedly in a car accident. Bryan and his family were devastated, so he decided to put his dreams on hold and attend college so he could be close to his family. His interest in music continued. He joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity, formed a band and played in local bars, all the while continuing to work on his father’s farm. Eventually, his father told him to pack up his truck and head to Nashville to pursue his dreams before it was too late. Once he was in Nashville he began a career as a songwriter and after three years of playing small gigs he was scouted by a rep from Capitol Records!

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8. Favorite Hobby

After taking a quick look into Luke Bryan’s interests, it’s pretty clear why the song, “Hunting, Fishing and Loving Everyday” is one of his singles. He grew up on hunting and has loved it as a hobby since he was a kid. Bryan is even the part owner (alongside Duck Dynasty star Willy Robertson) of an outdoor company. When he travels on tour he brings his crossbow with him and a few other “toys” so that he can unwind and practice shooting. In an interview with ABC News he said, “I don’t remember my life before I was hunting and fishing and doing stuff in the outdoors. I think the biggest thing as a hunter is to be prepared to hunt. Make sure all your stuff works right.”

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7. His Wife Caroline Boyer

Luke met his wife, Caroline Boyer, in 1998 while attending Georgia Southern University — they are college sweethearts! It was young love as they were both only 18-years-old when they first met at a local bar called Dingus Magees. At the time, Bryan was a senior and Boyer was a freshman. In an interview with People, Caroline revealed that Luke was actually relatively shy when they first met! “He was always a gentleman. We hung out as friends first and he never made a move on me. I kissed him first! He was always so scared of making a girl feel uncomfortable, he wouldn’t cross a line,” she said. They dated off and on for six years before running into each other again in a bar in Statesboro which rekindled their relationship once and for all. Luke and Caroline got married in 2006 and now share two children together, Thomas Boyer and Tatum Christopher. His kids nicknames are Bo Bo and Tater Bug. She also mentioned that Luke’s dance moves are no act — they are the real deal! “Everything that Luke has done and been like at home is coming out in public. He’s not fake, he’s not putting on an act. In college, we used to go dancing in a club til 4 a.m., and he’s just as silly at home as he is on stage. He walks around dancing all day, just being goofy.”

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6. First Job

When he was only 12-years-old he got his first job stocking shelves and cleaning up produce at the local grocery store called Rubo’s in his hometown. Instead of collecting an allowance from his parents, he earned his own keep around the house. He also did a brief stint waiting tables when he moved to Nashville after college…but that only lasted 3 days before he quit!

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5. He Still Gets Nervous

You’d never be able to tell, especially since Luke Bryan has won the Entertainer of the Year Award many years in a row, but he still gets nervous before a big show. I guess that only means he’s human! But it’s a lot worse than just some jumpy nerves. He said he’s been known to experience mild hyperventilation and panic attacks. “I’ve had panic attacks, you know, before big moments, and that’s kinda fun. You want that anxiety. I wouldn’t want it to not be that way,” he said. He thanks the intense adrenaline for giving him the ability to put on those high energy performances that we’ve come to expect from him!

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4. Hidden Tattoos

Luke Bryan has never formally coped to it, but he is rumored to have a hidden tattoo. Not only is Luke Bryan’s butt famous in it’s own right for being one of his best assets while dancing on stage, but it’s also the home to his wife’s initials “CB.” Jason Aldean let the secret slip during an interview when he said, “He was on tour with me when he got it. He was complaining about it [itching], and I was like, ‘What is wrong with you?'” He then added that Bryan showed showed him his rear end and revealed the tattoo. She has a matching tattoo with his initials as well.

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3. He Was Hit By a Car in Second Grade

There aren’t many details about this incident, but Bryan revealed during an interview with US Weekly that he was hit by a car when he was in grade 2.

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2. Raising His Nephew

Luke has had a lot of tragedy in his life from the early passing of his two oldest siblings, to the recent death of his brother-in-law, Ben Lee Ceshire, in November of 2014. The details of his death were never released so the cause is unknown. Ceshire’s was the husband of Luke’s deceased sister, Kelly, who also passed suddenly back in 2007 after his Luke’s first performance at the Grand Ole Opry. This most recent death left Luke’s teenage nephew, Tilden, an orphan. Luke and his wife Caroline took him in as their own. When asked about the big change to his family he replied that it wasn’t exactly how he expected his life to turn out, but he said, “I think we just rally around as a family. I went from having two boys in the house to having a 13-year-old boy in the house, which is a whole ‘nother set of learning that you have to do. It’s every day on the phone all day trying to talk with the family and figure out what to do, but it’s what you gotta do.”

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1. Family Tragedy

Luke’s family is no stranger to tragedy. When he was 19-years-old Luke lost his older brother, Chris, in a car accident. Then in 2007 he lost his older sister after she died suddenly in her home for unknown reasons. Her death came only days after she had organized 129 people to attend his first performance at the famous Grand Ole Opry. “My only older siblings…gone from the world, in a flash in two, two different, crazy, tragic manners, that…we’ll never know, and never understand,” he said. Luke’s emotional hit single, “Drink a Beer,” is dedicated to both of them. He has said that music helped him deal with these losses: “Losing my brother and my sister, that took such a negative emotional toll on me and my family and my friends and when good things happen to me through music and via this path of music it helps my whole family. When I won the ACM ‘Entertainer of the Year’ I think we were all backstage and we were all crying backstage and really like sobbing crying…but we all kept going, ‘wow this is what being really joyous feels like,’ because we had dealt with the complete opposite of that, so it was an amazing moment.”