Douglas Jackson Brooks (born June 19, 1956 in Newnan, Georgia) is an American country music artist known professionally as Doug Stone. Starting with his debut single "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)" in late 1990, Stone has charted twenty-two singles (four of which reached Number One) on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, in addition to recording nine studio albums and a Greatest Hits package.
Stone also made a brief venture into acting, starring in the 1995 Disney movie Gordy. Shortly afterward, a series of health problems (including a heart attack and a stroke) forced him to put his recording career on hiatus until 1999. He has since resumed recording, primarily on independent labels; his most recent album, My Turn, was released in 2007 on Lofton Creek Records.
Overall, Stone's albums have accounted for twenty-two singles on the Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One hits "In a Different Light", "A Jukebox With a Country Song", "Too Busy Being in Love", and "Why Didn't I Think of That", as well as eleven more Top Ten hits.
Biography
Stone was born as Douglas Jackson Brooks. His mother, who was a country music singer, taught him how to play guitar when he was five.[1] When he was seven years old, his mother placed him onstage to open for Loretta Lynn.[2][3] His mother and father later divorced, and after the divorce, he moved to live with his father.[2] He found additional work singing as a teenager - first at local skating rinks, and then at local bars, and later as one member of a short-lived trio; in addition, he and his father worked as mechanics to make ends meet.[1][2] The singer's break came one night in 1987 as his band, Mainstreet, played a regular show at the Newnan VFW Club. Eventually, he also adopted the stage name Doug Stone, to avoid confusion with Garth Brooks, whose musical career was beginning around the same time.[3][4]
Musical career
Beginnings
Stone's self-titled debut album was released in 1990. Its first single, "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", reached a peak of #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. In addition, the single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, and the album was certified platinum.[1][4] Three more singles were released from the album, all of them reaching Top 10 on the country charts. "In a Different Light", the fourth of those singles, became his first Number One single.[1] With the success of his first album, Stone was later placed on a touring schedule, including such acts as Alabama, Ricky Van Shelton and Reba McEntire.[4]
1991-1992
Stone's second album, I Thought It Was You, was released in 1991. Also certified platinum, his second album produced three additional Top 10 hits, including "A Jukebox with a Country Song", which became his second Number One.[1][4] In early 1992, Stone had found that one of the arteries in his heart was almost entirely blocked, after having suffered dizziness and pain in one of his arms.[4] He underwent quadruple bypass surgery and took time off to recover, just as his third album, From the Heart, was released[1][4], followed by a Christmas album titled The First Christmas. From the Heart's three singles all reached Top 10, producing #1's in "Too Busy Being in Love" and "Why Didn't I Think of That". In addition, the album was certified gold.[1]
1993-1995
More Love, Stone's fourth album, was released in late 1993. Also certified gold, the album produced three more Top 10 singles.[1] Starting in June 1994, Stone discovered that he was having breathing problems which were affecting his singing.[5] The singer later consulted throat doctors at Vanderbilt University's medical center, who failed to find any problems in his throat. A second consultation, however, revealed that Stone had a lump in his left nostril which was his breathing problems. Upon discovery of the lump, Stone feared that he might see his career ending with a bout of cancer; later testing proved that it was not cancerous.[5] Stone also admitted that he quit smoking immediately after the surgery.[5]
While Stone was undergoing treatment, his Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 compilation was released in 1994, producing a Top 10 hit in "Little Houses", one of the new songs recorded for that album.[1] After the release of his Greatest Hits package, Stone made his acting debut in the film Gordy, in which he starred as Luke McAllister, a struggling musician.[6] Several of the songs from More Love were also featured in this film, most notably the single "More Love".
Having also switched from Epic to the Columbia Records label, Stone released his album Faith in Me, Faith in You in 1995. Although the album produced three hit singles, none of them peaked any higher than #12, and one failed to make Top 40 at all.[1] Stone suffered a nearly-fatal heart attack in December 1995, and as a result, further recordings for Columbia Records were delayed. He charted in 1998 with the track "Gone Out of My Mind" from the Columbia compilation Tribute to Tradition before exiting the label.
Also in the mid-1990s, Stone suffered a mild stroke, further reducing his ability to record and tour.[3]
1997-1999
Due to the health problems he had suffered in 1995, Stone cut back on his touring and recording. In 1999, he survived a plane crash at O'Hare Airport in Chicago.[2][7][8]
After recovering from the plane crash, Stone recorded and released his first album for Atlantic Records, to which he had signed that year. Titled Make Up in Love, the album featured a more pop-oriented style than previous efforts, and produced a minor Top 20 hit in its title track.[1] This album's second single, a cover of R.B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria", missed Top 40, as did "Surprise", the third single.
2000s
In 2000, Stone suffered a broken left ankle and a cracked rib after crashing his ultralight plane in Robertson County, Tennessee, and was briefly hospitalized before he resumed touring.[7][9] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, rumors circulated that Stone had been on one of the hijacked planes; a spokeswoman for the singer confirmed that Stone was at home with his family that day.[10]
Stone later switched labels yet again, signing to Audium Entertainment in 2002 and recording The Long Way.[1] The album failed to produce any chart singles, however, and he was soon dropped from Audium as well. His next album did not come out until 2005, when he signed to the independent label Lofton Creek Records, recording the album In a Different Light. Stone's first Number One single, also titled "In a Different Light", was re-recorded for this album.
In 2005, the singer was sentenced to six months in jail for civil and criminal contempt for failing to release his financial records and failing to pay alimony and child support.[11] A second album for Lofton Creek Records, titled My Turn, was released in September 2007.
Stone was arrested on April 9, 2009 in Panama City, FL, for beating up his 22-year-old son, Dustin Brooks. They reportedly got into a fight over his son's disabled car and Stone's drinking. Dustin was battered and wished to press charges against his father, according to Maj. Dave Humphreys of the Panama City Beach police. [12]
Discography
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Huey, Steve. "Doug Stone biography" (html). Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifwxql5ldfe~T1. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ a b c d "Doug Stone biography" (html). Oldies.com. http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Doug-Stone.html. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ a b c Helper-Drahos, Marta (September 26, 2003). "Doug Stone makes comeback with show at Leelanau Sands" (html). Traverse City Record-Eagle. http://www.record-eagle.com/2003/sep/26stone.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ a b c d e f "Doug Stone biography" (html). MusicianGuide.com. http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000457/Doug-Stone.html. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ a b c Dunn, Clif H. (December 5, 1995). "Doug Stone: "I feared cancer would end my career"". Country Weekly 2 (49): 20–23. ISSN 1074-3235.
- ^ Roberts, Frank (July 7, 1994). "Doug Stone's Career Flourishes With Hits and a Film" (html). The Virginian-Pilot: p. E3. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940707/07070063.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ a b Rosen, Craig (March 8, 2000). "Doug Stone Survives Plane Crash" (html). Yahoo! Music. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12041126. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ Hermanson, Wendy (December 17, 1999). "Doug Stone Survives Crash Landing" (html). Yahoo! Music. http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/news/12042276. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "Doug Stone in Stable Condition After Crashing His Ultralight Plane" (html). CMT.com. http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1472827/20030618/stone_doug.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "Stone Rumors Are False" (html). CMT.com. http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1448836/20010912/stone_doug.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ "Doug Stone Jailed on Criminal Contempt of Court Charge" (html). CMT.com. http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1510900/20051004/stone_doug.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
- ^ http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/42774152.html
External links
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