Chart Rewind: In 1992, Tracy Lawrence’s ‘Sticks and Stones’ Skipped to No. 1

Jim Asker
·1 min read
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On Jan. 25, 1992, Tracy Lawrence’s rookie single “Sticks and Stones” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It marked the first of his eight career leaders.

The song, which Roger Dillon and Elbert West wrote and James Stroud produced, ushered in Lawrence’s like-titled LP, which became his first of 10 top 10s on the Top Country Albums chart.

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Lawrence was born Jan. 27, 1968, in Atlanta, Texas, and was drawn to music by age 15. He arrived in Nashville in a beat-up Toyota in 1990 and was signed to Atlantic Records the next year.

Notably, “Sticks and Stones” became Lawrence’s first of 19 straight career-opening top 10s on Hot Country Songs (encompassing his first seven No. 1s). His streak ran through the No. 4-peaking “How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye” in August 1997, a record, dating to the chart’s 1990 inception, until Carrie Underwood linked 27 career-starting top 10 promoted singles in a row in 2005-18. Lawrence’s career-launching run remains the longest by a male and is second overall only to Underwood’s.

Lawrence made his most recent trip to the Hot Country Songs summit in June 2007 with “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.”

Now 55, Lawrence is still an active touring act. In May 2023, he released the album Live at Billy Bob’s Texas, which includes many of his hits, including “Sticks and Stones.”

In November, Lawrence hosted his 18th annual Mission:Possible Turkey Fry and Benefit Concert at the Nashville Fairgrounds, also featuring Priscilla Block, Lee Brice and Halfway to Hazard. To date, the event has raised more than $1 million to support the Nashville Rescue Mission.

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