Chris Stapleton

Stapleton married singer-songwriter Morgane Hayes in 2007. The couple first met when they were both working as songwriters at adjacent publishing houses along Nashville's Music Row. Morgane serves as an integral collaborator in his music, contributing backing harmonies, assisting in song selection, and frequently performing with him on stage during live tours and award broadcasts.

The couple resides in Nashville and has five children together. Their family includes an older son named Waylon, a daughter named Ada, twin sons named Macon and Samuel born in April 2018, and a fourth son born in 2019. Despite their high public profile in country music, the couple maintains a private home life and keeps their children out of the public spotlight.

Christopher Alvin Stapleton was born on April 15, 1978, in Lexington, Kentucky. He was raised in the small community of Staffordsville, near Paintsville in Johnson County. His mother, Carol, worked for the local health department, while his father, Herbert Joseph Stapleton Jr., worked as an engineer in coal mines. Coming from a multi-generational family of coal miners, Stapleton grew up immersed in the Appalachian culture, bluegrass, gospel, and Southern rock that later defined his musical style.

Stapleton attended Johnson Central High School in Paintsville, where he played high school football and graduated as class valedictorian. In 1996, he moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University, intending to study biomedical engineering before transitioning to business studies. After meeting a professional salaried songwriter and realizing that songwriting was a viable career path, he chose to leave university to pursue music full-time.

Upon dedicating himself to music in Nashville, Stapleton signed a publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music. Over the following decade, he built a reputation as an exceptionally versatile and prolific composer, writing more than a thousand songs. His compositions yielded six number-one country hits for other performers, including Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More", Josh Turner's "Your Man", George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make It Alright", and Luke Bryan's "Drink a Beer". His catalog songs have also been recorded by artists such as Adele, Brad Paisley, Kelly Clarkson, Dierks Bentley, and Alison Krauss.

Alongside his commercial songwriting, Stapleton served as the lead vocalist and guitarist for two bands. In 2007, he formed the bluegrass group The SteelDrivers, recording two albums that reached number two on the bluegrass charts before his departure in 2010. He subsequently fronted the Southern rock band The Jompson Brothers, touring regionally and releasing a self-titled independent album in late 2010 before transitioning toward a solo career under Mercury Nashville.

Stapleton released his debut solo studio album, Traveller, in May 2015. Produced alongside Dave Cobb at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A, the album was inspired by a road trip through New Mexico following the death of Stapleton's father in 2013. The album received massive commercial and critical acclaim, topping the Billboard 200 chart and earning RIAA multi-platinum certifications. A standout performance at the 2015 Country Music Association Awards, where Stapleton performed a duet of "Tennessee Whiskey" and "Drink You Away" with Justin Timberlake, propelled him to widespread national stardom and swept multiple awards that evening.

He followed his debut with the companion albums From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2, both released in 2017 and named after RCA Studio A. Volume 1 spawned the hit single "Broken Halos", which earned CMA awards for Song and Single of the Year. In 2020, Stapleton released his fourth studio album, Starting Over, which debuted with chart-topping singles and earned him another Grammy Award for Best Country Album. He followed with Higher in 2023, accompanied by his long-running headline concert series, the All-American Road Show Tour.

Throughout his career, Stapleton has collaborated widely across musical genres. In 2018, he co-wrote three tracks on Justin Timberlake's album Man of the Woods, including the top-ten Billboard Hot 100 duet "Say Something". In 2019, he teamed up with Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran on the rock track "Blow". He contributed guest vocals to Taylor Swift's 2021 re-recorded track "I Bet You Think About Me", appeared on alternative versions of Adele's single "Easy on Me", and collaborated with Tom Morello on the track "The War Inside".

Stapleton's prominent live appearances include performing the United States national anthem at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona, in February 2023. He has also made multiple musical guest appearances on Saturday Night Live and performed a live duet of "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" with Patty Loveless at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Outside of recording, he made a brief cameo as a Wight in the eighth season of HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones.