Steve Azar


Stephen Thomas Azar is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since 1996, he has released a total of five studio albums: one on the former River North Records, one on Mercury Nashville, and three independently. Azar has charted nine times on Billboard Hot Country Songs, most successfully with his late 2001-early 2002 hit "I Don't Have to Be Me ", which reached the number two position there.

Biography

Azar was born and grew up in Greenville, Mississippi. He began writing songs at 10 years old, which led him to develop as a guitarist. Azar had his first Nashville recording session when he was 14. After high school, Azar attended Delta State University where he played show after show, including the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. Mississippi native Faith Hill remembers being at his shows as a fan in the front row. Graduating with a degree in business-management, Azar moved to Nashville in 1993, and in two days, he was offered three song-publishing contracts.

Music career

Azar signed with River North Records in 1996 and released his debut album Heartbreak Town that year. The album charted two singles: "I Never Stopped Loving You" and "Someday".
He did not record another album until 2002's Waitin' on Joe, his first hit album for Mercury Nashville. His first single on that album, "I Don't Have to Be Me ", became his most successful single when it reached number two on Hot Country Songs.
Azar's next album was Indianola in 2008. It was followed one year later by Slide On Over Here.
In April 2016, Azar became the first artist to record a full-length studio album at the Mississippi landmark Club Ebony when he and The Kings Men spent a week recording Down at the Liquor Store, Azar's first new record in five years, which features 13 new, original tracks. The Kings Men are a group of musicians who backed B. B. King, Elvis Presley, and others.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

;Notes

Music videos