9781422273265

Stapleton went to college in Nashville, where he attendedVanderbilt University.

It all started when Stapleton was in college. Stapleton was never into music growing up in his small hometown of Staffordsville, Kentucky—he preferred football to choir class. He grew up in a working-class family, with both his father and grandfather working in coal mines.When it was time for Stapleton to choose a career, he played it safe by studying engineering nearby at Vanderbilt University—located in the country music mecca of Nashville. Engineering school wasn’t a good fit for Stapleton. After just one year, he realized classes weren’t for him and dropped out. After picking up the music bug during his short college experience in Nashville, Stapleton started a Travis Tritt tribute band back in his hometown. Stapleton connected to the country crooner, saying his brand of outlaw country took him back to his roots. The bluegrass band wasn’t bringing in rent money, so Stapleton worked odd jobs and ended up living in a communal artist loft with no air conditioning where he paid just $80 a month—which was what the college dropout could afford.

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a star is born