50 facts about country singer Luke Bryan

He made it to Nashville after his father told him to pack his truck to pursue a career in music. Learn 50 facts about country singer and songwriter Luke Bryan.

1. Bryan was born in rural Leesburg, Georgia.

2. His father Tommy Bryan is a peanut farmer.

3. Shortly before Luke was going to move to Nashville at age 19, tragedy struck his family. "My older brother, Chris, was unexpectedly killed in a ... car accident ... I'm kind of hyperventilating talking about it. ... You never truly ... move beyond it."

4. His mother, LeClaire, had made a statement: "We knew Luke at some point would come to Nashville," his mother said. "But ... you can't leave your family, and ... I couldn't bear the thought of him being away."

5. Luke went to college at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia where he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

6. He made it to Nashville after his father told him to pack his truck to pursue a career in music.

7. He gained success as a songwriter, but soon after he signed as a performer.

8. His first big hit was "All My Friends Say".

9. When Luke was invited to perform at the famous Grand Ole Opry, his older sister, Kelly, organized 129 people to attend his Opry debut.

10. A few days after his performance, his sister unexpectedly died at home for unknown reasons. Bryan said the cause remains undetermined. "My only older siblings ... gone from the world, in a flash in two, two different, crazy, tragic manners, that ... we'll never know, and never understand."

11. His full name is Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan.

12. He is a country music singer and songwriter.

13. Bryan began his musical career in the mid-2000s, writing songs for his longtime friends from high school, performers Travis Tritt and Billy Currington and releasing his first spring break album.

14. After signing with Capitol Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee in 2007 with his cousin, Chad Christopher Boyd, he released the album I'll Stay Me, which included the singles "All My Friends Say", "We Rode in Trucks", and "Country Man".

15. The follow-up album Doin' My Thing included "Do I", which Bryan co-wrote with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, and the #1 singles "Rain Is a Good Thing" and "Someone Else Calling You Baby".

16. Tailgates & Tanlines, released in 2011, includes "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)", and the number one singles "I Don't Want This Night to End", "Drunk on You", and "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye".

17. Bryan's fourth album, Crash My Party, was released in August 2013 and includes the number one singles "Crash My Party", "That's My Kind of Night", "Drink a Beer", "Play It Again", "Roller Coaster" and "I See You".

18. The fifth album, Kill The Lights, was released in August 2015.

19. The lead single from his fifth album, "Kick the Dust Up", became his 13th number one hit, followed by his 14th number one "Strip It Down".

20. Bryan was the recipient of the Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards "Entertainer of the Year" award.

21. To date, Bryan has sold over 7 million albums and 27 million singles worldwide.

22. Soon after his arrival in Nashville, Bryan joined a publishing house in the city.

23. Among his first cuts was the title track of Travis Tritt's 2004 album My Honky Tonk History.

24. Bryan co-wrote Billy Currington's single "Good Directions", which went to number 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts in mid-2007.

25. Bryan co-wrote his debut single, "All My Friends Say", with producer Jeff Stevens. This song reached a peak of number 5 on Hot Country Songs.

26. In August 2007, Capitol released Bryan's debut album, I'll Stay Me. Bryan wrote or co-wrote all but one of its 11 songs. The album's second single, "We Rode in Trucks", peaked at number 33 while "Country Man" reached number 10.

27. Kill the Lights sold 345,000 total copies its first week and beat out Dr. Dre's Compton to debut at number one on the Billboard 200.

28. "Strip It Down" went number one in October 2015, making fourteen cumulative number ones.

29. Luke Bryan is married to Caroline Boyer.

30. Boyer was Bryan's college sweetheart.

31. Bryan and Boyer met at Georgia Southern University.

32. The couple married on December 8, 2006.

33. They met at a local bar called Dingus Magees when Bryan was a senior and Boyer was a freshman.

34. The couple have two sons, Thomas "Bo" Boyer Bryan, born March 18, 2008 and Tatum "Tate" Christopher Bryan, born August 11, 2010.

35. After Bryan's sister Kelly died in 2007, followed by her husband Ben Lee Cheshire in 2014, Bryan and his wife began raising their nephew Tilden (Til).

36. Bryan has supported numerous charities and causes.

37. The charities Bryan has supported are the City of Hope and Red Cross.

38. The causes Bryan supports are AIDS and HIV, Cancer, Children Disaster Relief, Health, and Human Rights.

39. On March 11, 2014, Bryan began his sixth year of spring performances at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City Beach, Florida.

40. Bryan possesses a high baritone vocal range of two octaves from A2 to A4.

41. Commenting on his vocal performance in "Tailgates and Tanlines", Slant magazine's Jonathan Kefee described Bryan's voice as "a pleasant, if slightly nasal, baritone.

42. Bryan has cited influences in his career as being country artists George Strait, Alan Jackson, Alabama and Merle Haggard.

43. As regards the incorporation of elements of other music genres into his music, he cited hip hop bands Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. as the source of inspiration in an interview with Huffington Post, noting, "I think there's been somewhat of a change with our generation. You know, nobody grew up more countrier than me, but I mean, I had Beastie Boys playing on little boom boxes and Run D.M.C. and all forms of music, so through the years, I just think it's all constantly blending together."

44. On March 10, 2009, he released an EP titled Spring Break with All My Friends that featured two new songs, "Sorority Girls" and "Take My Drunk Ass Home," plus an acoustic version of "All My Friends Say."

45. After this EP, he released his fourth single, "Do I" in May 2009. Bryan wrote the song with Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, whose lead singer Hillary Scott also sings backing vocals on it.

46. "Do I" was included on Bryan's second album, Doin' My Thing, which was released in October 2009. Also included on the album was a cover of OneRepublic's "Apologize".

47. Bryan appeared on the April 18, 2010, episode of Celebrity Apprentice alongside fellow country star Emily West. The task for each team was to make-over an up-and-coming country star, with Bryan being selected by team Rocksolid, led by Bill Goldberg, and West being selected by team Tenacity, led by Cyndi Lauper. Bryan's make-over failed to impress the judges, leading to team Rocksolid losing the task.

48. Bryan's single "Rain Is a Good Thing" and West's single "Blue Sky" were both sold on iTunes with a months worth of sales being donated to Lauper's charity, the Stonewall Community Foundation, resulting in $25,000 being raised.

49. Bryan, along with Eric Church, sang guest vocals on Jason Aldean's "The Only Way I Know," the second single from his 2012 album, Night Train.

50. On January 30, 2013, Bryan announced his first compilation album, Spring Break...Here to Party, which includes fourteen songs - twelve from his previous Spring Break EPs and two new tracks.