It is impossible not to get caught up in the energy of Craig Morrison as he wins Male Artist of the Year at the Central Coast Country Music Festival 2012 and then doubles up as he is just announced Male Vocal Artist Finalist in this year's prestigious TIARA Awards. As both 'Fences' and ?Hot Kinda Love', singles from the new album, smashed up the country radio and video charts, making it into the Top 30 on CMC and garnering airplay around Australia and is a true demonstration of Craig's songwriting ability as Hot Kinda Love takes #1 for Country in the
prestigious 2011 National Australian Songwriters Awards. And what a true taste of what this new album has to offer with Fences, peaking at #5 on the Australian Country Music Charts.
Harking from music royalty, Craig has been treading the boards of the Australian music industry since he was a youngster. His father, Lucky Starr, who is dubbed as a founding member of Australian pop and recognised as the first artist to record ?I've Been Everywhere' and make it a #1 hit on the Aussie charts. Lucky often took his son on stage, bringing him up on a solid diet of performing. It was a natural progression for Craig to move into music as he became an adult, but initially he pushed himself in another genre direction entirely, forming pop-rock band DeMont in the 1980s and releasing hits such as ?Strange World' and ?I Want Your Body'. This took Craig and his band mates from pub stages to stadiums, seeing them tour alongside the likes of
M?tley Cr?e, John Farnham and many others, securing a record deal with the legendary Alberts.
Yet country music was always in Craig's blood. He felt a resonance with the genre and found himself often dabbling in writing country songs.?The first song I ever learnt was a country song. I love music that describes your life, makes you think, makes you smile?? His country album release ?Heaven Knows' under the guise of Craig Morrison Little Cowboys was well-received by the industry and this only further cemented his determination to carve a niche for himself in the genre. The next natural step, was to move his family to the country music capital of the world where he wrote and recorded his new self-titled album, released worldwide in April 2012. It not only features tracks written by Craig both while in Nashville and Australia, but also features some of the best songwriters from the international country music scene. ?Every track is a hit,? Craig says. ?It is an incredible album from start to finish. I couldn't be more proud, it's like waiting for Christmas.? To keep the momentum going, Craig has secured distribution for his album in the US with GMV Nashville, and will be servicing 'Fences' as his first US single to radio and video in April 2012.