30 Facts About Steve Azar

Stephen Thomas Azar was born on April 11,1964 and is an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and philanthropist.

Steve 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.

Steve Azar has written most of his own songs, and his style draws from country, rock, and Delta blues, with his singing voice gaining frequent comparisons to John Mellencamp.

Stephen Thomas Steve Azar was born on April 11,1964 as one of five children born to couple Joe and Virgie Steve Azar in Greenville, Mississippi.

Steve Azar began writing songs as a child, primarily for use in Catholic Mass and other liturgies at his church.

When Steve Azar was 10 years old, he began receiving guitar lessons from Delta blues singer Sonny Boy Nelson.

Steve Azar was a regular customer at a liquor store that Azar's father owned.

Steve Azar had his first recording session in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 15 when his father took him there to cut demos.

Steve Azar began touring locally at various clubs around Mississippi with a band that included his brother, Joe Steve Azar Jr.

Steve Azar's wife shared a similar opinion, and according to Azar, she cried after hearing the album because she felt that it did not represent him as an artist.

Van Hoy produced the album, and Steve Azar wrote or co-wrote every song.

Steve Azar toured extensively throughout 2002 and 2003 to promote Waitin' on Joe, averaging 250 shows per year.

In 2006, Steve Azar founded his own label called Dang Records.

Steve Azar's first release for the label was a Christmas song called "Catfish Christmas", which he and Van Hoy cowrote.

Steve Azar was credited playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin.

In February 2006, Steve Azar announced that Dang Records had partnered with Midas Records Nashville for the distribution of the album.

Steve Azar charted the Radney Foster co-write "You Don't Know a Thing" while on Midas.

Steve Azar experienced delays in releasing his material while on Midas, citing both creative differences and the label's inexperience.

At the time of the album's release, Steve Azar said that many of the songs from the project grew from songwriting sessions with Foster and James House, and that he wanted to form an independent label so that he could have control over aspects such as sales and promotion.

One year later, Steve Azar released another album on Ride Records entitled Slide On Over Here.

Steve Azar recorded a number of promotional singles throughout the 2010s.

In 2015, Steve Azar collaborated with Sophie Young to record the song "The Sky Is Falling ", which dealt with the subject of human trafficking.

In 2024, Steve Azar contributed the song "Our Castle Is Your Home" to the multi-artist charity album Rock for Children, a children's charity album created by Alice Cooper.

Steve Azar's singing voice has been compared to that of John Mellencamp, with Ben Scott of The Oklahoman calling him a "younger, less jaded" variant of the same.

The latter requested that Steve Azar write a song to honor the state's bicentennial in 2017.

Steve Azar has been married to the former Gwen Nabholz since 1989.

Steve Azar competed on a special week of the game show Wheel of Fortune in 2007 which featured country music singers playing the game to raise money for charity, and raised $22,600 for the St Cecilia Foundation on his episode.

Steve Azar serves as a musical mentor and artist in residence for Delta Music Institute, which is part of Delta State University.

Steve Azar enjoys golfing, and has been ranked by Golf Digest on multiple occasions as one of the most popular musicians who plays golf.

Steve Azar started the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival, an annual music festival held in his hometown of Greenville, Mississippi, in 2013.