Tim Wilson

Georgia-born country comedian Tim Wilson displayed an early knack for humor, nailing spot-on impressions of his grade-school instructors; he went on to host talent competitions at his high school, yet picked up the guitar during his teenage years and shifted his ambitions toward a life in music. College brought him a position as a sportswriter, and he soon persuaded his bosses to let him cover area concerts too; backstage at an Atlanta Rhythm Section show, he handed his demo to drummer Roy Yeager, who consented to oversee a recording session at his Georgia facility. That tape failed to generate interest, prompting Wilson to pivot fully into comedy, where he quickly built a loyal regional audience and captured a Cinemax standup contest. Television opportunities followed, among them a spot on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; in 1990 he also collaborated with Pinkard & Bowden on the song “Arab, Alabama,” whose popularity led him to weave music into his stage routines. Besides issuing several albums on the independent Southern Tracks imprint—Tough Crowd, Waking Up the Neighborhood, Low-Class Love Affair, and Tuned Up—he notched a hit with “Garth Brooks Ruined My Life” and co-wrote Jeff Foxworthy’s chart-topping “The Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas.” After signing with Capitol he delivered his major-label bow, It’s a Sorry World, in early 1999, then Gettin’ My Mind Right later that year. Hillbilly Homeboy arrived in 2000, buoyed by the single “The Ballad of John Rocker,” and three years later he released his first funk concept album, Super Bad Sounds of the ’70s. Three additional traditional efforts—Church League Softball Fistfight (2005), But I Could Be Wrong (2007), and Mr. Wilson Explains America (2009)—came afterward.