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 Jeff
Foxworthy
Contrary to some
people's popular belief, Jeff Foxworthy is not some overnight success
story. Before starring on The Jeff Foxworthy Show for two seasons,
releasing many best-selling CD's and books and selling out major theaters,
Foxworthy was practically on a first-name basis with every Holiday Inn
manager in the country. Years of relentless touring, mastering the art of
sleeping while standing and waking up at the crack of dawn to do morning
radio and television interviews, all have helped mold Jeff into one of the
most respected and successful comedians in the country.
In April 1999, The Jeff Foxworthy Countdown, a weekly syndicated
three-hour radio show, debuted featuring Jeff bringing fans the current
Top 20 hits as well as interviews with country stars. The show is carried
in over two hundred markets across the United States. Jeff received a CMA
nomination in 2001 for Broadcast Personality of the Year.
January of 2003 will mark the release of "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour"
feature film, which is based on the highly successful tour. Jeff
co-headlines the tour with Bill Engvall and features special guests Ron
White and Larry the Cable Guy. To date, the tour has grossed more than 12
million dollars. A live album was also released in November of 2000.
To date, Jeff's comedy recordings have tallied sales of over thirteen
million units making him the largest selling comedy-recording artist in
history. Jeff's last album "Big Funny" on DreamWorks Records received a
2000 Grammy nomination, the fourth honor Foxworthy has received for his
recording efforts. The CD features the hit single "Blue Collar Dollar"
with Marty Stuart and comedian Bill Engvall. "Totally Committed," which
was released in May, 1998 has reached gold status and also received a 1999
Grammy Award nomination.
His first CD, "You
Might Be A Redneck If..." (Warner Bros./1994) has been registered triple
platinum status (three million units), the only time a comedy CD has
surpassed this mark. It has also become the largest selling comedy
recording of all time. The tremendous reaction to this CD resulted in both
a music video and a single entitled "Redneck Stomp." His July 1995
release, "Games Rednecks Play," was certified platinum a mere five weeks
later. "Games Rednecks Play", which is now triple platinum, went on to
receive a 1996 Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album.
Crank It Up: The Music Album", was released in the fall of 1996 and
contains the hit single and video "Party All Night" featuring Little
Texas. The single "Games Rednecks Play" with country star Alan Jackson
also appears on the album and was nominated for a 1997 Grammy for Best
Vocal Collaboration. The single was Jeff's salute to his hometown of
Atlanta, the host city of 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
 A
regular on such shows as "The Tonight Show" and "The Late Show with David
Letterman," Jeff also has an HBO special and two Showtime specials to his
credit. With critical acclaim and rave reviews from the first special,
Jeff landed his second Showtime special, which earned a Cable ACE Award
nomination. Jeff has also been bestowed with a People's Choice Award as
"Favorite Male Newcomer" for The Jeff Foxworthy Show. He also won TNN's
"Comedian of the Year" three years in a row.
Jeff is also the author of eleven best selling books, his latest book is
The Final Helping of You Might Be a Redneck If?His first four books
explore the phenomenon of the redneck: "You Might Be A Redneck If..." (now
in its 30th printing), "Red Ain't Dead," "Hick Is Chic: A Guide To
Etiquette For The (Grossly) Unsophisticated" and "Check Your Neck." Jeff's
fifth book "You're Not A Kid Anymore..." was a departure from his previous
books as it poignantly and comically looks at the tell-tales signs of
getting older. His 1995 book "Games Rednecks Play" offered a humorous
preview of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, since Atlanta was the site of
the Olympics. 1995 brought "Redneck Classics," a best-of compilation of
his earlier writing efforts.
His 1996 book from
Longstreet Press was entitled "Those People," which is filled with
humorous drawings from Jeff's observations of his fellow man from many
years of being out on the comedy club circuit.
Jeff's other 1996 publishing effort, "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!"
spent over two months on The New York Times Bestsellers List and has sold
more than 600,000 copies in hardcover and paperback. This book was more
autobiographical than his previous works, tracing his formative years
while growing up in Atlanta and amusing, albeit bewildering stories, from
the Foxworthy household, and as Jeff says, "it's a book for the library
instead of the back of the toilet."
"The Foxworthy Down Home Cookbook" was published by Longstreet Press in
November of 1998 and includes recipes from Jeff and his father, Big Jim.
To date, Jeff has sold over 5 million copies of his various books and over
1.5 million copies of his annual calendars.
Currently Jeff also
has a line of twenty-eight greeting cards through American Greetings,
which came out in June of 2001. In the first 19 days the cards sold more
than 133,500 pieces. The cards can be found in all Wal-Mart stores.
It's hard to believe
that 14 years ago, Jeff was about to quit his $30,000-a-year job to work
the comedy club circuit so he could make a whopping $20 a night in smoky
comedy clubs. In no time at all, Jeff began winning several national and
regional comedy contests, developing a loyal fan base. Those first six or
seven years, Jeff paid his dues by working 48 weeks a year on the road.
The end result of his hard work had Foxworthy capturing the award for
"Best Stand-Up Comic" at the 1990 American Comedy
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