Rodney Scott Carrington (born October 19, 1968) is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

, actor,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist and songwriter. He has released six major-label studio albums and a greatest hits package, on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. His comedy act typically combines stand-up comedy and original songs. Most of his songs are performed in a

neotraditional country Neotraditional country (also known as new traditional country, hardcore country, or traditional country) is a country music style that emphasizes the instrumental background and a traditional country vocal style, as well as often dressing in the f ...

style, with Carrington handling lead vocals and guitar. Carrington has also starred in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

sitcom '' Rodney'' and in the 2008 film ''

Beer for My Horses "Beer for My Horses" is a song recorded by American country music artists Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. It was written by Keith and Scotty Emerick for Keith's seventh studio album, '' Unleashed''. The song was released as the album's fourth and f ...

''.

Early life

Rodney Carrington was born in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in, and county seat of, Gregg County, Texas, United States. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway system, U.S. highways U.S. Route 80, 80 and U.S. Route 259, 259 converge just north of the Sabi ...

, in 1968, and lived there until 1990. He worked as a comedian in local venues, gaining exposure through radio programs such as ''

The Bob and Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Pre ...

''.

Career

Carrington's first album, ''Hangin' with Rodney'', was released in 1998 via

Mercury Records Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 as ...

. This album, consisting of both stand-up comedy and original songs, contained the non-charting single "Letter to My Penis" and peaked at No. 73 on

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

. He moved to

Capitol Nashville Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States–based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee, operating as part of the Music Corporation of America. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records. While under the Li ...

for his next album, 2000's ''Morning Wood''. It was his first Top 20 album on the US Country charts, first Gold-certified recording, and it brought him to the singles charts for the first time with "More of a Man", which reached No. 71 on Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

). After it came the live album ''Live: C'mon Laugh You Bastards'', which did not chart. Carrington's third release for Capitol was 2003's ''Nut Sack''. It mostly consisted of studio-recorded comedy songs and only featured five stand-up sketches. It included the single "Don't Look Now" which reached No. 60. The album also featured a new version of "Letter to My Penis", which was recorded in a jazz-swing style. A ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' package followed in 2004. This album comprised selections from his Capitol recordings on two discs: stand-up routines on one disc, and songs on the other. It also included two previously unreleased songs: "Put Your Clothes Back On" and his first non-comedy song, "Things We Didn't Know." This compilation album reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top Comedy Albums chart and No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Top Country albums chart, becoming Carrington's first Platinum-certified recording. Also in 2004, Carrington made his acting debut in '' Rodney'', a

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

based largely on his own life which aired on

for two seasons. He released ''King of the Mountains'' in 2007. In addition to reaching No. 2 on the US Comedy Albums chart and No. 15 on the US Country chart, ''King of the Mountains'' reached No. 68 on the US ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

'' pop albums chart, the highest-ever peak position for any of his recordings. ''King of the Mountains'' contains his second serious song, "Angel Friend", a tribute to his best friend Barry Martin, who died suddenly in 2003. In 2008 he appeared in the film ''

'', which also starred

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

. Carrington released his sixth studio album ''El Niño Loco'' in 2009. Unlike his previous releases, ''El Niño Loco'' does not feature any stand-up sketches. It also contains his third non-comedy song "Funny Man". It was also his first release without a Parental Advisory sticker. Later in 2009, Carrington released his first Christmas album, ''Make It Christmas''. The album was his final release for Capitol Records. The first single from the album, a non-comedy tribute to soldiers stationed abroad called "Camouflage and Christmas Lights", became his first Top 40 country hit in December 2009. Carrington has released two more comedy albums on the independent label Laughter's Good Records: ''Laughter's Good'' (2014) and ''Here Comes the Truth'' (2017). In between these two, he also released a compilation album of re-recordings of comedy songs, titled ''Rodney Carrington: The Hits'' (2015). He continues to tour as of 2023.

Personal life

Carrington lives in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, where his 2004–2006 sitcom was set.John Crook
"'Rodney' has heartland appeal"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', September 19, 2004.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Holiday albums

Live albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrington, Rodney 1968 births Living people People from Longview, Texas American comedy musicians American country singer-songwriters American stand-up comedians American male television actors Capitol Records artists Singer-songwriters from Texas Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Oklahoma Comedians from Texas Comedians from Tulsa, Oklahoma American male comedians