Dierks Bentley

Background

Frederick Dierks Bentley, popularly known as Dierks Bentley, was born in Phoenix on November 20, 1975, and is the son of Leon Fife Bentley and Catherine Childs. He attended Culver Academies in Indiana and The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, where he graduated in 1993. He then attended the University of Vermont for a year before moving to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he graduated in 1997. In 1994, he went to Nashville and enrolled at Vanderbilt University, where he studied English since it was the closest thing he could find to songwriting. He spent the following few years immersing himself in the music scene of the country music capital.

He sang at open mic nights and showcases, frequently for free, and sometimes for beer or tips. His country music training came from a job at the now-defunct Nashville Network. Bentley’s role as a researcher for the cable T.V. station was to screen old country material. Bentley’s profession allowed him to witness historic performances from the 1940s to the 1980s. 2003 was a watershed moment for Bentley. His debut major-label record, simply titled “Dierks Bentley,” went platinum and sold one million copies. The straight-up country album featured three chart-topping country singles, including the number-one single ‘What Was I Thinkin.’ In 2004, he won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Artist Award for the album. Bentley co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on his 2005 sophomore album, “Modern Day Drifter.” The album established him as a rising star in the music industry. Bentley slipped away to Mexico in December 2005 to marry his high school sweetheart Cassidy Black. They have three kids.

Bentley’s success can be credited to his continuous touring, in addition to his compositions. In 2005, he played 41 gigs on 45 nights in a row. Bentley even sold his Nashville house due to his extensive travel. Despite giving almost 300 appearances in 2005, he found time to record another energetic, yet neo-traditional oriented album, “Long Trip Alone,” which was released in 2006. All eleven songs were written by him. The album also topped the Billboard album chart, thanks to the No. 1 single ‘Every Mile a Memory.’ He went on to create several more popular albums over the years. He released a compilation E.P. called “Make My World Go Black” in 2021. He also collaborated with James Barker Band on the track ‘New Old Trucks.’