Big & Rich have come a long way from their beginnings in the country music scene. Now, together, they have taken country music by storm with fearless creativity and an indifference to criticism.

John Rich and Kenny Alphin broke into the music business, each with their own path to follow. John became a member of the country band, Lonestar, as the bassist and was lead singer for the song, “Heartbroke Every Day.” Wanting to pursue a solo career, John left Lonestar in 1998. Kenny ran a real-estate development company for the greater part of his career life until 1992, after his company went bankrupt, when he decided to move to Nashville and become a country artist.

John Rich and Big Kenny first met in 1998 when a friend dragged John to one of Kenny’s concerts. Although John was unimpressed with Kenny after he threw bubblegum into the audience after the concert, the two met and started talking about writing songs together. After writing a couple songs, they knew they worked well together but were not quite ready to record together. John recorded one of the songs they wrote, “I Pray for You,” as a solo artist but had little success.

As time went by, John and Kenny became better friends and continued writing songs together. Soon they were performing together at the small Pub of Love in Nashville where they formed the Muzik Mafia. With the realization that they would be twice as popular if they joined together and some help from the mafia, Big & Rich were signed to Warner Bros. Nashville after recording their song, “She’s a Butterfly,” for Martina McBride’s album, Martina.

In 2004, Big & Rich recorded their first album together, Horse of a Different Color, which soared to the number one spot on the Billboard country music and national charts with their hit, “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.” Later in the year the pair toured on the American Revolution Tour with Gretchen Wilson and other members of the Muzik Mafia. The duo then released their sophomore album, Comin' To Your City, in November of 2005. The title track, along with the song 8th of November, both became popular with fans.

Big & Rich made their debut on The Grand Ole Opry in the fall of 2006. That same year, John Rich received a top songwriter honor, by receiving The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Songwriter/Artist of the Year in recognition of his work on hit songs including, Faith Hill's "Mississippi Girl" and "Like We Never Loved At All," Jason Aldean's "Hicktown" and Gretchen Wilson's "All Jacked Up" to name a few.

2007 finds the duo busy with a hectic schedule of touring and appearances. They received an astonishing five Academy of Country Music (ACM) award nominations including; Top Vocal Duo, Video of the Year - "8th of November," Song of the Year for "Amarillo Sky" (which they co-wrote) and Vocal Event of the Year for "That's How They Do It In Dixie" and Hank Williams Jr. John also received a nomination for Vocal Event of the Year for producing "Gretchen Wilson's "Politically Uncorrect."