Swindell was born on June 30, 1983, to William Keith Swindell and Betty Carol Rainey. He grew up in Dawson, Georgia, and has two brothers and a stepbrother.[2]
Swindell attended Terrell Academy in Dawson, Georgia.[3] Swindell attended Georgia Southern University, where he majored in marketing.[4] He met Luke Bryan, who attended the same university some years earlier and was also a fellow Sigma Chi member,[5] at the fraternity house when Bryan came back to Statesboro to do a show. They kept in touch, and after Swindell left college in 2007 and moved to Nashville, he sold merchandise for Bryan for three years, and wrote songs on the road.[6]
Swindell wrote Craig Campbell's "Outta My Head",[7]Luke Bryan's "Just a Sip", "Beer in the Headlights", "Roller Coaster", "Out Like That", "I'm Hungover", "In Love with the Girl", Florida Georgia Line’s "This Is How We Roll" with Bryan, who was featured on the song. Chris Young also had a song on his A.M. album co-written by Swindell, "Nothin' but the Cooler Left
2013–2015: Cole Swindell
In 2013, Swindell's independently released debut single "Chillin' It", buoyed by heavy airplay on SiriusXM satellite radio channel "The Highway", became a hit[1] and Swindell signed a record deal with Warner Music Nashville. The demo of "Chillin' It" was sent to radio before it had been mastered.[8]
On November 17, 2014, Swindell released a five-song digital EP, The Down Home Sessions. The release coincided with his headlining tour of the same name.[11]
Swindell won the ACM New Artist of the Year Award in April 2015.[12]
2015–2018: You Should Be Here
The album's first single, "You Should Be Here" was released to country radio on December 14, 2015. It was written with Ashley Gorley. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts in April 2016. The album's second single, "Middle of a Memory" released to country radio on May 2, 2016. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay in November 2016. The album's third single, "Flatliner" (featuring Dierks Bentley) released to country radio on January 23, 2017. It reached at number two on the Country Airplay in August 2017. The album's fourth single, "Stay Downtown" released to country radio on September 5, 2017. "You Should Be Here", "Middle of a Memory" and "Flatliner" all hit No.1 on Mediabase country radio singles chart.[13]
Swindell also released a music video for the song which featured a video of him telling his father he received a record contract and subsequent montages of Cole and his brothers grieving outside of the family home and at their father's grave. The video also shows images of Swindell's rising popularity while clearly conveying that he wanted to be able to see his father and share this fame experience with him.[14]
2018–present: All of It and Stereotype
Swindell released "Break Up in the End", the lead single from his third album, on February 23, 2018.[15] Swindell's third album, All of It, was released on August 17, 2018.[16] After the album became available for pre-order in July 2018, Swindell released the number-one track "Love You Too Late" as a promotional single.[17] "Love You Too Late" was announced as the album's official second single, being released to radio on November 19, 2018.[18]
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