Rascal Flatts is an American country band formed in Columbus, Ohio in 1999. It is composed of Gary LeVox, his second cousin Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney. DeMarcus is also a brother-in-law of country music singer James Otto, and formerly one-half of the Christian music duo East to West. They are best known for performing a cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life Is a Highway".

In early 2000, the group made its debut with the single "Prayin' for Daylight", a song that had been on the three-song demo that had gotten the band signed. The song, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard country charts, was the first single from their self-titled debut, which was issued in early 2000 on Lyric Street. Following "Prayin' for Daylight", the album's other three singles all made top ten on that chart: "This Everyday Love", "While You Loved Me", and "I'm Movin' On", which respectively peaked at No. 9, 7, and 4. "I'm Movin' On" was awarded Song of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2002. Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed the album with favor, calling it "a sunny, pleasing modern country-pop album".  Melt was the title of their second album, released in 2002. Unlike their previous album, Rascal Flatts co-produced Melt. Its first single, "These Days", also became their first No. 1 single on the country chart. The album included two more top ten hits, "Love You Out Loud" and "I Melt", and the band's second number-one single, "Mayberry". The music video for "I Melt" featured partial nudity and was banned from the Great American Country network.  Rascal Flatts's third album was entitled Feels Like Today, released in late 2004. The album's title track was its first single, followed by "Bless the Broken Road". The latter song was originally recorded by its co-writer, Marcus Hummon, and had also been recorded by Melodie Crittenden (whose version made the country chart in 1998), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Sons of the Desert. In early 2005, Rascal Flatts's version of the song spent five weeks at No. 1, followed by "Fast Cars and Freedom", which also hit No. 1. While the latter was climbing the charts, some radio stations began playing a hidden track on the album, titled "Skin". This airplay caused "Skin" to enter the top 40, and after "Fast Cars and Freedom", it was released as a single under the title "Skin (Sarabeth)" and officially added to the album's track list.

Ask a question about this article.
Did it stay on the charts long?