Editing Travis Tritt (section)

==Early life==
James Travis Tritt was born on February 9, 1963, in [[Marietta, Georgia]], to James and Gwen Tritt.  He first took interest in singing after his church's Sunday school choir performed "[[Everything Is Beautiful]]".<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 2</ref> He received his first guitar at age eight and taught himself how to play it; in the fourth grade, he performed "[[Annie's Song]]" and "[[King of the Road (song)|King of the Road]]" for his class, and later got invited to play for other classrooms in his school.<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 3</ref> At age 14, his parents bought him another guitar, and he learned more songs from his uncle, Sam Lockhart.<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 4</ref> Later on, Tritt joined his church band, which occasionally performed at other churches nearby.<ref name="thirteen">Tritt and Bane, p. 13</ref>

Tritt began writing music while he was attending [[Sprayberry High School]]; his first song composition, entitled "Spend a Little Time", was written about a girlfriend with whom he had broken up.<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 17</ref> He performed the song for his friends, one of whom complimented him on his songwriting skills.<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 20</ref> He also founded a [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] group with some of his friends and won second place in a local tournament for playing "[[Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys]]".<ref>Tritt and Bane, pp. 35–36</ref>

During his teenaged years, Tritt worked at a furniture store, and later as a supermarket clerk. He lived with his mother after his father and she divorced; they remarried when he was 18.<ref name="thirty-nine">, Tritt and Bane, pp. 39–41</ref> He worked at an air conditioning company while playing in clubs, but gave up the air conditioning job at the suggestion of one of his bandmates.<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 46</ref> Tritt's father thought that he would not find success as a musician, while his mother thought that he should perform Christian music instead of country.<ref name="AllMusic"/>

Through the assistance of [[Warner Bros. Records]] executive Danny Davenport, Tritt began making [[demo (music)|demonstration recordings]] (demos). The two worked together for the next several years, eventually putting together a demo album called ''Proud of the Country''.<ref name="AllMusic"/><ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 64</ref> Davenport sent the demo to Warner Bros. representatives in Los Angeles, who in turn sent the demo to their Nashville division, which signed Tritt in 1987.<ref name="stabler">{{cite book|last1=Stambler|first1=Irwin|last2=Stambler|first2=Lyndon|last3=Laudon|first3=Grelon|title=Country music: the encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d18K8QWcEo8C&q=%22travis+tritt%22&pg=PA500|year=1997|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=0-312-26487-9}}</ref> Davenport also helped Tritt find a [[talent manager]], Ken Kragen. At first, Kragen was not interested in taking an "entry-level act", but decided to sign on as Tritt's manager after Kragen's wife convinced him.<ref>Tritt and Bane, p. 102</ref>