BB.“He plays for stadiums”: Meet Chris Stapleton: The collaborator Kelly Clarkson called “a legend” and the loss that fueled his 11 Grammy wins.

“He plays for stadiums.” The simple declarative statement speaks volumes about Chris Stapleton, the Kentucky native who transformed from an unknown Nashville hitmaker into one of music’s most decorated and authentic icons. Pop superstar Kelly Clarkson herself called him “a legend” following their creative partnership, a feeling shared by millions overwhelmed by the soulful honesty of his music.

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Music

The unexpected collaboration was the Christmas duet “Glow,” released in 2021 on Clarkson’s second holiday album, When Christmas Comes Around… This pairing, which saw the soulful grit of Stapleton blend seamlessly with Clarkson’s powerhouse vocals, was just another indicator of the genre-transcending talent behind the golden beard.

The Loss That Forged the Legend

The deep, authentic emotion that fuels Stapleton’s music—the very thing that allows him to seamlessly collaborate across genres—stems from a life marked by significant loss and personal turmoil.

• Family Loss and Traveller: Stapleton’s defining personal tragedy was the death of his father, Herbert Stapleton Jr., in 2013. His father, a coal miner whom Chris cites as the source of his strong work ethic, passed away at the age of 67. This profound loss served as the catalyst for a pivotal cross-country road trip Stapleton took with his wife, Morgane, in a 1979 Jeep Cherokee. During this reflective journey, he wrote the title track for his debut solo album, Traveller, an album that became a critical and commercial smash and launched him to stardom. The music, therefore, emerged directly “from the ashes” of his grief.
• The Long Road: Before his solo breakout, Stapleton was Nashville’s “secret weapon” for over a decade, quietly penning over 170 songs and securing six Number 1 hits for major artists like Luke Bryan and Kenny Chesney. His struggles with addiction and the turbulent work in earlier bands—the progressive bluegrass group The SteelDrivers and Southern rock band The Jompson Brothers—fueled the blues and soul influences that give his solo work its staggering emotional depth.

The Unstoppable Award Juggernaut

Since his solo debut in 2015, Stapleton has become an unparalleled force in country music awards, with his tally of Grammy wins being consistently higher than commonly reported:

Award Category	Career Wins (Total)	Notable Achievement
Grammy Awards	11 wins	Winner of Best Country Album three times, for Traveller (2016), From A Room: Volume 1 (2018), and Starting Over (2022).
CMA Awards	15 wins	Winner of Male Vocalist of the Year a record-breaking eight times, surpassing legends like Vince Gill and George Strait.
ACM Awards	11 wins	Named the inaugural ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Decade in 2019.

Stapleton’s story is an inspiring one of perseverance, where decades of authenticity, songwriting craft, and enduring personal pain converged to create an undeniable force whose soulful voice now fills stadiums worldwide.