Tracy Byrd graduated from Vidor High School in 1985. He grew up surrounded by country and western swing music. His first college was Lamar University, in Beaumont, Texas. While attending Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, he began to play in local clubs. Eventually, Byrd dropped out of college to pursue music full-time. He formed a band called Rim Fire and started playing in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. In January of 1990, he walked into Cutter's in Beaumont, which had recently produced another local country musician, Mark Chesnutt. Byrd landed the gig at Cutter's, and set a goal of making it to Nashville. He worked at the club with Chesnutt for about ten months and became their featured singer when Chesnutt left for Nashville. 

 

Once he had enough music to showcase, Byrd headed for Music City and landed a recording contract with MCA Records. His debut album Tracy Byrd was released in 1993. Byrd's first single "Holdin' Heaven" went to #1 that same year. His second album, No Ordinary Man, yielded three hits: "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous," "Watermelon Crawl," and "The First Step.” The fourth single, "The Keeper of the Stars," became Byrd's second #1 and was a Top 5 nominee for CMA's Single of the Year, was named "Song of the Year" at the ACM Awards, and helped push No Ordinary Man to two million sales. 

 

In 1998, he released a greatest hits album titled Keepers. Byrd has charted more than thirty hit singles in his career, including eleven additional Top Ten hits. He has also released ten studio albums and two greatest-hits albums, with four gold certifications and one double-platinum certification from the RIAA. Until 2006, Byrd produced at least one album every year. In June 2016, Byrd returned to the studio to work on his first project in ten years. This album, recorded at Rosewood Studios in Tyler, Texas, was self-produced and promoted. Byrd wrote 8 of the album's ten tracks himself. The album was released in October 2016.

 

In addition to music, Byrd has a passion for the outdoors and philanthropic endeavors. He gives back to his community with the annual Tracy Byrd Homecoming Weekend held in March. This event includes a fishing tournament, concert, and golf tournament, which raises money for the Children's Miracle Network.