Happy Anniversary: Neal McCoy, “No Doubt About It”
22 years ago today, Texas-born country crooner Neal McCoy released his third studio album, which turned out to be the album that would transform him into a chart-topping superstar during the 1990s.
Born in Jacksonville, Texas, McCoy got his big break in 1981 after entering a talent contest hosted by Janie Fricke – a country superstar in her own right – and walking away with the sweet taste of victory on his lips, not to mention a highly valuable prize: the opportunity to open for Charley Pride. Up to that point in his career, McCoy was still going by his real name, Neal McGaughey, but as he was understandably concerned about people mangling the pronunciation, he opted for a phonetic spelling instead: McGoy.
After fighting the good fight as an independent artist for the remainder of the ‘80s and releasing a few singles, including the minor hit “That’s How Much I Love You,” the man known as Neal McGoy finally secured a deal with Atlantic Records in 1990…and that’s when he changed the “G” to a “C” at the label’s behest. Whether that had anything to do with his subsequent success or not, we couldn’t say, but between 1990’s At This Moment and 1992’s Where Forever Begins, McCoy’s profile began to rise substantially, with the title track of the latter album providing him with his first top-40 hit on Billboard’s Country Singles chart.
Finally, in 1994, McCoy hit the big time: No Doubt About It spawned two #1 country singles – the title track and “Wink,” both of which had enough crossover appeal to hit the Billboard Hot 100 as well – and the album went platinum, a trend which continued when he released You Gotta Love That the following year. Although McCoy never managed to produce another album that featured any #1 country hits, it only takes one to establish you as a superstar: he continues to tour on a regular basis, and in December 2015 he released a new album, You Don’t Know Me, a collection of cover songs that’s available for purchase on his website and at his shows.
