It's Dan Auerbach's birthday!
Guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer, Dan is best known as the front man of The Black Keys. With his bandmate Patrick Carney, Dan formed The Black Keys, in Akron, Ohio. Signing with indie label Alive, they released their debut, "The Big Come Up", in 2002, and singned to Fat Possum Records, off of the success.
It wasn't till the album "Brothers" in 2010, however, that the band broke through, as their single "Tighten Up", won three Grammy's. Their 2011 follow-up, "El Camino", reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart, which led to their first arena tour, as their hit single "Lonely Boy" won three Grammys. Their eighth album, "Turn Blue", would become their first number-one record, and made they one of the dominant rock bands in the U.S.
Auerbach create his own label Easy Eye Sound in Nashville, and produced records by Cage the Elephant, Dr. John, Lana Del Rey, Ray LaMontagne, CeeLo Green, Hank Williams Jr and The Pretenders, garnering the 2013 Grammy for Producer of the Year, and was nominated for the award in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
Today, the Keys put out "Dropout Boogie" and are hitting the road this summer. A very grass roots career, his is the rare success doing what you want the way you want to do it.
Happy Birthday Dan, you got the career every artist wishes they had.