Lady Antebellum - History

History

Lady Antebellum was formed in 2006, in Nashville, Tennessee, by Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott. Scott is the daughter of country music singer Linda Davis, and Charles Kelley is the brother of pop and country artist Josh Kelley. Hillary Scott attended Donelson Christian Academy in Donelson, Tennessee. It was through these family and music industry connections that launched the band. Kelley moved to Nashville in mid-2005 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he had been working construction with his brother John. Trying to become a successful solo country artist, Kelley convinced his old middle-school classmate, Haywood, to move to Nashville from Georgia in 2006 so they could write music together. Shortly thereafter, Scott recognized Kelley from MySpace, and they started to talk at a Nashville music club. Kelley invited Scott to join him and Haywood in the new group, which assumed the name Lady Antebellum. On the BBC Radio 2 Drivetime Show August 9, 2010, the band explained to the host, Liza Tarbuck, that the name Antebellum comes from when the group were photographing "antebellum" homes. The antebellum architectural style describes the large plantation homes in the American South. "Antebellum" more commonly refers to pre-Civil War America. While photographing the houses one of the group said that there's a great band name in there, and they adopted the Lady Antebellum name shortly after. The trio then began performing at local venues in Nashville before being signed in July 2007 to a recording contract with Capitol Records Nashville. In an interview with Sirius Satellite Radio, Scott claimed she was rejected from the hit show American Idol twice, not even making it past the first round.