Easton Corbin at Penn's Peak

Easton Corbin knew he wanted to be a country singer long before he learned how to play guitar.

"One of my earliest memories is from when I was 3 or 4," he recalls. "I was sitting between my parents in the car and a song came on the radio - it was Mel McDaniel's 'Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On.' I began using the gearshift as my microphone. The desire has always been there."

Now those dreams are coming true.

Corbin released his third album, "About to Get Real," last month. In its second week the album climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Top County Album Chart. Its success has been led by his hit single "Baby Be My Love Song."

When he started out, Corbin was the first country male artist in nearly two decades to have his first two consecutive singles reach No. 1. In a six-month period, he received 13 country music award nominations and won three country music trophies, including three nominations from the Academy of Country Music Awards - Top New Solo Vocalist as well as Single and Song of the Year for his debut hit, "A Little More Country Than That."

In 2010 he won American Country Awards in every breakthrough artist category - Artist of the Year: Breakthrough Artist, as well as Single of the Year: Breakthrough Artist and Music Video: Breakthrough Artist for "A Little More Country Than That."

He also received nominations for Best New Artist, and Single and Song of the Year for "A Little More Country Than That" at the 2010 Country Music Association Awards.

Born and raised in rural Gilchrist County, Florida, Corbin spent much of his time on his grandparents' cattle farm after his parents divorced when he was young.

"I lived a mile from the Suwannee River," he says. "I grew up fishing on it and I loved to work on the farm. Every weekend, that's where I'd be."

While no one in his family played a musical instrument, music was a big part of his upbringing.

"My grandparents liked to watch the Opry," he remembers. "We'd start Saturday night off with 'Hee Haw' and then 'Opry Backstage' and then 'Opry Live.'"

When Corbin was 15 he began taking guitar lessons from Pee Wee Melton, a local musician who had at one time played on sessions in Nashville.

"He was a great mentor," Corbin says. "He was a great player and a great teacher. He was a really big influence on me."

Every day when he got home from school, Corbin would practice guitar for hours, sometimes until his fingers were raw, then help his grandfather around the farm.

Encouraged by Melton, Corbin began playing lead guitar in a local band.

"I'd always wanted to play and sing, but up until that time I never really did do it in public," he says. "We'd play school functions and parties. We were too young to play bars, but we played everything else."

An impromptu audition at a local music store led to a slot on the Suwannee River Jam, a nearby festival that attracts thousands of people and national touring acts.

"It was just me and a guitar in front of a 40-acre field full of people," Corbin remembers. "It was great."

Soon he was opening for other national acts when they played the area, including Janie Fricke and Mel McDaniel, the man whose song he had performed in the car years earlier.

After earning a business degree through the College of Agriculture at the University of Florida, Corbin moved to Nashville. He took a day job at a local Ace Hardware.

When a distant cousin, also a professor of music management at the University of Montana, heard Corbin's music, he asked if he could send it to some of his Nashville contacts. Among those who were impressed by his music was booking agent James Yelich, who asked if he could hear him play in person. Corbin, eager for a shot to pursue his dream, quickly agreed.

Also at the meeting was Joe Fisher, who had recently joined Universal Music Group Nashville as senior director of A&R. The two men were blown away and Fisher quickly signed him to the label.

Like his heroes Strait and Whitley, Easton is unapologetically country. His songs, while rooted in the present, call to mind simpler times when the back porch was where folks gathered to network.

Steel guitars and fiddles are as much a part of his sound as his baritone drawl.

Now that his lifelong dream is upon him, Easton says he's ready.

"I just want to make great country music," he says. "Just the opportunity to play music for a living is a great thing. I'm just thankful to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now."

Corbin takes the stage at Penn's Peak at 8 p.m. Sept. 11. Doors open at 6 p.m.

For more information go to www.pennspeak.com or call 866-605-7325.