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Tracy Lawrence had finished the last vocal for his first album and went out to celebrate with a childhood friend from Arkansas. It was May 1991. He had been in Nashville less than a year, Atlantic Records had just signed him, and *Sticks and Stones* was essentially finished. For the first time, the long stretch of talent contests, bar gigs and odd jobs seemed to be turning into an actual career. In the early hours of May 31, Lawrence drove his friend Sonja Wilkerson back to her hotel. Three armed men surrounded them in the parking area, took their money, credit cards and keys, then ordered Lawrence toward the hotel with them. He believed they intended to harm Wilkerson. Instead of complying, he grabbed for one of the guns and shouted for her to run. She reached safety. Lawrence did not. The men opened fire. He was hit four times, including wounds to his knee, arm and hip. One bullet narrowly missed a major artery, and doctors initially warned that the damage to his leg could threaten the future he had just spent months building. The debut album was postponed while he went through surgery and rehabilitation. For a short period afterward, Lawrence carried a handgun. He later said the weapon gave him comfort while recurring nightmares kept returning the parking lot to him. Eventually he stopped carrying it because he did not want the shooting to dictate the way he lived. Years later, he also acknowledged that the psychological damage lasted much longer than he understood at the time. *Sticks and Stones* finally arrived later in 1991. Its title track went to No. 1, and three more hits followed from an album made on such a tight budget that Lawrence and producer James Stroud had recorded only the ten songs they intended to use. The shooting became attached to his early publicity so quickly that Lawrence soon grew tired of being introduced through it. The quieter detail came first: before anyone had heard his debut single on country radio, the album was already finished — sitting somewhere in Nashville while its singer was learning whether he would be able to walk normally enough to promote it.

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TRACY LAWRENCE FINISHED HIS DEBUT ALBUM—THEN WAS SHOT BEFORE IT COULD COME OUT

Tracy Lawrence had just finished the final vocal for his first album when he went out to celebrate with a childhood friend from Arkansas.

It was May 1991. He had been in Nashville less than a year, Atlantic Records had signed him, and Sticks and Stones was essentially complete.

For the first time, a career that had been built from contests, bars and odd jobs finally looked real.

The Night Everything Changed

In the early hours of May 31, Lawrence drove his friend Sonja Wilkerson back to her hotel.

Three armed men surrounded them in the parking lot, took their money, credit cards and keys, then ordered Lawrence toward the hotel.

He believed they intended to harm Wilkerson.

Instead of obeying, he grabbed for one of the guns and shouted for her to run.

She made it to safety.

He did not.

Four Bullets

The men opened fire.

Lawrence was hit four times, including wounds to his knee, arm and hip. One bullet narrowly missed a major artery.

Doctors initially warned that the damage to his leg could threaten the future he had just spent months trying to build.

The album was postponed while he underwent surgery and rehabilitation.

Before country radio had even introduced him properly, his first record was already finished and waiting while he learned whether he could walk well enough to promote it.

What Stayed After the Shooting

For a while, Lawrence carried a handgun.

He later said it gave him some comfort while nightmares kept returning him to the parking lot.

Eventually, he stopped carrying it.

He did not want the shooting to dictate the rest of his life.

Years later, he also admitted that the psychological damage lasted much longer than he realized at the time.

The Album Finally Arrives

Sticks and Stones was released later in 1991.

The title track went to No. 1, and three more hits followed.

The album itself had been made on a tight budget. Lawrence and producer James Stroud recorded only the ten songs they intended to use.

There was little room for waste.

The same record that had seemed ready to launch his career before the shooting ended up proving he still had one afterward.

The Story Everyone Wanted to Tell

The shooting became part of Lawrence’s early publicity almost immediately.

He soon grew tired of being introduced through it.

That reaction makes sense.

The event was dramatic, but it could easily swallow everything that had come before it: the work, the signing, the sessions and the fact that he had already finished the album.

What Sticks and Stones Really Leaves Behind

The most striking part of the story is not only that Tracy Lawrence survived.

It is the timing.

His debut album was already done.

The songs were there. The deal was there. The career was ready to begin.

Then, before the public had heard any of it, Lawrence found himself in a hospital wondering whether his body would still let him step onto the stage waiting for him.

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