Gord Bamford is a major figure in Canadian country, but he was actually born in Victoria, Australia, in 1976; he and his mother moved to Canada when he was five years old. Country music is in his blood—his mother had been a professional singer in Australia. He released his first album on his own label in 2001, but its lack of success nearly led to him hanging it up. Bamford persisted, though, and in the second half of the 2000s, when the prevailing trend was for country singers to modernize their sound with pop, rock, and hip-hop elements, he bucked the system by framing his beefy baritone with a twangy, roots-conscious sound. And though his first several singles didn’t catch fire, the devotional stomper “I Would for You” became his breakout song in 2006 and started Bamford’s hit machine rolling. As his popularity increased and Canadian country honors rolled in, Bamford never abandoned his signature sound.