Joe Don Rooney
{{short description|American guitarist (born 1975)}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Joe Don Rooney
| image = JoeDonRooneyHWOFSept2012.jpg
| caption = Rooney at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2012
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|9|13}}
| birth_place = Baxter Springs, Kansas, U.S.
| spouse = {{marriage|Tiffany Fallon|2006|2023|end=divorced}}
| origin = Picher, Oklahoma
| instrument = {{flatlist|
- Vocals
- guitar
- bass guitar
- mandolin
- banjo
}}
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| occupation = Singer
| years_active = 1992–present
| label = Lyric Street, Big Machine
| current_member_of = Rascal Flatts
| website =
}}
Joe Don Rooney (born September 13, 1975) is an American guitarist. He is the lead guitarist and high octave harmony singer in the country music band Rascal Flatts.
In addition to the electric guitar, Rooney plays the acoustic and bass guitars, as well as mandolin & banjo. His influences include guitarists Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck.
Biography
Joe Don Rooney's first band formed in 1992 under the name Uncle Thumbtack. In addition to Rooney playing lead guitar and singing backup harmony, this band included bass guitarist Gregory Fitzgibbon, acoustic guitarist Erin Fitzgibbon, drummer Colin Frayser, and rhythm guitarist Jason. Like future bandmate Jay DeMarcus, he also played in Chely Wright's band before Rascal Flatts.{{cn|date=September 2024}} Rooney frequently jammed with family member musicians Justin Speer, Tracy Conder, and Jeramy Essary (to whom he later dedicated "I'm Movin' On").{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}
In 2016, Rooney signed Dylan Brady to an artist development deal. Together, Brady and Rooney produced Brady's first single, "Shifting Gears," which was released in August 2018. In 2019, Rooney produced Brady's singles "Over Us" and "I Hate California."{{Cite web|url=https://popculture.com/country-music/2019/07/16/dylan-brady-tourette-syndrome-advocacy-rascal-flatts-joe-don-rooeny-over-you/|title=Dylan Brady's Tourette Syndrome Advocacy Leads to Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney Co-Producing Single 'Over Us'|website=Country Music|date=18 July 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-23}}
Personal life
Rooney has struggled with alcohol abuse throughout his career, though he became sober in 2021. In September 2024, he announced that he had maintained his sobriety for three years.{{Cite web|
url=https://tasteofcountry.com/rascal-flatts-joe-don-rooney-three-years-sober/|title=Rascal Flatts Guitarist Joe Don Rooney Celebrates Three Years of Sobriety|website=Taste of Country|date=September 14, 2024|access-date=November 29, 2024}}
=Relationships=
Rooney married former beauty queen Tiffany Fallon on April 23, 2006.{{cite web |title=Rascal Flatts Guitarist Weds in Mexico |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C1187752%2C00.html |website=People |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302123541/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1187752,00.html |archive-date=2 March 2011 |date=26 April 2006 |url-status=dead}} She was Miss Georgia USA in 2001 and 2nd runner-up for the Miss USA 2001 competition. She was also the 2005 Playmate of the Year. The couple was featured in the Playboy Cyber Club's celebrity photographer section, with the nude pictorial of Fallon being shot by Rooney himself. The couple have three children.{{cite web |title=Rascal Flatts Guitarist Welcomes a Son |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C%2C20204177%2C00.html |website=People |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301200257/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20204177,00.html |archive-date=1 March 2011 |date=3 June 2006 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Meet Joe Don Rooney's Little Rascal, Raquel Blue |url=https://people.com/parents/meet-joe-don-rooneys-little-rascal-raquel-blue/ |website=People |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512130745/https://people.com/parents/meet-joe-don-rooneys-little-rascal-raquel-blue/ |archive-date=12 May 2022 |date=1 December 2020 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Joe Don Rooney and Tiffany Fallon Welcome Daughter Devon Olivia |url=https://people.com/parents/joe-don-rooney-tiffany-fallon-welcome-daughter-devon-olivia/ |website=People |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512131141/https://people.com/parents/joe-don-rooney-tiffany-fallon-welcome-daughter-devon-olivia/ |archive-date=12 May 2022 |date=2 December 2020 |url-status=live}} The couple separated in 2021 and the divorce was finalized in 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/rascal-flatts-joe-don-rooney-finalizes-divorce-tiffany-fallon-8410027|title=Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney Finalizes Divorce from Wife Tiffany Fallon After More Than 2 Years of Legal Drama|website=People|date=December 4, 2023|access-date=March 17, 2024}}
=Legal issues=
On September 9, 2021, he was arrested for and charged in Tennessee with driving under the influence after crashing his vehicle into a tree line. He sustained no injuries in the crash. On June 1, 2022, Rooney pleaded guilty to the charges; he was sentenced to one year in jail, with all but two days of the sentence suspended, and the loss of his driver's license.{{Cite web |last=Garner |first=Glenn |date=4 June 2022 |title=Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney Pleads Guilty to DUI: Reports |url=https://people.com/country/rascal-flatts-joe-don-rooney-pleads-guilty-to-dui-reports/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220604225554/https://people.com/country/chris-young-talks-new-collaborations-with-old-dominion-jimmie-allen/ |archive-date=4 June 2022 |access-date=4 June 2022 |website=People}}
Discography
File:Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts performing live in 2012.jpg
{{Main|Rascal Flatts discography}}
- Rascal Flatts (2000)
- Melt (2002)
- Feels Like Today (2004)
- Me and My Gang (2006)
- Still Feels Good (2007)
- Unstoppable (2009)
- Nothing Like This (2010)
- Changed (2012)
- Rewind (2014)
- The Greatest Gift of All (2016)
- Back to Us (2017)
- Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets (2025)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1688692|name=JoeDon Rooney}}
- [http://rascalflatts.com Rascal Flatts Official Site]
{{Rascal Flatts}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Joe Don}}
Category:American country guitarists
Category:American male guitarists
Category:People from Baxter Springs, Kansas
Category:People from Ottawa County, Oklahoma
Category:Rascal Flatts members
Category:Guitarists from Kansas
Category:Country musicians from Oklahoma