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Full House can't compare to Willie Nelson's house. The country legend is one of nearly 20 country music stars with a lot of kids — as in, more kids than you can safely fit in a mom-mobile.
Three singers on this list have eight kids, while one country celebrity has an astonishing 13 children!
All but four of the artists listed below are men, and most built their brood through several marriages and relationships, often having children well after 40, 50 or even 60 years old. Contemporary artists like Walker Hayes are known for having a lot of kids, but he's not alone. One 52-year-old star recently became a dad for a seventh time!
Keep going, fella — the No. 1 spot on this list is just two kids away!
Eight artists pictured in this gallery of country stars with more kids than most people can dream of having are Country Music Hall of Famers, and many are of the same generation. Nelson, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers and Glen Campbell all make the list with impressive numbers. It's as if they handed out kids with Gold records back in the day or something.
Did we miss anyone? Let us know on Twitter after you dig deep into this list of 19 country singers with a lot of kids:
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Tammy Wynette had four kids, a modest number by comparison to others on this list. The first three — daughters Gwen, Jackie and Tina — came before she was a star, and then she added a fourth daughter named Tamala Georgette Jones with husband George Jones. Georgette had some success as a musician.
Rosanne Cash - 4
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Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell were married for 13 years and had three daughters, Caitlin, Chelsea and Carrie. During that time she also helped raise Crowell's daughter from a previous marriage. In 1995 Cash would marry her husband John, and together they'd have one son, Jakob, who is also a musician.
Chris Stapleton - 5
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Chris Stapleton and wife Morgane keep quiet about their five kids. In fact, the names of their brood aren't even known. Twins Macon and Samuel were born in 2018, and one year later the couple welcomed another baby boy. They also have a two older kids, born in about 2011 and 2013, respectively. The oldest two are named Waylon and Ada, but it's not clear who's older.
Hank Williams Jr. - 5
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Hank Williams Jr. has fathered five kids, including his oldest son Shelton, who goes by Hank Williams III. Daughters Hilary and Holly were born during Williams Jr.'s marriage to second wife Becky, while Samuel and Katherine were born to his third wife, Mary Jane. Sadly the youngest daughter of Hank Jr. died in June 2020 after a car accident. She was 27 years old.
Johnny Cash - 5
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Johnny Cash had five kids, and several of them pursued music professionally. Four daughters were born to his first wife, Vivian, including Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy and Tara. In 1970 — after Cash remarried June Carter Cash — he fathered John Carter Cash, his only boy. Rosanne, Cindy and John Carter Cash pursued music in different ways. Very little is known about Tara.
Kenny Rogers - 5
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When Kenny Rogers died at age 81 in March of 2020, he left behind a very large family, including two teenaged boys. Justin and Jordan were born to his late wife Wanda, joining the singer's three older children, Carole, Kenny Jr. and Christopher. Carole was born to Rogers' first wife, Janice, and he was mostly an absent father, per an agreement he eventually made with her. Kenny Jr. was born to his third wife, and their relationship was also strained and limited through the years. Christopher was born in 1981, and shortly after Rogers would divorce his mother, too. However, he maintained a much better relationship with that son.
Sammy Kershaw - 5
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Sammy Kershaw welcomed a baby girl in Sept. 2019, making him a father for the fifth time at age 61. Natelia Mae Kershaw joins the singer's four older children: Emily (15), Erin (22), Sammie (31) and Brandon (33) — their ages as of Sept. 2019. In 2010 he told the Boot he also considers his ex-wife's son Ryan (28) to be "my boy" and credits their mother for raising them right.
Trace Adkins - 5
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Trace Adkins spaced his five daughters out across 21 years. Tarah (born in 1983) is his oldest, followed by her sister Sarah, born in 1985. The two were born while Adkins was married to his first wife, Barbara. He didn't have kids with second wife Julie, but Rhonda gave him three more daughters, Mackenzie (1998), Brianna (2001) and Trinity (2004).
Zac Brown - 5
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Zac Brown Band singer Zac Brown and wife Shelly had five children in seven years, four girls and a boy. From oldest to youngest there is Justice, Lucy, Georgia, Joni and Alexander. The couple married in 2006, but announced they were separating in 2018.
Billy Ray Cyrus - 6
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Billy Ray Cyrus has fathered four kids and adopted two more. Oldest is son Christopher, born in April 1992 to Kristen Luckey, a 23-year-old from South Carolina whom the singer dated briefly. Just seven months later Miley Cyrus (real name: Destiney Hope) was born to Leticia Finley, or Tish, the woman he'd later marry. Together they also had Braison in 1994 and Noah in 2000. Tish brought two children into the relationship, daughter Brandi and son Trace. The singer adopted them both so technically he's a father to six.
Loretta Lynn - 6
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Perhaps the most under-appreciated fact about Loretta Lynn is that she started a country music career and became the dominant female artist in the genre while raising six kids. The oldest was 12 when she started to gain fame, but in the late '60s and early '70s, Lynn had several children under 10. PBS lists their names and birthdates nice and neatly and offers more information on each. Sadly, the oldest two have died.Betty Sue was born in 1948, but died in 2013. Jack Benny Lynn was born in 1949, but drowned trying to ford a river on horseback in 1984. Clara (known as Cissie) was born in 1952 and pursued music. Ernest Ray was born in 1954 and is part of the family business. Finally, Peggy and Patsy were born on Aug. 6, 1954 and went on to enjoy country music success as the Lynns in the late '90s.
Waylon Jennings - 6 or 7
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Like Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings had several children before achieving success on a mainstream level in country music. Jennings married young and fathered Terry (1957), Julie (1958), Buddy (1960) and Deana with wife Maxine. He adopted a child named Tomi several years later, and then in 1979 fathered Waylon Albright Jennings, or Shooter, as he's known, with wife Jessi Colter. Colter's daughter Jennifer was also raised by Waylon, thus giving him six or seven kids.Three of Jennings' children have died, including Terry in 2019, Julie Rae to cancer in 2014 and Deana in 2015. Waylon Jennings died in 2002.
Clay Walker - 7
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As of August 2020, Clay Walker's seventh child was still in the womb, but when born the baby boy will join four more under 13 in Walker's home with wife Jessica, whom he married in 2007. The other four kids are William Clayton (2008), Mary Elizabeth (2009), Elijah Craig (2013) and Ezra Stephen (2017).Walker's first marriage also produced two daughters, MaClay (1996) and Skylor (1999). He was married to wife Lori until 2006 and married Jessica, a model, one year later.
Merle Haggard - 7
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Merle Haggard's singing sons are the most well-known of his children, but he had seven kids total, split among two marriages and one other relationship. Oldest daughter Dana, who died in 2018, is one of four kids the Hag had with his first wife, Leona. Together they also welcomed Marty, Kelli and Noel between 1958 and 1963 before divorcing in 1964.Scott Haggard was born to a woman the Country Music Hall of Famer had a relationship with, but did not marry. He came in 1968 and much later would become a country singer. In 1993, Haggard married his fifth wife Theresa, but by that time they already had two kids together, Janessa and Ben Haggard, the latter being born in 1992.
Walker Hayes - 7
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Zac Brown, Chris Stapleton and Walker Hayes are the only country men on this list to have had all of their kids with one woman. Brown and Hayes also fathered them all before age 40, which is impressive. Hayes had three boys and four girls, including Oakleigh, who died in 2018 just after birth. Oldest is teenaged Lela (2006 or 2007), followed by her brothers Chapel, Baylor and Beckett. The two youngest are sisters Loxley and Everly (2014 or 2015).
Marie Osmond - 8
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Marie Osmond has eight kids, including five she adopted with her second husband, Brian. Her first husband, Stephen Lyle Craig, fathered their first son, Stephen James in 1983. Then she married Brian Blosil and the two had Rachael (1989) and Matthew (1999) before adopting Jessica (1987), Michael (1991), Brandon (1996), Brianna (1997) and Abigail (2002).Osmond and Blosil divorced in 2007, and she remarried Craig in 2011. Son Michael died by suicide February 2010.
Willie Nelson - 8
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In 1952, Willie Nelson married wife No. 1, Martha Matthews, and together they had three kids, Lana (1953), Susie (1956) and Willie or "Billy" (1958).Wife No. 2 didn't have any of Nelson's kids, but that marriage ended when Shirley discovered he'd fathered a child with Connie Koepke, whom he'd marry in 1971. Paula Carlene Nelson (1969) and Amy Lee Nelson (1973) gave the singer five kids at age 40.Sons Lukas (1988) and Micah (1990) were born to current wife Annie, giving Nelson seven kids, but wait! In 2012 Nelson revealed he'd learned he had a daughter named Renee that he never knew about. The mother is an old friend named "Mary Haney," and she never shared the happy news, but with Renee came another grandchild and great-grandchild.Many of Nelson's kids are involved in his career or music in some way, including Billy, who was a solo artist until he died in 1991.
Glen Campbell - 9
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Glen Campbell's nine children were separated by 31 years, starting with Glen Campbell Jr. in 1955. The baby boy died just six days after he was born prematurely. The singer's first wife, Diane, also gave birth to Deborah Kay (or Debby) in 1956. Diane died in 2015 and her obituary is one of the few places you'll find mention of the baby boy's death.When Campbell married Billie Jean in 1959, the couple started a family that would include Kelli Glen, William Travis and Wesley Kane. These were the three kids excluded from the country icon's will, a fact that caused considerable legal proceedings. Third wife Sarah birthed Campbell's son Dillon, while wife Kimberly (married in 1982) gave birth to Cal, Shannon and finally Ashley in 1986.
Duane Chapman - 12
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Duane Dog the Bounty Hunter Chapman has 12 kids and five wives, but not all of his children came while he was married. We'll try to make this as easy as possible by going chronologically. The Sun (Chapman's preferred microphone for all announcements) laid it out originally.Oldest is Christopher Michael Hecht, born to Debbie White, a woman Chapman dated as a teenager. He didn't know about the boy until White died by suicide, however. First wife La Fonda Sue Darnell birthed Duane Lee Chapman II (1973) and Leland Blane Chapman (1976), both of whom have appeared on television with their father.Second wife Ann brought his total to six by birthing Zebadiah (1980), Wesley (1980) and James Robert Chapman (1982). Zebadiah died 30 days after being born. She wouldn't be his only child to die before Chapman, sadly.Third wife Lyssa gave birth to his first daughter (and seventh child) in 1982 when she had Barbara Katie Chapman. She was born just four months after James and died in 2006 after a car crash.Lyssa and Duane also share Tucker Dee (1983) and Lyssa Rae (1987), so Dog was at nine kids by age 35. But he wasn't done.With the late Beth Chapman he welcomed Bonnie Joanne Chapman (1998) and Garry Chapman (2001). That's 11, but he also adopted Beth's daughter Cecily, born in 1993. These days he's about to marry Francie Frane, a widower who appears to be beyond her child-bearing years.
