Richie McDonald was born on February 6, 1962, in
Lubbock, Texas He was asked to join the band Lonestar by founding member Dean Sams in 1992. He served as the band's lead vocalist, with other members comprising bass guitarist
John Rich (who left in 1998 and was never officially replaced), drummer Keech Rainwater, keyboardist, guitarist, vocals and founding member Dean Sams and guitarist, vocals Michael Britt. Lonestar signed to
BNA Records in 1995, and with McDonald as lead vocalist, they released seven studio albums, a Christmas album, and a greatest hits package, and 27 chart singles. McDonald announced his departure from Lonestar in 2007, with Cody Collins succeeding him as the group's lead vocalist. On November 8, 2007, McDonald released an album of Christmas music, titled
If Every Day Could Be Christmas. One of the songs on this album, "Coming Home for Christmas" (a collaboration with
Jim Brickman) reached No. 4 on the
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts at the end of the year. McDonald released his solo debut album
I Turn to You on June 3, 2008. He signed a deal with Stroudavarious Records a month later. His first single for the label, "How Do I Just Stop", was released in November, but did not chart until the week of January 17, 2009, where it debuted at number 53 on the
Hot Country Songs chart and peaked at 51. A second single, "Hey God", which was originally on his
I Turn to You album and before that on Lonestar's 2006 album
Mountains, was released on March 3, 2009, but was withdrawn from country radio and replaced with "Six Foot Teddy Bear." McDonald released
Slowdown, his second solo album, in 2010. This album included "How Do I Just Stop", which also peaked at number 51. In 2011, he reunited with Lonestar after Collins left. Following his reunion with Lonestar, they recorded two additional albums,
Life as We Know It and
Never Enders, released in 2013 and 2016, respectively. In March 2021, McDonald announced that he would again be leaving Lonestar to pursue a career as a member of The Frontmen of Country, which also consists of
Tim Rushlow and
Larry Stewart, the former lead singers of
Little Texas and
Restless Heart, respectively. McDonald was succeeded by Drew Womack, lead singer of
Sons of the Desert, as Lonestar's new lead vocalist. ==Outside contributions==