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Billy Ray Cyrus

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Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus (born William Ray Cyrus, August 25, 1961[1]) is a Grammy Award-nominated American country singer-songwriter and actor, best known for his hit singles "Achy Breaky Heart" and "Ready, Set, Don't Go. A multi-platinum selling recording artist, he has eight top-ten singles on the Billboard country music charts. From 2001 to 2004, he starred in the television series Doc, a show about a rural doctor adjusting to his move from a ranch to a large city. As of 2006, he is co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana, which stars his daughter Miley Cyrus. In Cyrus' career, he has released 29 charting singles, 13 of which reached the top 40 and one reached the top of Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Biography

Early life

Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, to Ron Cyrus, a politician, and his wife, the former Ruth Ann Adkins.[3]. His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Cyrus went to college at Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before switching his focus to music.

Music career

While trying to get a record deal in Los Angeles, Cyrus was signed to PolyGram/Mercury. He began recording music for his debut album, Some Gave All, which was released in 1992. The album sold over 9 million copies. Part of the album's success can be attributed to Cyrus's #1 single, "Achy Breaky Heart", which was #1 for 5 weeks. Some Gave All debuted atop both the Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200, staying at No.1 for 34 and 17 weeks, respectively.

In 1993, Cyrus returned with It Won't Be the Last, which debuted at #1 and went Platinum in the US. The album featured the Top 5 single, "In the Heart of a Woman", which peaked at #3.

Storm in the Heartland was released in '94, and went Gold. Although the only successful single was the title track, the album featured two more singles, both failed to meet Cyrus's hopeful expectations. After the release of Storm in the Heartland, PolyGram Records closed it doors, and Cyrus was transfered to Mercury Nashville Records where he recorded an additional two albums before leaving the label.

Two more country albums were released in the late 1990s, Trail of Tears in 1996, which went to #20 on the Country charts, and Shot Full of Love in 1998 which was even less successful, only peaking at #32.

In the early 2000s, Southern Rain was the first country album of the decade for Cyrus (he wouldn't release another until 2006). The year 2003 brought two Contemporary/Christian albums, Time Flies and The Other Side. Neither album spawned a hit single, the latter peaked at #56 on the Top Country Albums chart, while The Other Side made the Top 20. Cyrus would be on a hiatus from the charts until 2006.

Once again, a new label (New Door/UMe) was the home of the 2006 album, Wanna Be Your Joe. This was Billy Ray's return to Country music since 2000. The only single released was the title track. Even though the only single failed to chart, the album sold well, peaking at #24 on the Top Country Albums, #113 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

Home at Last was released through Walt Disney Records in July 2007. From his exposure on Hannah Montana and Dancing With the Stars, the album debuted at an impressive #3 (the first Top 5 album since 1993). Two singles were released. "Ready, Set, Don't Go" reached #33 on the Hot Country Songs chart, but in October 2007, the single was re-released with Cyrus' daughter, Miley Cyrus. After that, the singles airplay massively increased, managing to reach #4.

Mid-2008, Cyrus' website confirmed that he would released a new album entitled, Back to Tennessee[4] And once more, he switched labels. The album will be released on Lyric Street Records which is also the home of Rascal Flatts and Marcel. The first single from the album is "Somebody Said a Prayer", which debuted at #53 on the Country chart.

He also sang "The Star Spangled Banner" at Game 5 of the 2006 World Series in St. Louis, Missouri.

Billy Ray Cyrus singing at the Spirit of America tour.

Acting career

Cyrus starred in the 1999 independent film Radical Jack. He also had a small part in David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive as Gene, a pool cleaner who had been having an affair with the wife of Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux). In 2001, Cyrus played the lead role on the PAX (now ION Television) comedy-drama Doc, which became the network's highest-rated show. In 2005, Cyrus expanded his acting career in a stage production of Annie Get Your Gun in Toronto, appearing in the role of Frank Butler.

Cyrus' television credits include The Nanny, Diagnosis Murder, Love Boat, The Next Wave, and TNN’s 18 Wheels Of Justice. In 2004, he guest-starred as a limo driver in the episode "The Power of Love" of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Cyrus has also been the subject of many television specials that detail his rise to fame and his career. These include two ABC documentaries, Dreams Come True and A Year On The Road, a VH1 exclusive, as well as the TNN specials I Give My Heart To You, and The Life and Times of Billy Ray Cyrus. In late 2005, Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus began co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana which premiered on March 24, 2006.

In March 2007, Cyrus joined several other celebrities to take part in the fourth season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars.[5] He and his partner Karina Smirnoff, were eliminated in the eighth week (May 8, 2007) after having also placed in the "bottom two" the week before.[6]

In 2007, Cyrus filmed the music video for his latest hit, "Ready, Set, Don't Go". He dedicated this song to Miley. The video showed pictures from Hannah Montana along with others.

Marriage and children

From 1986 until 1991, Cyrus was married to Cindy Smith, with whom he co-wrote the song Wher'm I Gonna Live?, which was featured on his 1992 album Some Gave All. On December 28 1992, he married Leticia "Tish" Finley,[7][8].[9] Together they have three children, daughters Miley Ray (born as Destiny Hope), Noah Lindsey, and son Braison Chance.[8] He also has two stepchildren, Trace (born 1989) (singer/guitarist for Metro Station) and Brandi (born 1987),[8] and a son from a previous relationship, Christopher Cody (born 1992).[8]

In a 2004 interview on ABC News: 'Primetime', Cyrus stated that daughter Miley (conceived with Finley) and son Cody (conceived with an unidentified woman) were both born in 1992, at which time Cyrus was unmarried, and that he and Finley secretly married on December 28 of 1992.[9]

The family lived on a 500-acre (2.0 km2) farm in Thompson's Station,[8][7] outside of Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Los Angeles for the filming of Hannah Montana. Cyrus' other daughter, Brandi had a role in a Hannah Montana episode "Yet Another Side of Me" as Customer #1.[10]


Discography

For a list of albums and singles, see Billy Ray Cyrus discography.

Film and television

Film

Year Title Role
2001 Radical Jack Jack
2002 Mulholland Drive Gene
Wish You Were Dead Dean Longo
2004 Death and Texas Spoade Perkins
Elvis Has Left the Building Hank
2008 Bait Shop Hot Rod Johnson
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus:
Best of Both Worlds Concert 		Himself
Flying By TBA
2009 Hannah Montana: The Movie Robby Ray Stewart

Television

Year Title Role
2001 Doc Dr. Clint Cassidy
2003 Degrassi: The Next Generation Limo Drive, Duke
2006 Hannah Montana Robby Ray Stewart
2007 Billy Ray Cyrus... Home at Last Himself
Dancing with the Stars
2008 CMT Music Awards
Nashville Star
Phineas and Ferb Buck Buckerson
Studio DC: Almost Live Himself

See also

Further reading

  • Kingsbury, Paul. (1998). "Billy Ray Cyrus". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 123-4.

References

  1. ^ a b "Billy Ray Cyrus Biography". A&E/Biography. 2007-12-20. {{cite episode}}: External link in |title= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help) Birth certificate shown
  2. ^ Cyrus is now on Lyric Street Records.
  3. ^ {{cite web | url = http://www.filmreference.com/film/12/Billy-Ray-Cyrus.html | title = Billy Ray Cyrus Biography (1961-) | accessdate = 2008-07-22 | date = 2008-07-22 | publisher = filmreference.com )}
  4. ^ New Billy Ray Music On The Way! at Billy Ray Cyrus Official Site
  5. ^ unknown (February 20, 2007). "Meet the New Cast of 'Dancing With the Stars". ABC.com Dancing with the Stars. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Singer Cyrus booted off dance show". Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  7. ^ a b "Billy Ray Cyrus (Dr. Clint Cassidy)". "Doc" Cast Bios. I (TV network). Retrieved 2006-10-07.
  8. ^ a b c d e ""BILLY RAY CYRUS - Bio"". cmt.ca. Retrieved 2006-10-29. Children: Destiny Hope, Braison Chance, Noah Lindsey, with Tish; Christopher Cody, from a previous relationshiwhatp; and stepchildren Brandi, and Trace. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)[dead link]
  9. ^ a b "Once a Country Superstar, He Got Out of the Spotlight for Fatherhood". abcnews.com. 2004-03-13. Retrieved 2007-08-14. Cyrus pledged to support the woman who was carrying his first baby. And against his record company's advice, he secretly married Finley on Dec. 28 1992. Finley gave birth to Cyrus' daughter, Miley. The other woman had his son, Cody. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Steinberg, Jacques (2006-04-20). "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: A Tale of Two Tweens". The New York Times (in English). Retrieved 2006-10-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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