Normally a "bio" is something you hire someone to do: you sit down and tell them where you came from, how you got your "start," who your "influences" are, and so forth, and they write it down for you, in their words. But in a flash of divine inspiration and bold defiance of music biz convention, I decided to write an autobiographical bio. In other words, to tell you about myself, myself. What I lack in journalistic prose I hope to make up in sincerity.

I was raised in the "Mountain State" of West Virginia. My family came from southern West Virginia (Mason County) and moved to Glen Dale, WV (just below Wheeling) when I was nine. My grandfather was a coal miner and later worked on the railroads. My father started out working on the railroad, but spent most of his life working in the power plants along the Ohio River which is the western border of WV. My Mom's parents were hard working farmers from across the river in Ohio. I once asked my Grandma Johnson (born in 1907) where the money came from when she and Grandpa first started out together. She said simply, "There wasn't any." Needless to say, I grew up with a deep respect of the hard lives that were common to most people in my home state and surrounding area.

The only musicians I've been able to trace in my family were two great-grandfathers. One played the fiddle and one played the guitar. My passion for music came alive one Christmas season when I picked up one of my brother's presents: a small guitar with four strings. I can still remember trying to make the chords from the diagrams in the Mel Bay instruction book. Something clicked. My only formal "lesson" came soon after when a friend of my Dad's from the power plant showed me a C chord. It was like a fire had been lit inside of me (it's still burning). I have never forgotten the joy of hearing a chord strummed on the strings of a guitar.

About the same time I started playing (age 10), I began developing a love for country music. I used to lay in bed at night, listening to a transistor radio, picking up stations like WMAQ from Chicago, WWL-New Orleans, WSM-Nashville, and, of course, WWVA, which was 8 miles up the road in Wheeling. I can't explain my initial attraction to country music, and I don't even like to try. I just knew I loved it. I didn't know it whether it was cool or not to like country music and I didn't care. I love that about kids. They either like something or they don't, regardless of whether or not they're supposed to. I soaked up music like a sponge, compelled to learn every song I heard.

I began trying to figure out chords and licks on my folks' old player piano in our basement. They had bought it when they were newlyweds from an elderly lady whose husband had given it to her before going off to fight in World War 1. I loved that piano. I still have it to this day and the worn down black keys are a reminder of the many evenings I spent pounding away on it. One of my early inspirations to "pound" had come from seeing Jerry Lee Lewis at the Wheeling Jamboree and being absolutely blown away by the reckless abandon of his style. Years later, when he heard me open for him on that same stage, the "killer" called me to his dressing room and told me "You're good, boy!" I was blown away again.

The piano quickly became my favorite instrument. I spent most of my time trying to copy what I heard on radio and records. I started appreciating different types of music, thanks to Friday night school dances and my brother's wide range of musical tastes (Eric's a passionate music connoisseur). I soon began trying to cop the licks of Elton John, Billy Joel, and Ray Charles in addition to Floyd, Fats and Jerry Lee. It was a learning curve that was exciting and limitless. Again, I wasn't concerned with the labels of what I was listening to (country, rock, pop, folk, bluegrass, whatever); all that mattered was whether it moved me or not. I still feel the same way, and the learning curve continues.

My first public performances were at 4-H talent shows, church, school events, country music parks, yes, even grocery store openings (it's true). People quickly began referring to me as "the kid who plays and sings." A few years and many gigs later, when I was 15, I got a monthly gig at the Mountaineer Opry House in Milton, WV (just a few power plants below Charleston). This was my first experience in a band setting. I sang and played piano. The crowd loved it. So did I.

From there I got a monthly gig playing in Columbus, Ohio on the "Country Cavalcade" radio show at the old Southern Theater on radio station WMNI. This was my first live radio broadcast experience. I loved the "edge" that came when the red light went on. After Columbus, I played on the road one summer with Doc Williams (a veteran performer/pillar artist of the WWVA Jamboree, which first aired in 1933). The following winter I got a call to fill in for the Jamboree piano player who had taken a road gig with Faron Young. That night--during the show--the electricity went out in the whole theater, and I ended up backing up all the singers with the piano (the only non-electric instrument on stage) while an audience of 1500 waited for the lights to come back on. After the show I was offered the gig. For years I had wanted to get on that show. It was a dream come true. I stayed on the Jamboree for 5 years, after which time I felt the call to move to Nashville.

I had only been in Music City a month when I got a job as a band leader/singer on something called "The Nashville Network." I had no clue what TNN was, I just knew it sounded like a good job. That job required me to move to Knoxville, where I met Cindy Ellis, who I asked to marry me. She said yes. To this day, I can honestly say that she is the best break I ever got. And they said it wouldn't last.

Speaking of true love, in Knoxville I also met and got to work with husband and wife songwriting legends Boudleaux and Felice Bryant ("Bye Bye Love," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Love Hurts," "Rocky Top," to name a few). More than anyone else, they inspired and encouraged me to pursue songwriting, a hobby I had kept hidden. Once I worked up the nerve to actually perform my songs in front of people, my music took on a new depth. Performing became a means of conveying personal feelings, experiences, thoughts, and beliefs; not just singing for singing's sake. It was through the merging of my skills as a singer, a player, and a writer that a vision for myself as an artist started to take form.

Tony Brown, from MCA Records in Nashville, had seen me in Knoxville and signed me to a record deal about a year later. Living in Nashville again, writing songs, making records, and touring everywhere was exciting beyond words. I will always be grateful to Tony for taking a chance with me. My MCA years taught me a lot about the nuts and bolts of the business. Before I left, we scored 2 Top 20's, 3 Top 10's, and 3 Top 5 hits, one being a number one song, "Leap of Faith."

Since then I have mainly concentrated on being a Dad (one of my greatest privileges ever) and writing songs. After a few years hiatus I have just finished a new album, which I think is my best ever. I hope the listeners think so too. I have no long term plans, as I believe in living one day at a time. I have been truly blessed, and am grateful to God for the life He has given me. I am a big believer in following your heart's desires, doing what you do best, and being yourself. I still love to write, sing, and play music as much as ever. As far as career goals go, mine are pretty much the same as they've always been: to move people with music. To me, that's the main thing. And I believe if you get the main thing right, the rest will take care of itself.