Billy Ray Cyrus

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Billy Ray Cyrus
Background information
Born	August 25, 1961 (age 45)
Origin	Flatwoods, Kentucky
Genre(s)	Country, Gospel, Christian
Occupation(s)	Musician and actor
Instrument(s)	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1992-present
Label(s)	Mercury/Universal (1990-1998) Monument/Sony BMG (2000-2004) New Door/Universal (2006-present)
Website	Official site

Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961 in Flatwoods, Kentucky) is an American country singer, and actor, who is probably best known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart" (1992) and distinctive mullet. He is also a multi-platinum selling recording artist, with three number-one singles and six top-ten singles. From 2001 to 2004, he starred in the television series Doc, a show about a doctor from the ranch adjusting to the large city. It remains in syndication today. Starting in 2006, he currently stars in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana, along with his daughter Miley.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Marriage and children 4 Rivalry 5 Awards 6 Discography 7 Selected filmography 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Biography

Cyrus was raised into a Pentecostal family. His parents divorced during his youth and his grandfather, who was a Pentecostal preacher, died when he was twelve years old^[1].

Cyrus was a part of Russell, Kentucky's first state championship high school football team in 1978. He originally intended to play professional baseball. He attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship, but quit to form a band called "Sly Dog" with his brother, Kevin Cyrus.

[edit] Career

After moving to Los Angeles alone, Cyrus signed to Mercury Records in 1990. The success of "Achy Breaky Heart" from his first album Some Gave All helped renew the popularity of line dancing and made Cyrus a star. At the time he was widely known for his signature mullet hairstyle.

In 1993, Cyrus was scheduled to perform for Queen Elizabeth II ^[1] but had to cancel due to family reasons.

Cyrus' follow-up, It Won't Be the Last, began strong but sales wound up being disappointing compared to Some Gave All. He appeared on Dolly Parton's 1993 single "Romeo", then continued to chart and release four more albums over the next six years. These were Storm in the Heartland (1994), Trail of Tears (1996), Shot Full of Love (1998) and Southern Rain (2000). He has had some success as a gospel singer with his album The Other Side in 2003. His most recent album, released in July 2006, is "Wanna Be Your Joe."

In 2004, Blender magazine selected "Achy Breaky Heart" as the magazine's choice for "second worst song ever." Some people claim Cyrus is a one hit wonder. However, his career has included three #1 singles and six Top Ten singles, including "Could've Been Me", "Busy Man", and "In the Heart of a Woman." Cyrus also holds the record for the longest time at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for a debut record (17 weeks).

"We The People," the working people’s anthem from Southern Rain became the campaign theme song for President George W. Bush during his 2000 election campaign.

Cyrus starred in the 1999 independent film Radical Jack. Cyrus 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 iNetwork) comedy-drama Doc. Doc became the highest-rated show on the network, and continues to air in reruns on the channel.

In 2005, Cyrus expanded his acting career in a stage production of Annie Get Your Gun in Toronto, as 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, Cyrus guest starred in the episode, "The Power of Love" of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation as the limo driver, Duke.

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 began filming the first twenty episodes of a new Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana. The show revolves around a young teenage girl (Miley) who lives a double life as pop singing sensation "Hannah Montana." Cyrus plays the pop star's widowed father, manager, and famous singer Robby Stewart. Hannah Montana is currently airing on the Disney Channel, and has received positive reviews from critics and viewers. His character is loosely based on his real life; footage of Robby Ray as a famous singer in the past is actual footage and photos of Cyrus himself as a singer, and many times allusions are made to the singer, as in the episode "New Kid in School" where Robby Stewart dons a mullet wig and introduces his character as Billy Ray Cyrus; in the episode "Ooo, Ooo, Itchy Woman" where his character refers to his single "Achy Breaky Heart" by asking a mouse which was crawling around inside the Stewarts' piano, "Lynda, you know 'Achy Breaky Heart'?"; and in the episode "On the Road Again," where Cyrus performs his song "I Want My Mullet Back," a track from his latest CD (also, in this episode, the "Robby Palooza" video tape is actually footage from his "Achy Breaky Heart" music video^{[citation needed]}). Also, in the episode, "Its a Mannequin's World, when Robby does the limbo and cracks his back, he says, "Ohh, my Achy Breaky back!"

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

[edit] Marriage and children

Cyrus has one child from a previous relationship, Christopher Cody Cyrus.^[2] Cyrus is now married to Leticia "Tish" Finley Cyrus, whom he married on December 28, 1993.^[3][2] She had two children from a previous relationship, son Trace and daughter Brandi.^[2] Together, they have three children, daughters Destiny Hope "Miley" Cyrus^[4] and Noah Lindsey, and son Braison Chance.^[2] The family resided on a 500-acre farm in Singing Hills, outside of Nashville, Tennessee,^[3][2] before moving to Los Angeles for the filming of Hannah Montana.^[5]

Cyrus enjoys weight lifting and horseback riding.^[3]

[edit] Rivalry

Cyrus enjoyed a heated rivalry with Travis Tritt when Achy Breaky became a hit song. Tritt didn't like Cyrus's "pretty boy country" routine, complete with tight shorts, revealing shirts, and what Tritt believed was a general country-mockery-with-Fabio-appeal of Cyrus's act. The criticism was a bit ironic, given that Tritt and Cyrus had crossover fan bases and that the two sounded similar in style, with deep, rangy baritones and rockabilly baselines for their songs.^{[citation needed]}

Cyrus, for his part, kept silent during Tritt's rants, due in part to his embarassment at the reception for Achy Breaky. Cyrus proved to be much more than just a pretty face, scoring hits with "Storm in the Heartland" and "It Could've been Me", although to country outsiders he's best known for his novelty hit. Tritt went on to much more respected success in country music and the feud has since died.^{[citation needed]}

When "Achy Breaky" was named Single of the Year by the CMA in 1993, Cyrus took a jab back at Tritt in his acceptance speech, saying he felt vindicated that the song was being recognized as a great tune, and "to those who don't appreciate it for what it is, 'Here's a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares'," (invoking the name of one of Tritt's hits).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Awards

In addition to several music awards from various organizations, Cyrus also holds awards from charitable work.

In 1999, Cyrus received the International Entertainment Buyer Association’s "Humanitarian of the Year" Award for his philanthropic work. His charitable efforts have been recognized by the Country Radio Broadcasters, who honored him with their Artist Humanitarian Award, and by the Kennedy Center Honors, which recognized him for his work with children. He also received the first ever Bob Hope Congressional Medal of Honor Society Entertainer’s Award for his dedication to philanthropy.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Billy Ray Cyrus discography

~Studio albums~

• Some Gave All (1992)
• It Won't Be the Last (1993)
• Storm in the Heartland (1994)
• Trail of Tears (1996)
• Shot Full of Love (1997)
• Southern Rain (1998)
• Time Flies (2003)
• The Other Side (2004)
• Wanna Be Your Joe (2006)

~Greatest hits compilations~

• Best of Billy Ray Cyrus: Cover To Cover (1997)
• 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Billy Ray Cyrus (2003)
• The Definitive Collection (2004)
• Achy Breaky Heart (2004)
• The Collection (2005)

[edit] Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Radical Jack	Jack
2001	Doc	Dr. Clint Cassidy	Television series
	Mulholland Drive	Gene
2002	Wish You Were Dead	Dean Longo
2004	Death and Texas	Spoade Perkins
	Elvis Has Left the Building	Hank
2006	Hannah Montana	Robby Stewart	Television series

[edit] See also

• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of number-one hits (United States)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Billy Ray Cyrus official website
• Billy Ray Cyrus DeLaFont Management website
• Billy Ray Cyrus' Sony Nashville website
• Billy Ray Cyrus CMT website
• Billy Ray Cyrus at AOL Music videos and au
• Billy Ray Cyrus at the Internet Movie Database
• Billy Ray Cyrus at the Notable Names Database
• Billy Ray Cyrus at All Music Guide
• Billy Ray Cyrus and CD reviews at Country Standard Time