Cyrus

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Lore & Background

Billy Ray Cyrus was born on August 25, 1961, in Flatwoods, Kentucky, to Ron Cyrus, a steelworker who became a politician, and his wife Ruth Ann. He started singing at the age of four. His parents divorced in 1966. His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Growing up he was surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music as his family are musicians. He attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before changing to music. He dropped out of Georgetown during his junior year, realized he wanted to become a musician after attending a Neil Diamond concert, and set a 10-month goal to start a career. In the 1980s, he played in a band called Sly Dog, before signing a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records. Sly Dog was named after a one-eyed dog that Cyrus owned. While trying to get a recording contract in Los Angeles, Cyrus suffered many hardships including living in his neighbor's car. However, in 1990, he was signed to PolyGram/Mercury. In the same year he opened for Reba McEntire.

In Their Own Story

Some Gave All was released in 1992. The album became an instant chart and sales success. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, Billboard 200, Canadian Country Albums chart, Canadian Albums Chart, and on the charts of several other countries. The album featured four consecutive top 40 singles on the Hot Country Songs chart from 1992 to 1993, including an album cut, the title track. The most successful single released was "Achy Breaky Heart". It reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and was also a hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached No. 4. Uniquely for a country music song it also became an international success, reaching number 1 in Australia and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. Thanks to the video of this hit, there was the explosion of the line dance into the mainstream, becoming a global craze. Some Gave All was certified 9× multi-platinum in the United States in 1996, and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. In 2019, Cyrus earned his first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a featured artist on a remix of Lil Nas X's song "Old Town Road", which spent a record-breaking nineteen consecutive weeks at the top spot (eighteen of them credited to Cyrus). Thanks to "Old Town Road", Cyrus won his first two Grammy Awards, in the categories Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.

Reader's Guide

From 2001 to 2004, Cyrus starred on the television series Doc. The series focused on a country doctor who moved from Montana to New York City. From 2006 to 2011, he starred as Robby Ray Stewart on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana with his daughter Miley Cyrus playing the title character. From 2016 to 2017, he starred as Vernon Brownmule on the CMT sitcom Still the King. In mid-2007, Cyrus was a celebrity contestant on the 4th season of the show Dancing with the Stars. Cyrus was partnered with Karina Smirnoff. He quickly became a fan favorite. Cyrus and Smirnoff made it to the semi-finals, where they finished in 5th place.

Did You Know?

• Billy Ray Cyrus's debut album Some Gave All spent 17 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, the longest for any debut artist and any country artist.
• "Achy Breaky Heart" was the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia.
• Some Gave All sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist.
• Cyrus won his first two Grammy Awards in 2019 for his featured role on Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" remix.
• He played Robby Ray Stewart on Hannah Montana from 2006 to 2011, alongside his daughter Miley Cyrus.