Billy Yates Biography
13 March 1963, Doniphan, Missouri, USA. Country singer-songwriter Yates was raised on a small farm in rural Missouri, just across the border from Arkansas. As a child he used to sing with his family on short radio broadcasts on KDFN-AM in Doniphan, and occasionally performed at country fairs. After graduating from high school he began performing at local music theatres, and followed in his father's footsteps by setting up his own barbershop in his home-town. In 1987, Yates moved to Nashville where he continued to work as a barber while singing demos and playing at local clubs. He earned a songwriting contract with the Hori-Pro Entertainment Group, and enjoyed his first big success in 1992 when George Jones covered his "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" (the track won the CMA Vocal Event award the following year). Yates went on to enjoy further success with songs recorded by Gary Allan ("I've Got A Quarter In My Pocket"), Tracy Lawrence ("God's Green Earth"), Kenny Chesney ("Turn For The Worse"), Ricochet ("Honky Tonk Baby"), and Sara Evans ("If You Ever Want My Lovin'"), among others. Jones recorded several more of his songs, including the Grammy-nominated "Choices". Yates released his debut album in 1997, although only "Flowers" broke into the Top 50 of the US country charts. A new contract with Sony Records was an unmitigated failure, with only one single, "What Do You Want From Me Now', appearing in Yates" three years with the company. He broke away to set up his own M.O.D. Record Label (My Own Damn Record Label), debuting in 2001 with the single "Too Country And Proud Of It" and the first in a string of albums, If I Could Go Back.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
|
