Kip Addotta's CDs!

Billy Ray Cyrus!

Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is a Grammy nominated American country singer and film and television actor, who is best known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart" (1992). He is also a multi-platinum selling recording artist, with one number one country single and eight top-ten singles. From 2001 to 2004, he starred in the television series Doc, a show about a rural doctor adjusting from 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' 16 year career, he has released 23 charting singles, 12 of which reached the top 40 and one reached the top of Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. After a four year hiatus from the charts, Cyrus returned with his current single, a duet with daughter Miley, "Ready, Set, Don't Go", which has so far reached the Top 20 of the Billboard country charts.

Billy Ray Cyrus Biography

Billy Ray Cyrus Early life

Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, the son of Ron Cyrus, a politician, and his wife, the former Ruth Ann Adkins. His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Cyrus later went to college on a baseball scholarship before switching his focus to music.

Billy Ray Cyrus Music career

After moving to Los Angeles, Cyrus signed with Mercury Nashville 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. In 2004, however, Blender magazine selected "Achy Breaky Heart" as the magazine's choice for "second worst song ever." Some people have claimed that Cyrus is a one-hit wonder, mainly because "Achy Breaky Heart" has been his only major hit on the Billboard Hot 100. He has landed six Top Ten singles on the country charts, however, including "Could've Been Me", "Busy Man", and "In the Heart of a Woman".

The success of Some Gave All also caused speculation of Cyrus becoming the sole competition of Garth Brooks, who at the time was dominating the country music genre. Cyrus also was widely known for his signature mullet hairstyle. In 1993, he was scheduled to perform for Queen Elizabeth II but had to cancel due to family reasons. Cyrus's follow-up album, It Won't Be the Last, began strong but sales wound up being disappointing compared to Some Gave All. He continued to chart and release four more albums over the next six years. These were Storm in the Heartland in 1994, Trail of Tears in 1996, Shot Full of Love in 1998, and Southern Rain in 2000. He also recorded an album of Christian music, The Other Side in 2003. His most recent albums are Wanna Be Your Joe in 2006 and Home At Last in 2007.

Billy Ray Cyrus 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 began co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana.

In March 2007, Cyrus joined several other celebrities to take part in the fourth season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars. 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.

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.

Billy Ray Cyrus Marriage and children

From 1986 until 1991, Cyrus was married to the former Cindy Smith, with whom he cowrote the song Wher'm I Gonna Live?, which was featured on his 1992 album Honky Tonk. He is presently married to the former Leticia "Tish" Finley, whom he married on December 28, 1992. Together they have three children, daughters Destiny Hope (who is also known as Miley), Noah Lindsey, and son Braison Chance. He also has two stepchildren, Trace (singer/guitarist for Metro Station) and Brandi, and a son from a previous relationship, Christopher Cody.

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.

The family lived on a 500-acre farm in Thompson's Station, outside of Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Los Angeles for the filming of Hannah Montana.

Billy Ray Cyrus 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.