Billy Currington: Doin’ What He Loves Best
A humble beginning, a humble end – that’s how Billy Currington sees his life. He admits that his southern roots and his small town youth are precious to him. He says that in the end you get to think what’s really important to you. He is all for simplicity, his mind shaped by the small town of Rincon where he grew up.
Billy Currington’s mother encouraged his love for music and she took him to a Kenny Rogers concert. Billy knew then that Kenny Rogers was going to serve as his inspiration. One day, when he accompanied a friend to church, he was impressed by the blend of Gospel music so his friend introduced him to the Minister who invited him to sing in the choir. As soon as the Minister heard him sing, he took him to Nashville to audition for the Opryland USA Theme Park. Even if the audition was not successful, the trip proved to be a turning point in his life.
Billy was as determined as ever to make singing a career and went to Nashville to fulfill that ambition. He had to take on a job with a concrete company to support his dreams but it was a six-day job and it left little time for his practice. At the urging of his friends, he left this job and signed up as a trainer in a gym. There he met Gary Voorhies who was a gym customer and who worked for a music publishing company. He invited Billy to sing for him. The rest is history. Eventually, Billy met Luke Lewis, who is the Nashville chairman for Universal Music Group who was impressed with Billy’s talent.
“Full initiation rights” came in 2003 when Billy Currington came up with his initial CD which had “Walk a Little Straighter.” It became a hit and it finished in the Top 10 Hits. Another song he recorded for the CD – “I Got a Feelin’” – this time with Gena Lee Nolin, was also a hit. Canadian Shania Twain invited Currington to her Swiss recording studio so they could do the country song “Party for Two” together. They sang live at the 2004 Country Music Association Awards and in a Good Morning America show aired from Nashville.
Currington’s success was going well that a Nashville magazine voted him one of its 25 Most Beautiful People. Currington, however, does not want any of the adrenalin lifestyle. He wants to keep his life simple. He likes to sing about everyday people with everyday lives and who work hard during the week so they could savor the enjoyment of a Saturday night.
Billy’s second album, “Doin’ Somethin’ Right” was his way of confirming that he wasn’t going the direction of pop and was sticking with country. His mission expressed in music is that he wants to be a hillbilly.