Clay Walker
CLAY WALKER Born: 1969 - Beaumont, Texas Singer, songwriter, and guitar player. Eldest of five children. Started playing guitar at age nine. Attended South Park High school but graduated from Vidor High School in 1987. Played in local clubs for George Jones and in clubs in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and other parts of Texas. Returned home and landed job at Neon Armadillo. Signed with Giant Records land had number 1 hit "What's it to You" from his debut album Clay Walker (gold and platinum). His second album was a top seller and his videos have placed in the top 10 of Country Music Television and CMT Europe. Other hit singles are "live Until I Die" and "Where Do I Find the Picture?" Radio and Records named him 1993's Top New Artist. Favorite pastimes include fishing, riding, roping, and raising quarter horses.
Mark Chesnutt
MARK CHESNUTT Born: September 6, 1963 - Beaumont, Texas Mark Chesnutt was born in 1963 to Bob and Norma Chesnutt in Beaumont, Texas. He grew up in Beaumont and began singing as a member of the junior high school choir. While in high school, he formed a country band with the help and encouragement of his late father, a fellow country musician, and began performing in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Chesnutt made his first record in 1981 at the age of 17, recording a total of six releases for the AXBAR label in San Antonio and, later, two for the Cherry label in Houston. However, none of these achieved popular success. For ten years Chesnutt honed his talents in Beaumont honky-tonks like Cutter's, Doc Holliday's and Get Down Brown's. Finally, in 1990, he recorded a song he had found in Nashville called "Too Cold at Home" for the Cherry label. As a testament to Chesnutt's talent, fellow East Texan and future duet partner, George Jones, wrote the liner notes for the critically heralded, platinum-certified debut album. "This boy from Beaumont is the real deal," Jones declared proudly. On July 20, 1990, "Too Cold at Home" reached number 2 on the country music charts, leading to a contract with MCA Records. Subsequent releases such as "Brother Jukebox," "Blame it on Texas," "Your Love is a Miracle," "Broken Promise Land," and "Old Flames Have New Names" were all top ten recordings and "I'll Think of Something" reached number 1 during the summer of 1992. In 1993, Chesnutt received the "Horizon" Award from the Country Music Association. Since his debut, the country baritone has racked up ten Number One singles and three platinum album awards. A die-hard southeast Texan, Chesnutt has never lived outside of the area. He currently resides in Jasper with his wife and children and frequently lends his name and talent to promoting development in the southeast Texas region.
George Jones
GEORGE JONES BORN: September 12, 1931 - Saratoga, Texas Singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Resided in Vidor, Texas. Began career by singing on a Beaumont radio station. Performed on the Louisiana Hayride show and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for many years. Has won "Crown Prince of Country Music." Was voted Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1980. Has recorded over thirty albums and many singles, including "Why Baby Why" (1955), "White Lightening" (1959), "The Race Is on," and the 1980 Country Single Record of the Year, "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Selected for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992. Has had #1 hit in each decade since 1950's.
Tracy Byrd
TRACY BYRD Born: 1966 Born in 1966, Tracy Byrd grew up in Vidor, Texas, listening to traditional country and western swing music. Even so, Byrd didn't become seriously involved in music until he attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. While in school, he began to play in local clubs. Eventually, Byrd dropped out of college when he decided to pursue music full-time. He formed a band called Rim Fire and started playing in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. In January of 1990, he walked into Cutter's in Beaumont which had recently produced another local country crooner, Mark Chesnutt. Byrd landed the gig at Cutter's and set a goal of making it to Nashville. He worked at the club with Chesnutt for about ten months and then became their featured singer when Chesnutt left for Nashville. Once he found enough music to showcase, Byrd headed for Music City. After a few tries, Byrd landed a recording contract with MCA Records. His debut album Tracy Byrd was released in 1993. Byrd's first single "Holdin' Heaven," brought together Byrd's unique combination of easy vocals and dance hall energy and went to #1 that same year. His second album, No Ordinary Man, yielded three hits: "Lifestyles Of The Not So Rich And Famous," "Watermelon Crawl" and "The First Step" that became favorites in country dance halls. The fourth single, "The Keeper Of The Stars," introduced country audiences to a new romantic balladeer. It became Byrd's second #1 single, was a Top 5 nominee for CMA's Single of the Year, was named "Song of the Year" at the ACM Awards, and helped push No Ordinary Man to two million sales. Since breaking onto the country music scene, Byrd has been one of the most consistent country performers, producing at least one album nearly every year. In 1998, he released a greatest hits recording titled Keepers. In addition to music, Byrd has a passion for the outdoors as well as philanthropic endeavors. He gives back to his southeast Texas community with the annual Tracy Byrd Homecoming Weekend held in March. This event includes a fishing tournament, concert and golf tournament which raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. Proceeds have underwritten the Tracy Byrd Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Care Center at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont. Byrd also hosts the Mossy Oak's "Hunting the Country" TV show on ESPN2. In addition, Byrd has published Eat Like a Byrd: The Tracy Byrd Cookbook which "uses rubs and marinades to create memorable meals." Byrd resides in Beaumont, Texas with his wife Michelle, a Port Arthur native, and their children.
Moon Mullican
AUBREY WILSON MULLICAN ("MOON") Born: March 27, 1909 - Near Corrigan, Texas Died: January 1, 1967 - Beaumont, Texas Singer, organist, pianist, and song writer. Made debut on radio station KPBX, Beaumont. Was called the "King of Hillbilly Piano Players." Hit records include "New Jole Blon" (1947), "Sweeter than the Flowers" (gold record, 1948), "Goodnight Irene", "I'll Sail My Ship Alone", "Mona Lisa" (1950), and "Cherokee Boogie" (1951).

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