Jimmy Wayne Barber, known professionally as Jimmy Wayne, was born on 23 October 1972 in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He grew up in Bessemer City, North Carolina, but later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a musical career. In Nashville, Jimmy Wayne began working as a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music and signed to DreamWorks Records' Nashville division in 2003. His debut single, "Stay Gone", peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, followed by his self-titled debut LP. Notable tracks included "I Love You This Much", which reached number six, and "Paper Angels". After DreamWorks closed in 2005, Jimmy Wayne moved to Big Machine Records' subsidiary Valory Music Group. His first single with Valory, "Do You Believe Me Now", became his first and only number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart in September 2008. In November 2009, he released "Sara Smile", a cover version of Hall & Oates' 1976 single, which became his seventh top 40 country single.
