Billy Ray Cyrus

Cyrus began his singing career in a gospel group and worked as a car salesman travelling to and fro between his home town and Nashville in search of a recording deal. Mercury Records signed him up in 1990 and his debut album Some Gave All was released in 1992; featuring the tune that he has come to be known by, Achy Breaky Heart. Based on the Marcy Brothers' Don't Tell My Heart, the highly infectious Achy Breaky Heart popularised line dancing and became a hit in the UK and US where it topped the country chart, much to the disdain of other country stars. Cyrus struggled to repeat the huge success of the first album with his, albeit relatively successful, follow-ups It Won't Be The Last in 1993 and Storm In The Heartland in 1994. But by the time he released his 1996 album Trail Of Tears, he was struggling to find an audience. Undaunted he continued to record, and even popped up on television as a country doctor in sitcom Doc. However, in 2006, Cyrus appeared alongside daughter Miley Cyrus on Disney's Hanna Montana, helping his album of that year, Wanna Be Your Joe, go gold. With his star rising again, he has continued to release more successful albums, including Home At Last on the Disney label and 2009's Back To Tennessee.