Billy Dean

William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter.

He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition Star Search. Active as a recording artist since 1990, he has recorded a total of eight studio albums (of which the first three have been certified gold by the RIAA) and a greatest hits package which is also certified gold. His studio albums have accounted for more than 20 hit singles on the Billboard country charts, including 11 Top Ten hits.

In 2000, he had a Billboard Number one as a guest artist along with Alison Krauss on Kenny Rogers' "Buy Me a Rose", and had two Number Ones on the RPM country charts in Canada.

Biography Dean was born in Quincy, Florida, on April 2, 1962. His father, also known as Billy Dean, maintained a band called The Country Rocks in his spare time. By the age of 8, Dean began playing in his father's band.

Dean was also a basketball player in high school, and was offered a scholarship to East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. It was followed by "Only Here for a Little While", the second release from his debut album Young Man. This song and its follow-up, "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" (previously recorded by Randy Travis on his 1989 album No Holdin' Back and by mid-2004 it reached number 27 on the country charts. Following it was the single "Let Them Be Little", co-written by Richie McDonald of Lonestar and recorded by the band on its 2004 album Let's Be Us Again. Dean's seventh studio album, also titled Let Them Be Little, was finally issued in late 2004 on Curb.

Discography

Awards and nominations Grammy Awards 1992 "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" Best Male Country Vocal Performance American Music Awards 1992 Billy Dean Favorite Country New Artist TNN/Music City News Country Awards 1993 Billy Dean Star of Tomorrow Academy of Country Music Awards

Billy Dean Top New Male Vocalist "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" Song of the Year 1993 Billy Dean Top Male Vocalist of the Year 2001 "Buy Me a Rose" Top Vocal Event of the Year Country Music Association Awards 1992 Billy Dean Horizon Award 1994 Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles Album of the Year Nominated alongside Alison Krauss and Kenny Rogers

Politics In January 2024, Dean released "Never Back Down," a single "inspired" by Ron DeSantis. The song's name is the same as one super PAC of DeSantis's.