Billy Ray Cyrus Biography

Fast Facts

• Began singing as a kid with his dad's Crownsmen gospel quartet
• Attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship, but quit to form a bar band called Sly Dog
• Big break came in 1992 with the hit "Achy Breaky Heart," which was a line lifted from George Jones' 1962 song "Aching, Breaking Heart"; it spawned a national line-dance craze and was named the Country Music Association's Single of the Year
• Debut album Some Gave All spent 17 consecutive weeks at No
• 1 on the Billboard chart, the most for any debut album
• In 1995, became the first recipient of the Bob Hope Congressional Medal of Honor Society Entertainer's Award for his support of Vietnam veterans
• Became serious about acting in 2001 and was cast as Gene the Pool Man in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive
• Starred in the title role of the PAX TV series Doc for four seasons; cut off his signature mullet during a May 2003 episode
• In 2006, appeared with daughter Miley on Disney's Hannah Montana, which ran for four seasons
• In 2007, was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars
• Formed rock band Brother Clyde in 2010 and released a self-titled album