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An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named.^{[citation needed]} One who is referred to as eponymous is someone who gives his or her name to something, e.g., Julian, the eponymous owner of the famous restaurant Julian's Castle. Another term for eponym is namegiver.

In contemporary English, the term self-titled is often used to mean eponymous in the case of a work with the same name as the person or persons who created it.^{[citation needed]} An etiological myth can be a "reverse eponym" in the sense that a legendary character is invented in order to explain a term. This is one example of folk etymology.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

In different cultures, time periods have often been named after the person who ruled during that period.

• The ancient Greek classic The Odyssey is named after the main character, Odysseus.
• One of the first recorded cases of eponymy occurred in the second millennium BC, when the Assyrians named each year after a high official (limmu).
• In ancient Greece, the eponymous archon was the highest magistrate in Athens. Archons of Athens served a term of one year which took the name of that particular archon (e.g., 594 BC was named for Solon). Later historians provided yet another case of eponymy by referring to the period of Fifth-century Athens as The Age of Pericles after its most influential statesman Pericles.
• In Ancient Rome, one of the two formal ways of indicating a year was to cite the two annual consuls who served in that year. For example, the year we know as 59 BC would have been described as "the consulship of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus and Gaius Julius Caesar" (although that specific year was known jocularly as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar" because of the insignificance of Caesar's counterpart). Under the empire, the consuls would change as often as every two months, but only the two consuls at the beginning of the year would lend their names to that year.
• During the Christian era, many royal households used eponymous dating by regnal years. The Roman Catholic Church, however, eventually used the Anno Domini dating scheme based on the birth of Christ on both the general public and royalty. The regnal year standard is still used with respect to statutes and law reports published in some parts of the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries (England abandoned this practice in 1963): a statute signed into law in Canada between February 6, 1994 and February 5, 1995 would be dated 43 Elizabeth II, for instance.
• Government administrations or political trends often become eponymous with a government leader. North American examples include the Nixon Era, Trudeaumania, Jeffersonian economics, Jacksonian democracy, McCarthyism, Obamacare, Obamanomics, Obamania, Thatcherism, Kennedy's Camelot, or Reaganomics.
• British monarchs have become eponymous throughout the English speaking world for time periods, fashions, etc. Elizabethan, Edwardian, Georgian, and Victorian, are examples of these.

Other eponyms[link]

• In intellectual property law an eponym can refer to a genericized trademark or brand name, a form of metonymy.
• Both in ancient Greece and independently among the Hebrews, tribes often took the name of a legendary leader (as Achaeus for Achaeans, or Dorus for Dorians). The eponym gave apparent meaning to the mysterious names of tribes, and sometimes, as in the Sons of Noah, provided a primitive attempt at ethnology as well, in the genealogical relationships of eponymous originators.
• Places and towns can also be given an eponymous name through a relationship (real or imagined) to an important figure. Peloponnesus, for instance, was said to derive its name from the Greek god Pelops. In historical times, new towns have often been named (and older communities renamed) after their founders, discoverers, or after notable individuals. Examples include Vancouver, British Columbia, named after the explorer George Vancouver; and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, originally called Isbister's Settlement but renamed after Queen Victoria's husband and consort in 1866.
• In science and technology, discoveries and innovations are often named after the discoverer (or supposed discoverer) or to honour some other influential workers. Examples are Avogadro's number, the Diesel engine, meitnerium, Alzheimer's disease, and the Apgar score. For a discussion of the process see Stigler's law of eponymy.
• In (modern) art
  • Some books, films, video games, and TV shows have one or more eponymous principal characters: Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders, Emma, the Harry Potter series, The Legend of Zelda series, I Love Lucy, for example.
  • The term is also applied to music, usually with regard to record titles. For example, Blur's 1997 album was also titled Blur. Bad Company's first album Bad Company released in 1974 is another example that also contained a track that was a Rock Radio favourite of the same name, "Bad Company". Many other artists and bands have also served as eponyms of albums or singles, usually as their debut or second release. Some bands, such as the Tindersticks, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Crowded House, Van Halen, Duran Duran, Bang Camaro, Santana, Living in a Box, and the Ramones, have released more than one and are thus referred to in other ways, including number and album art (e.g., The Blue Album). Peter Gabriel's first four long-play releases were all such (though the fourth was given a title for its US release). Another more common term is the self-titled album. The band R.E.M. titled their 1988 compilation CD Eponymous as a joke. The Swedish metal band Ghost titled their debut album Opus Eponymous. Brazilian artists usually self-title their albums; almost all the annual Roberto Carlos albums are eponymous. Self-titled albums are often indicated with the abbreviation "s/t," e.g., "They Might Be Giants (s/t)"

Lists of eponyms[link]

By person's name

• List of eponyms

By category

Orthographic conventions[link]

Capitalized versus lowercase[link]

• Because proper nouns are capitalized in English, the usual default for eponyms is to capitalize the eponymous part of a term. The common-noun part is not capitalized. For example, in Parkinson disease (named after James Parkinson), Parkinson is capitalized, but disease is not.
• However, some eponymous adjectives are nowadays entered in many dictionaries as lowercase when they have evolved a common status, no longer deriving their meaning from the proper-noun origin.^[1] For example, Herculean when referring to Hercules himself, but often herculean when referring to the figurative, generalized extension sense;^[1] and quixotic and diesel engine [lowercase only].^[1][2] For any given term, one dictionary may enter only lowercase or only cap, whereas other dictionaries may recognize the capitalized version as a variant, either equally common as, or less common than, the first-listed styling (marked with labels such as "or", "also", "often", or "sometimes"). The Chicago Manual of Style, in its section "Words derived from proper names",^[3] gives some examples of both lowercase and capitalized stylings, including a few terms styled both ways, and says, "Authors and editors must decide for themselves, but whatever choice is made should be followed consistently throughout a work."

For examples, see the comparison table below.

Genitive versus attributive[link]

• English can use either genitive case or attributive position to indicate the adjectival nature of the eponymous part of the term. (In other words, that part may be either possessive or nonpossessive.) Thus Parkinson's disease and Parkinson disease are both acceptable. Medical dictionaries have been shifting toward nonpossessive styling in recent decades.^[4] Thus Parkinson disease is more likely to be used in the latest medical literature (especially in postprints) than is Parkinson's disease.

National varieties of English[link]

• American and British English spelling differences can occasionally apply to eponyms. For example, American style would typically be cesarean section, whereas British style would typically be caesarean section (or cæsarean section [with digraph]).

Comparison table of eponym orthographic styling[link]

See also[link]

• Antonomasia
• Archetypal name
• Eponymous hairstyles
• Ethnonym
• Etymology

• Lists of etymologies

• False etymology
• Genericized trademark
• Medical eponyms
• Metonym
• Name reaction
• Stigler's law of eponymy
• Toponym

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up eponym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Definition of -nym words
• A site dedicated to Medical Eponyms
• What is an Eponym? by Dr. Robert Beard
• Eponyms on the h2g2 web site
• American Proprietary Eponyms

Jools Holland
Holland at the British Academy Television Awards 2009
Background information
Birth name	Julian Miles Holland
Born	(1958-01-24) 24 January 1958 (age 54) Blackheath, London, England
Genres	Boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, R&B
Occupations	Musician, composer, television presenter, bandleader
Instruments	Piano, keyboard, guitar
Years active	1974–present
Associated acts	Squeeze Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
Website	Official site

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.

Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. He currently hosts Later... with Jools Holland, a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show Hootenanny, is based.^[1]

Life and career[link]

His great grandfather came from Ireland.^[2]

Holland played as a session musician before finding fame, and his first studio session was with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1976 on their track "F*ck Off."^[3]

Holland was a founding member of the British pop band Squeeze, formed in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1981 and helped the band to achieve millions of record sales, before pursuing his solo career.^[3]

Holland began issuing solo records in 1978, his first EP being Boogie Woogie '78. He continued his solo career through the early 1980s, releasing an album and several singles between 1981 and 1984. He branched out into TV, co-presenting the Newcastle-based TV music show The Tube with Paula Yates. Holland achieved notoriety by inadvertently using the phrase "groovy fuckers" in a live, early evening TV trailer for the show, causing it to be suspended for six weeks.^[4] He referred to this in his sitcom "The Groovy Fellers" with Rowland Rivron.

Holland at the Tsunami Relief concert in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, 22 January 2005

In 1983 Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album Soul Mining. In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly regrouped including Jools Holland as their keyboard player. Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point, he again departed Squeeze on amicable terms to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.

In 1987, Holland formed The Jools Holland Big Band which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze. This gradually became his 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.^[3]

Between 1988 and 1990 he performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television.^[5] Since 1992 he has presented the music program Later... with Jools Holland, plus an annual New Year's Eve Hootenanny.

In 1996, Holland signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records,^[3] and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.

Holland has a touring band, The Rhythm And Blues Orchestra, which often includes singers Sam Brown and Ruby Turner. In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff.

Personal[link]

Holland lives in the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath in South East London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design, inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for the 1960s TV series The Prisoner.^[6] Holland owns costumes and props from the series and occasionally appears wearing the trademark brown-with-white-pipe blazer featured in the series. In 1987, Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, The Laughing Prisoner, with Stephen Fry, Terence Alexander and Hugh Laurie.^[6] Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of Patrick McGoohan, and featuring musical numbers from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magnum and XTC. Holland performed a number towards the end of the program. His younger brother, Christopher, also plays organ in the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, as well as being a singer-songwriter.

Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film Spiceworld as a musical director.

He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. In September 2006 Holland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent.^[7] He is also known for his charity work: in June 2006 he performed in Southend for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay,^[8] and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings.^[9] He is also patron of the Drake Music Project^[10] and has raised many thousands of pounds for the charity.

Holland was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 January 2009.^[11]

On 29 August 2005 Holland married Christabel McEwen, his girlfriend of 15 years (between 1983 and 1995 she had been married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham, before they divorced). The wedding, at St James's Church, Cooling near Rochester, was attended by many celebrities, including Ringo Starr, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, Noel Gallagher, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.^[12]

Holland is also a patron for The Milton Rooms, an Arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, along with Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Kathy Burke.^[13]

Writing[link]

His 2007 biography, Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts was BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland. He is the author or joint author of four other books.

Discography[link]

Albums that have charted and gained Certifications[link]

Releases[link]

• 1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)
• 1981 Jools Holland and His Millionaires
• 1984 Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy (U.S. release only)
• 1990 World Of His Own
• 1991 The Full Complement
• 1992 "Together Again" (single with Sam Brown)
• 1992 The A-Z Geographer's Guide To The Piano
• 1994 Solo Piano
• 1994 Live Performance
• 1996 " Jazz & Rock & Roll
• 1997 Lift The Lid
• 1998 Best Of
• 1999 Sunset Over London
• 2000 Hop The Wag
• 2001 Small World Big Band
• 2002 SWBB Volume Two: More Friends
• 2003 Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)
• 2004 Tom Jones & Jools Holland
• 2005 Beatroute
• 2005 Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska
• 2006 Moving Out To The Country
• 2007 Best of Friends
• 2008 The Collection
• 2008 The Informer (With Ruby Turner)
• 2008 "The Informer" (single with Ruby Turner)
• 2009 "I Went By" (single with Louise Marshall)
• 2010 Rockinghorse

Film and television[link]

• 1981 Urgh! A Music War
• 1982 Police: Around the World
• 1982 - 1987 The Tube (Host for 121 editions)
• 1983 Rebellious Jukebox: Compere
• 1984 The Young Ones: Punk (Episode entitled "Summer Holiday")
• 1985 Walking To New Orleans (Jools Holland in New Orleans)
• 1987 Eat the Rich: Sun Reporter
• 1987 Filthy Rich & Catflap: Strip Show Pianist (Episode #1.3)
• 1987 The Laughing Prisoner: No. 7
• 1987 French and Saunders (Episode 1.5)
• 1988 Sunday Night: Host (unknown episodes)
• 1989 Juke Box Jury: Host (unknown episodes)
• 1989 The Groovy Fellers Himself, 6 episodes
• 1991 Mr Roadrunner (Jools Holland in Memphis)
• 1994 There's No Business: Pianist
• 1994 - 1995 Don't Forget Your Toothbrush
• 1995 The Beatles Anthology
• 1997 Spice World: Musical Director
• 1997 Name That Tune: Host and Pianist
• 2003 Jool's History of the Piano : Presenter
• 2006 Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.
• 2007 Fairport@Forty: Interview
• 2009 Chop Shop Rover Concept: The Jet 1 Car : Customer

Current television programmes[link]

• 1992–present Later... with Jools Holland
• 1993–present Hootenanny

Books[link]

• "Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road, (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998), (ISBN 0-670-88051-5)
• Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1998), (ISBN 0-575-06700-4)
• Ray Charles: Man and Music, (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999), (ISBN 0-86241-929-8)
• Hand That Changed Its Mind , International Music Publications (2007), (ISBN 1-84328-645-9)
• Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts , Michael Joseph Ltd (2007), (ISBN 0-7181-4915-7)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jools Holland at the Internet Movie Database
• Jools Holland's Radio 2 show at BBC Programmes
• Later...with Jools Holland at BBC Online

Billy Ray Cyrus
Cyrus, December 2009.
Background information
Birth name	William Ray Cyrus
Born	(1961-08-25) August 25, 1961 (age 50) Flatwoods, Kentucky, U.S.
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country, country pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actor, producer, philanthropist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1980–present (singer) 1995–present (actor)
Labels	Mercury, Monument, Madacy, Word/Curb/Warner Bros., New Door/UMe, Walt Disney, Lyric Street, Buena Vista
Associated acts	Miley Cyrus, Trace Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Adam Gregory, Mark Collie, Jeffrey Steele, Brother Clyde, Noah Cyrus
Website	Official site

William "Billy" Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist, who has achieved great success worldwide.^[1][2][3] Having released twelve studio albums and forty-four singles since 1992, he is best known for his Number One single "Achy Breaky Heart", which became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992.^[4][5] Thanks to the video of this hit, the linedance catapulted into the mainstream, becoming a worldwide craze.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} Cyrus, a multi-platinum selling recording artist, has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the Billboard Country Songs chart. His most successful album to date is the debut of Some Gave All, which has been certified 9× Multi-Platinum in the United States and is the longest time spent by a debut artist at Number One on the Billboard 200 (17 consecutive weeks) and most consecutive chart-topping weeks in the SoundScan era.^[11][12] It's the only album (from any genre) in the SoundScan era to log 17 consecutive weeks at Number One and is also the top-ranking debut album by a male country artist. It ranked 43 weeks in the top 10, a total topped by only one country album in history, Ropin' The Wind by Garth Brooks.^[13] Some Gave All was also the first debut album to enter at the number 1 in the Billboard Country Albums.^[14] The album has also sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is the Best-selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist. Some Gave All was also the best-selling album of the 1992 in the US with 4,832,000 copies.^[15][16] In his career, he has released 35 charted singles, of which 15 charted in the Top 40.

From 2001 to 2004, Cyrus starred in the television show Doc. The show was about a country doctor who moved from Montana to New York City. In late 2005, he began to co-star in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana with his daughter Miley Cyrus.

Early life[link]

William Ray Cyrus^[17] was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky to Ron Cyrus, a politician, and his wife, the former Ruth Ann Casto.^[18][19] His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Growing up, he was surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music from his family. His right-handed father played guitar. Left-handed Cyrus tried to play his father's guitar, but could not. He attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before changing it to music. In the 1980s, he played in the bar band called Sly Dog, before signing a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records.^[20]

Music career[link]

The Mercury Records years[link]

While trying to get a recording contract in Los Angeles, Cyrus was referred to as "too country" for LA, and "too rock" for Nashville. However, in 1990, he was signed to PolyGram/Mercury. Cyrus began to record and write music for his debut album, released in 1992.

Some Gave All was released in 1992. The album became an instant chart and sales successor. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, Billboard 200, Canadian Country Albums chart, Canadian Albums Chart, and on the charts of several other foreign countries. The album featured four consecutive Top 40 singles on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart from 1992 to 1993; including an album cut, the title track. The most successful single released was "Achy Breaky Heart". It reached #1 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and was also a hit on the pop charts, where it reached #4. Although the song was the only number one single, "Could've Been Me" reached #2, "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" reached #23, and "She's Not Cryin' Anymore" reached #6.

Some Gave All was certified 9× Multi-Platinum in the United States in 1996, and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

Billy Ray Cyrus singing at the Spirit of America tour.

In 1993, Cyrus and Mercury Records quickly released Cyrus' second studio album, It Won't Be the Last. The album featured four singles, however, only three made the Top 40. The album debuted at #1 on the Country charts, and #3 on the Billboard 200. By the end of the year, It Won't Be the Last was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The highest charting single, the lead-off single, "In the Heart of a Woman", charted to #3, with "Somebody New" charting to #9, "Words By Heart" at #12, and "Talk Some" at #63.

Cyrus' third studio album, Storm in the Heartland, was released in 1994. The album was his final album he recorded for PolyGram, as they closed their doors in 1995. The album was not as successful as its preceders. It only reached #11 on the Country albums chart, and only the title track made the Top 40 of the Country singles chart. "Deja Blue" was the second single released, however, it only managed to chart to #66, and the third and final single, "One Last Thrill", failed to chart at all.

The album only managed to be certified Gold in the U.S. Before Cyrus started on his next album, he was transferred to Mercury Nashville.

Also in 1994, Cyrus contributed the song "Pictures Don’t Lie" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Cyrus' most critically acclaimed album was 1996's, Trail of Tears on Mercury Records. The album debuted at #20 on the Country chart when released. Only two songs made the cut to radio, although neither one hit the Top 60. The title track and "Three Little Words" were released reaching #69, and #65 respectively. The album failed to reach any certification, and was on and off the charts after only four weeks.

Mercury Nashville released Shot Full of Love in 1998. The album became his lowest-peaking album, debuting at #32. The first single, "Under the Hood", failed to chart, "Time for Letting Go" hit #70, "Busy Man" charted #3, and "I Give My Heart to You" reached #41. After the single fell from the charts, Cyrus left Mercury's roster and signed with Monument Records in 1999.

His debut album for Monument, Southern Rain, was released in 2000. It debuted at #13 on the Country albums chart and #102 on the Billboard 200. Five singles were released and all five charted. The lead-off single, "You Won't Be Lonely Now", was the highest peaking single from the album, charting to #17. Other singles include "We the People" (#60), "Burn Down the Trailer Park" (#43), "Crazy 'Bout You Baby" (#58), and the title track (#45).

Move to Christian music[link]

After the singles from Southern Rain finished their chart runs, Cyrus began to record two Christian albums. Both albums, Time Flies and The Other Side, were released in 2003. The first album debuted and peaked at a low #56 on the Country album charts. Three singles were released, however, only the final single charted. "Bread Alone", "What Else Is There", and "Back to Memphis" were released, where "Back to Memphis" charted to #60.

The second Christian album, The Other Side, was recorded while Cyrus filmed his PAX series, Doc. It debuted at #5 on the Top Christian Albums chart, #18 Top Country Albums, and #131 on Billboard 200. Two of three singles charted, "Face of God" (#54) and "The Other Side" (#45), while "Always Sixteen" failed to chart at all.

Disney Entertainment[link]

The album Wanna Be Your Joe was Billy Ray's first country album since 2000s Southern Rain. As with its preceding albums, it too, was recorded on a new record label: New Door/UMe Records. It was released while Cyrus was filming the show Hannah Montana. Wanna Be Your Joe made it to #24 on the Country charts and #113 on the all-genre charts. The album initially sold well, but no hit-single was released. The title track was released as the first single, and was followed by "I Want My Mullet Back", both of which were ignored by country radio. Although not released as a single, a music video was made for the track "Stand", a duet with daughter Miley Cyrus.

Also in 2006, Billy Ray appeared with metal-rock group Metal Skool (now Steel Panther), and performed several songs including "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol, and the song "I Want My Mullet Back", which appears on Wanna Be Your Joe.^[21]

Billy Ray Cyrus singing at the Kids Inaugural Event on January 19, 2009.

He also sang "The Star Spangled Banner" at Game 5 of the 2006 World Series in St. Louis, Missouri.

Career re-launch[link]

In mid-2007, Cyrus was a celebrity contestant on the 4th season of the show Dancing with the Stars. Cyrus was partnered with Karina Smirnoff. As the show began to air, Cyrus was instantly a fan favorite. Cyrus and Smirnoff made it to the semi-finals where they finished in 5th place.

From his exposure on Dancing with the Stars and Hannah Montana, his record label pushed up the release date a month in advance of his new album. Home at Last was released in July 2007 on Walt Disney Records. It debuted at #3 on the country charts, making it Cyrus' first Top 5 entry since It Won't Be the Last debuted at #1 in 1993. Beginning sales for the album were very strong, however, the album failed to be certified. The single, "Ready, Set, Don't Go", was initially released as a solo single. The solo version made it to #33 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

In October 2007, Cyrus and daughter Miley Cyrus, performed a duet version of the song on Dancing with the Stars. The duet of the song debuted at #27 on the Country charts and eventually peaked at #4 in 2008; giving Billy Ray his first Top 5 single since "Busy Man" in 1999, as well as Miley's first Top 5 on any Billboard chart.

Cyrus was a part of the Disney collection, Country Sings Disney in 2008. Two of his songs, "Ready, Set, Don't Go" and the Sheryl Crow penned song, "Real Gone" appeared on the album. Billy Ray's version of "Real Gone" was also made into a music video that is in rotation on both CMT and GAC; the song also appears on Back to Tennessee.

New label and newfound chart success[link]

In late-2008, his website confirmed that a new studio album would be released by the end of the year from Lyric Street Records, entitled Back to Tennessee. The album was originally planned to be released on October 21, 2008, but was pushed back to November 18. When the album was not released, it was announced for a January 13, 2009 release.^[22] The first single, "Somebody Said a Prayer", debuted at #53 in August 2008 and reached #33 in November of that year. On March 14, 2009, the albums title track debuted at #59 on the country singles chart and a month later on April 7, Back to Tennessee was released. The song only charted to #47 after 11 weeks. A third single, "A Good Day", debuted at #60 on the country charts for the chart week of September 5, 2009.

It was less successful in its first week out as Home at Last. It only reached #13 on the charts and only sold approximately 14,000 copies in its opening week. The albums release date coincided with the release of Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song "Back to Tennessee" was included on the movies soundtrack, as well as a duet with Miley Cyrus, entitled "Butterfly Fly Away". The latter song would peak at #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #50 and Canadian Hot 100.

On November 12, 2008, Billy Ray and Miley presented the "Song of the Year" award at the 42nd Annual Country Music Association Awards. Prior to the award show, both Billy Ray and Miley performed on Good Morning America. In December 2008, Cyrus made a cameo in Metro Station's video, "Seventeen Forever".^[23]

Shortly after the chart debut of Back to Tennessee's third single, "A Good Day", Cyrus and Lyric Street Records parted ways after only one album.^[24]

Cyrus, Phil Vassar, Jeffrey Steele and John Waite then formed a new supergroup together in early 2009 called Brother Clyde.^[25] On Twitter, Cyrus confirmed the supergroup, saying they just cut the first single from the new album, Lately.^[26]

On June 30, 2010. Cyrus released on his Facebook information about the new alternative rock group, Brother Clyde, with the old members substituted by Samantha Maloney, Jamie Miller, Dan Knight and Dave Henning. He also stated that their single, "Lately", was available on iTunes and that their debut album would be out on August 10, 2010.

Post-Brother Clyde[link]

In late 2010, Cyrus suspended his activities in the band Brother Clyde, and announced the release of his new solo patriotic album, entitled I'm American. Initially scheduled to be released in November 2010, it was pushed back to a May 24, 2011 release with a re-recording of "Some Gave All" that featured guest vocals from Darryl Worley, Jamey Johnson and Craig Morgan being released as the lead-off single. However, in April 2011, the single was changed to "Runway Lights". I'm American was released on June 28, 2011. A second single, "Nineteen", was released in August 2011. The song entered the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of October 8, 2011, where it debuted at number 58. It is Cyrus' first charted single since "A Good Day" in 2009.

Acting career[link]

Cyrus starred in the 1999 independent film Radical Jack. He also had a small part in David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive as Gene, a pool cleaner who had been having an affair with the wife of Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux). In 2001, Cyrus played the lead role on the PAX (now ION Television) comedy-drama Doc, which became the network's highest-rated show. In 2005, Cyrus expanded his acting career in a stage production of Annie Get Your Gun in Toronto, appearing in the role of Frank Butler.^[27]

Cyrus' television credits include The Nanny, Diagnosis Murder, Love Boat, The Next Wave, and TNN’s 18 Wheels Of Justice. In 2004, he guest-starred as a limo driver in the episode "The Power of Love" of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Cyrus has also been the subject of many television specials that detail his rise to fame and his career. These include two ABC documentaries, Billy Ray Cyrus: Dreams Come True and Billy Ray Cyrus: A Year on the Road, a VH1 exclusive, as well as the TNN specials I Give My Heart To You, and The Life and Times of Billy Ray Cyrus. In late 2005, Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus began co-starring in the Disney Channel original television series, Hannah Montana, which premiered on March 24, 2006.

In March 2007, Cyrus joined several other celebrities to take part in the fourth season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars.^[28] He and his partner Karina Smirnoff, were eliminated in the eighth week (May 8, 2007) after having also placed in the "bottom two" the week before.^[29]

Cyrus also starred in Jackie Chan's movie The Spy Next Door. It was shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico and released in January 2010.

Cyrus sits on the advisory board of the Parents Television Council.^[27]

In 2010, it was announced that he and his son Trace Cyrus would take part in a new Syfy reality series called UFO: Unbelievably Freakin' Obvious.^[30][31][32]

Personal life[link]

From 1986 to 1991, Cyrus was married to Cindy Smith, with whom he co-wrote the songs "Wher'm I Gonna Live?" and "Some Gave All", both of which were featured on his 1992 debut album Some Gave All.

On December 28, 1993, he married Leticia "Tish" Cyrus, née Finley.^{[33][34][35][36]} Together they have three children: daughters Miley Ray (born Destiny Hope in 1992) and Noah Lindsey (born 2000), and son Braison Chance (born 1994). He also has two adopted stepchildren from Finley's previous marriage: Brandi (born 1987); and Trace (born 1989), former singer/guitarist for Metro Station. He also has a son, Christopher Cody (born 1992), from a previous relationship with Kristin Luckey, who raised him in South Carolina. Cyrus adopted Brandi and Trace when they were young children.^[37] In a 2004 interview on ABC News: Primetime, Cyrus stated that daughter Miley (conceived with Finley) and son Christopher (conceived with Luckey) were both born in 1992, at which time Cyrus was unmarried, and that his marriage to Finley the following year when she was pregnant with their son was secret and against his record company's advice.^[34]

The family lived on a 500-acre (2.0 km²) farm in Thompson's Station,^[33] outside of Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Los Angeles for the filming of Hannah Montana. Cyrus' other daughter Brandi had a role in a Hannah Montana episode "Yet Another Side of Me" as Customer #1 and in the season 4 episode "Been Here All Along" as the Guitarist during the military tribute.^[38]

On October 26, 2010, Cyrus filed for divorce from his wife in Tennessee, citing irreconcilable differences.^[39] In a statement made to People the next day announcing the split, the couple said, "As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family... We are trying to work through some personal matters. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers."^[40] However, on March 18, 2011, Cyrus announced on The View that he had dropped the divorce.^[41]

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of country music performers
• List of number-one hits (United States)

References[link]