J. D. Myers

J.D. Myers is a country rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born John Douglas Myers on January 27, 1975 in Salem, VA.

Raised in the truckstop town of Troutville, VA, his first memories of music come from the death of Elvis Presley who remains his biggest musical influence. He grew up listening to the sounds of AM radio of the 1980's. Other early influences include Waylon Jennings, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., Buck Owens and the great artists of Sun Records in Memphis. JD was taught to play guitar by a full-blooded Cherokee truck driver, at age 14. Within a year he made his first live appearance onstage at a high school talent show which he won tying another student for first place. At age 16, he started his first band, JD & The Law which had a heavy Elvis-rockabilly sound. It was during this time that he started writing songs and started trying to define his own style. After graduating high school he started a new band, JD Myers and The Hard Core Country Boys and started playing clubs, VFW's, Moose Lodges, hotel lounges and honky tonks.

Discovered by producer Michael Knox at age 17, while on vacation with his parents, JD recorded his first demos in Nashville in 1992, which led to him becoming the youngest country songwriter at that time to be signed to Warner-Chappell Music in 1994 at the age of 19.

In 1995, MCA Records President Tony Brown expressed interest in signing him to his first record deal. Brown was unsuccessful in convincing the promotion team at MCA of JD's commercial appeal after a showcase in Nashville. Although that deal didn't pan out, he quickly was signed by Asylum Records A&R representative Kara Rosen in 1995. Within a year he began recording his first album, "Like A Train" produced by Muscle Shoals legend Barry Beckett. His first single "When I Think About You" became one of the most played videos of 1997. Although quite a buzz had surrounded the young talent due to his unique songwriting, singing, guitar playing and energetic live performance, country radio never fully embraced his roots country-rock style. After a shakeup at the label which left him in a low priority status, JD asked to be released from his record deal two weeks before his album was to hit stores.

In 2003, Myers and Memphis engineer Rusty McFarland produced his independent album "Hard Times" which was named one of the ten best Americana albums of 2005 by Americana Roots.com. The thoroughly impressive collection found the Virginia native crafting a gritty fusion of rockabilly, west-coast country, the outlaw sound, rock and roll, and blues.

In 2006, JD assembled a new band, The Hillbilly Misfits and started to perform regularly around Nashville. He is currently recording his third album, expected to be completed by spring of 2008 with a release targeted at the Texas music market.

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