Biography
Dean was born in Quincy, Florida, on April 2, 1962. His father, also known as Billy Dean, maintained a band called The Country Rock in his spare time, and by the time he was eight, Dean began playing in his father's band. Throughout high school, at Robert F. Munroe Day School, he continued to play music, both in his father's band and with other local musicians. He soon began touring in local clubs, and sang Frank Sinatra's "My Way" at his high school graduation.
Dean was also a basketball player in high school, and was offered a scholarship to East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. He attended college for one year before dropping out in order to pursue his desired career in music. By the time he was 20, Dean made the finals on the Wrangler Country Star Search, followed by a Male Vocalist win on the television competition Star Search six years later. He also worked as a demo singer and took acting lessons, appearing in television commercials for McDonald's, Chevrolet and Valvoline. By the end of the decade, he had signed to a publishing contract with EMI Music, as well as a recording contract with SBK Records, a subsidiary of Liberty Records.
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