Hillbilly Heart
A Memoir
Published on 30. August 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
292 pages
978-1-4778-0072-0 (ISBN)
Description
Billy Ray Cyrus is an award-winning country music legend whose "Achy Breaky Heart" propelled his debut album, "Some Gave All," to the top of the charts for a record-breaking seventeen weeks. He's also father of Miley Cyrus, one of Hollywood's most successful young stars, who grew up on stage and on screen, most famously as the lead on the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana," where Billy Ray Cyrus played her father. But sometimes the truth is even better than fiction. Now, for the first time, fans can read about Cyrus's tenacious and inspiring struggle to find his own way to faith, family, and the power of music.
Hillbilly Heart opens during Cyrus's turbulent childhood in Kentucky, where he sought refuge in music and sports after his parents' divorce. He was a troublemaker in training, known more for pulling pranks than for following in his preacher grandfather's much-vaunted footsteps. But when he heard a voice telling him to get a left-handed guitar and start a band, this rebel found his cause. Ten years later, after tirelessly working the club circuit and knocking on the closed doors of music executives from Nashville to Los Angeles, Cyrus finally made a stratospheric breakthrough, becoming a multi-platinum selling artist and taking his rock-and-roll twist on country music to the world's stage.
Cyrus fans have always been able to piece together the details of his life through his lyrics-the ups and downs, adventures and disappointments-but Hillbilly Heart gives them a front row seat for his most candid performance ever.
Hillbilly Heart opens during Cyrus's turbulent childhood in Kentucky, where he sought refuge in music and sports after his parents' divorce. He was a troublemaker in training, known more for pulling pranks than for following in his preacher grandfather's much-vaunted footsteps. But when he heard a voice telling him to get a left-handed guitar and start a band, this rebel found his cause. Ten years later, after tirelessly working the club circuit and knocking on the closed doors of music executives from Nashville to Los Angeles, Cyrus finally made a stratospheric breakthrough, becoming a multi-platinum selling artist and taking his rock-and-roll twist on country music to the world's stage.
Cyrus fans have always been able to piece together the details of his life through his lyrics-the ups and downs, adventures and disappointments-but Hillbilly Heart gives them a front row seat for his most candid performance ever.
Reviews / Votes
"The first time I met Billy Ray I felt like I had known him all of my life. I still feel the same way today. He is a warm feeling in my heart and a sweet thought on my mind. He seems like family to me. I've always been interested in his life, his success and in his children, especially my beautiful fairy god daughter, Miley. I'm very proud of Billy Ray and find him very fascinating and interesting. I know you will enjoy finding out all about him, his life and rise to fame. What we have most in common is a Hillbilly Heart." -Dolly Parton"What a life this guy has had. He goes from having one of the biggest records in the history of radio to watching his daughter grow from a child to one of the biggest stars in the business. There are very few people who can handle that. Billy Ray has done an incredible job as a father and an artist and now as an author." -Kenny Rogers
"Billy Ray's talent, whether singing, acting, or writing, amazes me, and his versatility sets him apart from most. Hillbilly Heart is a beautiful account of Billy Ray's colorful life-great stories, told by a humble man. My life is richer, and the world is a better place, because of him-just as yours will be after reading this book." -Randy Travis
"It's no exaggeration to call country star Cyrus' memoir a hoot." -New York Post
"Told in a natural and candid tone, the book will please country-music fans and may even win over some skeptics...A warm account of a star who has managed to remain humble." -Kirkus Reviews
"Cyrus chronicles a rollercoaster life, from his troubled adolescence and the revelation that he wanted to become a musician, to life on the road, the challenges and successes of writing music, the difficulties and joys of marriage, and his work in television." -Publishers Weekly
"Such earnest yearning, in his songs and in the telling of his life story, endears Billy Ray Cyrus to his audience. During recent interviews promoting the book, Cyrus makes a point to honor and pay tribute to the victims of last week's Boston Marathon bombing. Against the backdrop of such a terrible and baffling event, the timing of Hillbilly Heart, with its positive focus on faith in the source of all good things, seems fortuitous." -Biographile
"This book is an honest look at his life. He's truthful about his drinking, drugs and the mistakes he's made in his life." -Red Carpet Crash
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Publishing group
Amazon Publishing
Edition type
Unabridged edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
365 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4778-0072-0 (9781477800720)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Hailing from small-town Kentucky, Billy Ray Cyrus is an American country music singer/songwriter who helped to make country music an international sensation. His album Some Gave All has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling debut album of all time for a solo male artist. In addition to his music career, Cyrus starred in the TV series Doc from 2001 to 2004 and co-starred in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana with his daughter Miley Cyrus.