Taylor Hicks
Bio
Taylor Hicks is known almost as well for his grey hair as his musical talent. But he didn't always don such dark locks.
When he was born at Saint Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama on October 7, 1976 (to Brad Hicks and Pamela Dickinson Hicks), the head of The Soul Patrol has blonde hair. It turned dark brown/black as an adolescent and began to grow into his current grey by the time he was 13.
Five years before that, Taylor and his family moved to suburban Hoover. His parents divorced that same year, when Hicks was only eight. He was raised from that age on by Brad and his step-mother, Linda.
Music was always an interest, however, especially as family life grew difficult. Taylor's father said his son began singing to strangers when he was only five, belting out hits from musicians such as Kenny Rogers and Michael Jackson. He plays guitar as well as blues harp and writes most of his own songs. As Hicks went through Berry High School, the passion only grew and he even took up guitar.
At Auburn University, though, Taylor didn't commit to music right away. He majored in business, communications and marketing, but lost interest and dropped out after three years. It was during this time that he moved to Nashville and truly pursued a musical career. Hicks was fortunate enough to work with Tennessee legends there such ass Billy Earl McClelland and Percy Sledge.
An audience slowly caught on to this crooner. After performing at tiny venues, Taylor released two independent albums, "In Your Time" (1997) and "Under the Radar" (2005) prior to appearing on American Idol.
Once he did, however, there was no more flying beneath that apparatus for this wonder.
