One listen to Randy's soulful singing is enough to convince you
that you are listening to a star. His deeply felt lyrics are
proof, that Randy Houser has not only lived the life of a true
"Paycheck Man", but is major songwriting talent. His
open-hearted, charismatic personality shines through in his debut
album.
Whether getting his "Boots On" to party Country style or plunging
into sadness, Randy Houser has what all great country artists
have- believability. Thanks to his riveting vocal prowess, Randy
is receiving great responses from both fans and radio programmers
with his first single, the strikingly emotional ballad "Anything
Goes". As illustrated in his breakthrough single, Randy Houser is
a breathtaking vocalist with fire and conviction at his core.
Both the songs he has written and the songs he has chosen from
other talented Nashville writers for this album are superb
showcases for the vocal side of his talent. In addition to
"Anything Goes," they include the "Strange" and the
ultra-cool, groove-saturated "How Many Times," the latter
featuring harmony vocals by superstar Vince Gill.
About the Artist
----------------
The passion, enthusiasm and conviction in Randy
Houser's music is utterly irresistible. One listen to his
soul-drenched singing is enough to convince you that you are in
the presence of a masterful performer. One scan of his deeply
felt lyrics is all the proof you need to see that this is a major
songwriting talent. And one meeting with this smiling, endearing,
open-hearted personality is all it takes to make you believe he
deserves to be a star.
That indefinable something, called charisma, is all over his
exceptional debut CD. Whether plunging into sadness or leaping
for joy in song, Randy Houser has what all great country artists
have - believability.
The album is the capstone of an extraordinary run of good fortune
for the singer-songwriter. Thanks to his riveting vocal prowess,
Randy is receiving great response from both fans and radio
programmers with his first single, the gripping, strikingly
emotional ballad "Anything Goes." As illustrated in his
breakthrough single, Randy Houser is a breathtaking vocalist with
fire and conviction at his core. The songs he has chosen by other
Nashville writers for this album are superb showcases for the
vocal side of his talent. In addition to "Anything Goes," they
include the "Strange" and the ultra-cool,
groove-saturated "How Many Times," the latter featuring harmony
vocals by superstar Vince Gill.
Randy grew up in central Mississippi. He was born in Jackson and
raised in Lake, a small town between Jackson and Meridian.
Musically, it's a region between the Blues and R&B of the Delta
and the hard-core country music of the Deep South. There was
always plenty of gospel music on the radio as well.
But his true musical foundation was the artistry of his her.
His parents split up when he was only seven, and thereafter Randy
spent summers with the professional singer and musician. Papa
Houser was a fairly well known performer in the Jackson,
Mississippi nightclub scene and was also a first call studio
musician in and around that area for several years. After he
relocated to Biloxi, young Randy decided to follow in his
footsteps
"I started writing songs right away, at 15 and 16 years old. I
was already starting, because I hated playing the `covers' of the
hits. I knew that if I was ever going to do anything in music, I
was going to have to learn to express myself. Otherwise, it was
going to be the same-old, same-old." His her and mentor died
when Randy was 21. He'd told his boy that he didn't want to be
kept alive on machines. After his her lost consciousness, this
young man was put in the agonizing position of having to "pull
the plug" on the mentor he idolized. That painful experience
formed the basis of Randy's emotional song "I'll ." A few
years later, Randy Houser made the big decision to move to
Nashville to seek his fortune.
"I can literally say that a song changed my life," Randy reports.
"I'll tell you how I made the decision. I was sitting at home one
day and thinking, `God, what am I doing?' I'd been waiting around
for so long and hadn't gone and done what I always said I was
going to do. And then that song `Life Happened' came on the
radio, and I just started bawling. And right then, I made the
decision. I was gone.
"A guitar player friend from Mississippi had moved to Nashville.
He said, `Well, come on..' So I came up in early 2003 with an air
mattress and a pile of junk in a '92 Cougar. Two weeks later, the
engine blew up in that car. I didn't know how I was going to make
a living, but knew I had to make one"
Within two weeks of arriving, Randy ran into a woman who'd heard
him perform in Mississippi. She arranged for him to sing a "demo"
for a Nashville songwriter. Days later, he was getting calls to
sing them all the time. Successful, Mississippi-bred songwriters
Fred Knobloch and Derek George encouraged Randy. Derek took Randy
to the Windswept publishing company, where Cliff Audretch, III
became a booster.
Signed by Windswept in late 2003, Randy and co-writers Jamey
Johnson and Dallas Davidson were on the charts with "Honky-Tonk
Badonkadonk" by early 2005. Since then, Randy's tunes have been
picked up by John Michael Montgomery ("If You Ever Went Away"),
Justin Moore ("Back That Thing Up"), George Canyon ("Coming From
You") and other artists. Cliff loved Randy's own s of
the tunes and urged producer Mark Wright to listen. Now Cliff and
Mark have co-produced Randy Houser's outstanding disc debut.
"One day, awhile back, Mark (Wright) and I were talking about
singers. He said, `Man, the most soulful singers in history all
grew up poor.' This really rang true for me. That's part of the
reason I sound the way that I do."