Deryl Dodd

All Music Guide:

Honky tonker Deryl Dodd grew up in Dallas, TX, where he favored football over music throughout his formative years. When an injury permanently derailed his athletic career, his fellow students at Baylor University encouraged him to begin performing his music in public, and soon he was one of the biggest attractions on the Waco club circuit. After graduating in 1987, he pursued music full-time, moving in 1991 to Nashville to form a band with his friend Brett Beavers. After supporting Martina McBride during her 1992 tour opening for Garth Brooks, Dodd sang backing vocals on McBride's second LP before embarking on a solo career. He also played in Tracy Lawrence's band and sang harmony on records by Radney Foster and George Ducas. After a 1994 demo deal fell through, Dodd issued his debut album, One Ride in Vegas, in 1996. A self-titled effort followed two years later. Shortly after his 1998 album was released, Dodd was planning national tour, opening for Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn, but his plans were foiled when he was diagnosed with an acute case of viral encephalitis. Dodd was bedridden for six months, per doctor's orders. He then went through a rehabilitation period lasting a year and a half, during which he had to relearn how to play the guitar. After playing songwriter nights in Nashville, Dodd ditched his deal with Columbia Records in favor of Lucky Dog, a Sony imprint dedicated to Texas music. 2002's Pearl Snaps appeared on Lucky Dog. He returned to Texas, where he was fortunate enough to be invited to record Live at Billy Bob's Texas, which was issued in August 2003. After returning to Texas, things continually went up, including the sales of his 2004 album Pearl Snaps. In 2006, Dodd released Full Circle on DualTone Nashville.

Wikipedia:

Deryl Dwaine Dodd (born April 12, 1964) is an American Texas Country artist. Originally a regular on the Texas club circuit, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, soon finding work as a background vocalist and songwriter. By 1996, he was signed to a recording contract, releasing two albums for Columbia Records Nashville before a debilitating bout of viral encephalitis put his career on hiatus.

Having recovered from his encephalitis in 2000, Dodd resumed his singing career, also touring with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. He released a third album for Columbia in 2002, followed by two more albums for Dualtone Records. Overall, Dodd has released five studio albums and a live album, and has charted nine singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His highest-charting single, "A Bitter End", peaked at #26 on the country charts and #88 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1998-early 1999.

Biography

Deryl Dodd was raised in Dallas, Texas, where he played football from an early age. After a career-ending injury, Dodd was persuaded to perform music in clubs throughout the state of Texas. In 1991, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, forming a band along with Brett Beavers, now an established Nashville songwriter. Dodd later found work singing harmony vocals for Martina McBride, Radney Foster, and George Ducas, in addition to playing in Tracy Lawrence's road band, and co-writing a song on Tim McGraw's All I Want album.

Dodd signed to Columbia Records in 1996 as a solo act. His first album, One Ride in Vegas, was released that year, producing a Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard country music charts in the Tom T. Hall-penned "That's How I Got to Memphis". One Ride in Vegas was followed by an eponymous album in 1998; that same year, Dodd was nominated as Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music. His second album also produced his biggest chart hit to date in "A Bitter End", which peaked at #26 on the country charts.

In 1999, Dodd was diagnosed with viral encephalitis, forching him to end his career. He remained bedridden for six months, and then went through eighteen months of rehabilitation (which included re-learning how to play guitar). Once he had fully recovered, he attended several writers' nights in Nashville, and was later signed as an opening act on Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's Soul2Soul tour.

Dodd's third and final album for Columbia, Pearl Snaps, was released in 2002. Later, he recorded Live at Billy Bob's Texas, before switching to Dualtone Records in 2004 to release Stronger Proof (2004) and Full Circle (2006). In 2009, Dodd released a cover of "Together Again", originally a hit for Buck Owens.