Country music singer/songwriter Jimmy Wayne followed up the successful single "Do You Believe Me Now" with "I Will," #23 this week on the Country Single Billboard chart. So where is his fan club?
Jimmy has a popular MySpace page but no formal fan club. At least not yet. Tour dates are included. (See you in Florida in the fall, Jimmy!)
Maybe fan clubs just aren't his style. The North Carolina native has hardscrabble roots and worked hard to get to Nashville As a child he endured abandonment, violence, foster homes, and homelessness. He managed to go to college and became a prison guard, where an inmate influenced his early songwriting.
Once in Nashville, Jimmy began to shine. First he wrote for others, hits like Tracy Byrd's "Put Your Hand in Mine" (with Skip Ewing). His first Billboard single was "Stay Gone" in 2003.
It's nice to see him in the spotlight now. Looks like he is in it to stay.
Writes Thom Jurek, All Music Guide, "Wayne may be pretty, but he is substantive and presents an entirely new twist on the entire country tradition."
He is country music's rebel with a cause. And country is better for it.
Amy Jordan blogs about country music fan clubs. She is the author of the Black Book Guide to Country Music Fan Clubs: The Top 100, from Trace Atkins to Trisha Yearwood (Black Book Press).
