Billy Gilman

Before his 12th birthday, gifted country singer Billy Gilman’s moving hit single, “One Voice,” was already listed on the Billboard’s Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart. That made him the youngest solo artist ever to reach that prominent goal.

He took the record away from Brenda Lee–by a few months–who had held it since 1957 with her hit single, “One Step at a Time.” Gilman, from Hope Valley, Rhode Island, began singing before most kids his age had even thought about registering for kindergarten. He started performing when he was seven years old, and was soon opening at country fairs for artists like Jo Dee Messina, who has been named as one of ACM Best New Female Artist. Things shifted into high gear for Gilman when Ray Benson, from the country group known as Asleep at the Wheel, took notice of the young boy with a standout voice. Benson had Gilman make a demo tape. It didn’t take long for Epic Nashville Records to cut a deal with the young soon-to-be music star.

Gilman’s remarkable debut album, One Voice, was no amateur undertaking. Well-knows like David Malloy, Blake Chancey, and Don Cook stepped in as the production crew. The famed threesome had worked with many big artists in the world of country music, like Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Eddie Rabbit, and the hot-as-fire Dixie Chicks. The incredible album One Voice was released in 2000, selling 30,000 copies in a single week and quickly landing on the Billboard 200 albums chart and the Billboard Top Country album chart, where it soon was only one notch behind the Dixie Chicks’ hit album Fly that had sold over 6 million copies. The title single from Gilman’s debut album hit number one on the Top Country Singles sales chart and held fast for weeks. The album went gold in under a month’s time. All in all, one heck of an impressive beginning, no matter the age of the singer. Not to stop short in musical success, Gilman released the seasonal effort Classic Christmas, featuring a collaboration with Charlotte Church, in late 2000. Gilman has appeared on the Academy of Country Music Awards show, the Today Show, the Rosie O’Donnell Show, ShowBiz Today, the special Family Television Awards Show, and many others. He has completed a stadium tour with George Strait, and performed with artists like Sara Evans, Tim McGraw, and David Kersh, and opened for the group long-time group Alabama. Gilman has also been featured in magazines such as People and Billboard.