Back in 1992, a fairly new artist Billy Ray Cyrus released his debut Some Gave All. Formerly with the band Sly Dog throughout the 1980s, Cyrus found himself living out of a car after moving from Kentucky to California before getting signed to Mercury Records and going on tour with Reba. Now three decades later, Cyrus is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the album that started it all.
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Some Gave All featured Cyrus’ No. 1 hit “Achy Breaky Heart,” along with other chart-toppers “Could’ve Been Me,” “Wher’m I Gonna Live When I Get Home?” and “She’s Not Cryin’ Anymore,” and ranked as the No. 1 best-selling album of 1992, reaching RIAA 9x multi-platinum status in the U.S. and staying on the Top 10 of Billboard 200 chart for 17 consecutive weeks.
“Achy Breaky Heart” instantly became a worldwide hit and has earned nearly 400 million streams worldwide, and the song earned Cyrus Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Best Country Vocal Performance (Male), and Best New Artist. The recently remastered music video for the track has also amassed nearly 89 million views.
Some Gave All sold more than 20 million copies globally and kicked off Cyrus’ career in country music as well as television and film, starring in the 2001 David Lynch noir classic Mulholland Drive. He also starred as real-life daughter Miley’s father on the hit Disney show Hannah Montana in the 2000s and on the medical drama Doc and CMT sitcom Still The King.
Along with country music, Cyrus has also explored more genre-bending projects, recently collaborating with Snoop Dogg and the Avila Brothers on “A Hard Working Man.” Produced by The Avila Brothers and mixed by DJ Quik, the song was written by Cyrus, along with Bobby Ross aka AHVLAH, IZ Avila, and C Broadus.
In 2019, Cyrus also teamed up with Lil Nas X for the hit remix of “Old Town Road,” which earned Cyrus his first two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video.
“My philosophy to making music is no limitations—no rules, no limits, no preconceived notions,” said Cyrus. “Don’t try to think inside the box or outside the box, just think like there is no box.”
