Born in Arkansas on This Day in 1966, the Soap Opera Star Turned Country Singer Who Penned a No. 1 Hit for Toby Keith

If you’re an elder millennial who ever stayed home sick from school, Scott Reeves’ face is likely familiar to you. Born on this day (May 16) in 1966 in Delight, Arkansas, Reeves has had recurring roles on The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, and the ABC drama Nashville. However, he has also branched out into country music, releasing an album in 2004 with Aaron Benward as the music duo Blue County. He’s also responsible for Toby Keith’s chart-topping patriotic anthem “Made in America”, which he co-wrote with the country artist and singer-songwriter Bobby Pinson.

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Getting His Start Onscreen

Raised in California’s San Fernando Valley, Scott Reeves played baseball and football at West Valley Christian School in Los Angeles. After graduating, he studied acting at the Renee Harmon Commercial Workshop and the Beverly Hills Playhouse.

Reeves’ first acting role came in 1988 as Jake Hogansen on the NBC Daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. Three years later, he co-starred alongside Corey Feldman in the 1991 thriller Edge of Honor.

Reeves’ breakout role came that same year when he landed the role of Ryan McNeil on the long-running CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. His portrayal of the shrewd businessman earned him two Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and he won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Leading Actor in 1994.

Scott Reeves Has Toured With Tim McGraw and Keith Urban

In 2003, Scott Reeves took a step back from acting to form the country music duo Blue County with Aaron Benward, whom he met on a country music video shoot in Nashville.

“[We] sat down in Aaron’s living room with our two guitars and started singing, and it just felt like magic,” Reeves said in a 2006 interview. “It felt like family. Therefore, Blue County was born.”

Signing with Curb Records, Blue County sent four singles to the Billboard country charts, including the No. 11 “Good Little Girls”. The pair exited Curb Records in 2007 after just one album, and Reeves returned to acting, portraying Steven Webber on the ABC soap opera General Hospital from 2009 to 2013. He returned 11 years later to reprise the role in 2024.

Although ending his time with Blue County, Reeves scored a No. 1 country hit in 2011 with Toby Keith’s “Made in America”. He began writing the song with Bobby Pinson, and the two soon realized that the lyrics were tailor-made for Toby Keith.

[RELATED: On This Day in 2011, Toby Keith Released the Patriotic Single That Would Be His Final No. 1]

So Pinson took “Made in America” to the 14-time ACM Award winner, who helped him finish it. Keith released the song as the lead single from his 2011 album, Clancy’s Tavern.

Featured image by Marc Andrew Deley/FilmMagic for Country Music Association