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Josh Kelley music biography continued...

1980, in Augusta, Georgia, Kelley began playing the guitar at age 11, and at 14 started his own band, Inside Blue with his younger brother. Kelley's big break came when he started focusing on songwriting while at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and spam emailing Napstered mp3s of his work to lists of people who liked music that was similar to his own style. One eventual recipient of Kelly's self-promotion was Eric Clinger, an A&R representative who would eventually signed Kelley to Hollywood Record." First, though, Kelley continued to build up his fan base the old fashioned way. In 2001, he finally released his first indie release titled Changing Faces, and continued to play clubs in and around his college stomping grounds. As word of mouth spread, Kelley developed a devoted fan following and began to play clubs throughout the south, spreading his acoustic charm wherever he went. In 2003, Hollywood came out with Kelley's major label debut—For the Ride Home.--which was produced by John Alagia (who turned the knobs for Dave Matthews Band). Word of the album spread slowly at first, but finally picked up steam. The first single, "Amazing" did particularly well and landed on the soundtrack to the Kate Hudson romantic comedy Raising Helen. This, in turn, set up a February 2004 re-release of For the Ride Home that included a bonus disc with acoustic performances and two unreleased songs. Kelley was then slated to tour as the opening act for Jewel, but the tour was canceled. Nonetheless, Kelley had arrived.



Kelley returned in August 2005 with Almost Honest. It featured the single "Only You," which he co-wrote with pop hitmakers the Matrix. In 2006, Just Say the Word was released. This was followed by Special Company in 2008. Said Kelley of his future: "I don't give a shit about living in a big ass house or anything. But as long as I can have a little place with a recording studio, then I'm gonna be a happy man." Kelley most certainly is a happy man now.