Billy Gilman
Encyclopedia
William Wendell "Billy" Gilman III (born May 24, 1988) is an American country music
artist. In 2000, at the age of 12, he debuted with the single "One Voice," a Top 20 hit on the Billboard
country music charts and became the youngest singer to a Top 40 hit on the country music charts. An album of the same name was released later that year on Epic Records
, and was certified double platinum
in the United States. Following it was a Christmas album "Classic Christmas" and Dare to Dream, both of which were certified gold. He exited Epic's roster and signed to Image Entertainment
in 2005 releasing Everything and More. In 2006, he released the self-titled Billy Gilman.
. Gilman began singing before he was in school, and gave his first public performance at age 7. At the age of 9, Gilman was discovered by Ray Benson
of Asleep at the Wheel
, who helped him record demos. Gilman was then signed to Epic Records
Nashville in 2000.
. That same year, he appeared in the tribute album Country Goes Raffi
, performing Raffi
's famous song "Baby Beluga
."
On September 7 and September 10, 2001, Gilman performed the song "Ben" at Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special
in New York which was later televised. "Ben (song)
" was originally sung by Michael Jackson in 1972.
Gilman was featured on Welsh soprano Charlotte Church
's album Dream A Dream and released a Christmas album in 2000 titled Classic Christmas, which was certified Gold by the RIAA. In 2003, Billy released his fourth album, Dare to Dream
, which was also certified gold. Although its singles "Elisabeth" and "She's My Girl" both fell short of Top 40 on the Billboard country singles charts.
In 2002, Gilman took part of a reading for the then Broadway-bound musical A Tale of Two Cities (musical)
. He played "The Young Man," who is Madame DeFarge's brother.
His final album for Epic was entitled Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek
. These songs were based on poems written by Mattie Stepanek
, a poet with muscular dystrophy
who died in 2004.
Gilman signed to Image Entertainment
in 2005 for the release of his fifth album, Everything and More
. A self-titled
album followed in 2006.
He is also a Celebrity Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
(MDA).
^ One Voice also peaked at number 6 on the RPM
Country Albums chart in Canada.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist. In 2000, at the age of 12, he debuted with the single "One Voice," a Top 20 hit on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country music charts and became the youngest singer to a Top 40 hit on the country music charts. An album of the same name was released later that year on Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, and was certified double platinum
Double Platinum
Double Platinum is a 1999 musical telefilm starring Diana Ross and Brandy.-Plot:The story begins with a scene featuring star singer Olivia King leaving her daughter Kayla, who was an infant at the time. It is revealed that Kayla was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but in her later years, she would move...
in the United States. Following it was a Christmas album "Classic Christmas" and Dare to Dream, both of which were certified gold. He exited Epic's roster and signed to Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
in 2005 releasing Everything and More. In 2006, he released the self-titled Billy Gilman.
Biography
Born William Wendell Gilman III on May 24, 1988, in Westerly, Rhode Island, he was raised in Hope Valley, Rhode IslandHope Valley, Rhode Island
Hope Valley is a village and census-designated place in the town of Hopkinton in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population of the CDP was 1,649 at the 2000 census...
. Gilman began singing before he was in school, and gave his first public performance at age 7. At the age of 9, Gilman was discovered by Ray Benson
Ray Benson
Ray Benson is the front man of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel.In 1970, Benson, a Jewish native of Philadelphia, formed Asleep at the Wheel with friends Lucky Oceans and Leroy Preston. The group relocated to Austin in 1973 after a suggestion from Willie Nelson .Since then, the group has...
of Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is a American country music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, but based in Austin, Texas. Altogether, they have won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, and have charted more than twenty...
, who helped him record demos. Gilman was then signed to Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
Nashville in 2000.
Musical career
On September 10, 2001, he was voted the European's most awarded music award in new country artist, becoming the youngest contender to ever win that prize. He was also given entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest singer to reach #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his debut single "One Voice" and was nominated for Best Country Song for the songwriters, Don Cook and David MalloyDavid Malloy
David Ernest Malloy is an American Country Music and Pop songwriter, record producer and A&R executive with 41 Number One Billboard Hits. He has received multiple Grammy nominations, as writer and/or producer, and has worked with many artists and projects including USA for Africa, superstars Tim...
. That same year, he appeared in the tribute album Country Goes Raffi
Country Goes Raffi
Country Goes Raffi is a tribute music album where Country Music stars perform songs by popular children's entertainer Raffi. The album was released in 2001.-Track listing:#"The Bowling Song" - Asleep At The Wheel#"Down by the Bay" - Eric Heatherly...
, performing Raffi
Raffi (musician)
Raffi Cavoukian, CM, OBC , better known by his stage name Raffi, is a Canadian-Armenian singer-songwriter, author, essayist and lecturer...
's famous song "Baby Beluga
Baby Beluga
Baby Beluga is a music album by popular children's entertainer Raffi, released in 1980. The title track was inspired by a baby beluga that Raffi saw at the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, BC and is considered by many to be his greatest hit....
."
On September 7 and September 10, 2001, Gilman performed the song "Ben" at Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special
The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special was a 2001 New York City revue show by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson. It took place on September 7, 2001 and September 10, 2001...
in New York which was later televised. "Ben (song)
Ben (song)
"Ben" is a song written by Don Black and composed by Walter Scharf for the 1972 film of the same name . It was performed in the film by Lee Montgomery and by Michael Jackson over the closing credits. Jackson's single, recorded for the Motown label in 1972, spent one week at the top of the U.S. pop...
" was originally sung by Michael Jackson in 1972.
Gilman was featured on Welsh soprano Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
's album Dream A Dream and released a Christmas album in 2000 titled Classic Christmas, which was certified Gold by the RIAA. In 2003, Billy released his fourth album, Dare to Dream
Dare to Dream (Billy Gilman album)
Dare to Dream is the third studio album by American country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released in 2001 on Epic Records Nashville...
, which was also certified gold. Although its singles "Elisabeth" and "She's My Girl" both fell short of Top 40 on the Billboard country singles charts.
In 2002, Gilman took part of a reading for the then Broadway-bound musical A Tale of Two Cities (musical)
A Tale of Two Cities (musical)
A Tale of Two Cities is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Jill Santoriello based on the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens....
. He played "The Young Man," who is Madame DeFarge's brother.
His final album for Epic was entitled Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released April 15, 2003 on Epic Records Nashville, and was his final album for that label...
. These songs were based on poems written by Mattie Stepanek
Mattie Stepanek
Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek , known as Mattie Stepanek, was an American poet, who had six books of poetry and one book of essays all reach The New York Times bestsellers list...
, a poet with muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who...
who died in 2004.
Gilman signed to Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
in 2005 for the release of his fifth album, Everything and More
Everything and More (Billy Gilman album)
Everything and More is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released in 2005 as his first album for Image Entertainment...
. A self-titled
Billy Gilman (album)
Billy Gilman is the self-titled sixth studio album from country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released on September 5, 2006 on the Image Entertainment label. "Gonna Find Love" and "Southern Star" were released as singles, both becoming his biggest hits since Once Voice was released...
album followed in 2006.
Personal life
Gilman lives in Hope Valley, Rhode Island with his parents Bill and Fran Gilman and his younger brother Colin, frequently flying back to Nashville to write and record..He is also a Celebrity Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
(MDA).
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
|||
| One Voice One Voice (Billy Gilman album) One Voice is the debut studio album from country music singer Billy Gilman. The album was released on June 20, 2000 via Epic Records Nashville. It reached #2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and was certified 2× Multi-Platinum. The highest charting single from the album was the... [A] |
|
2 | 22 | — |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : 2× Platinum Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... : Gold |
| Dare to Dream Dare to Dream (Billy Gilman album) Dare to Dream is the third studio album by American country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released in 2001 on Epic Records Nashville... |
|
6 | 45 | — |
|
| Music Through Heartsongs Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie J.T. Stepanek is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released April 15, 2003 on Epic Records Nashville, and was his final album for that label... |
|
15 | 109 | — | |
| Everything and More Everything and More (Billy Gilman album) Everything and More is the fifth studio album by American country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released in 2005 as his first album for Image Entertainment... |
Image Entertainment Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450... |
16 | — | 17 | |
| Billy Gilman Billy Gilman (album) Billy Gilman is the self-titled sixth studio album from country music singer Billy Gilman. It was released on September 5, 2006 on the Image Entertainment label. "Gonna Find Love" and "Southern Star" were released as singles, both becoming his biggest hits since Once Voice was released... |
|
11 | — | 29 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
^ One Voice also peaked at number 6 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Country Albums chart in Canada.
Holiday albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Holiday |
|||
| Classic Christmas |
|
4 | 42 | 5 |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US AC |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
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| 2000 | "One Voice One Voice (Billy Gilman song) "One Voice" is the debut single from country music singer Billy Gilman. The song was the lead-off single to Gilman's debut album also titled One Voice. The song became Gilman's first Top 20 single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, making him the youngest singer to have a Top 40... "[A] |
20 | 38 | 29 | 84 | One Voice |
| "Oklahoma Oklahoma (Billy Gilman song) "Oklahoma" is the second single recorded by country music artist Billy Gilman and released in October 2000 as a follow-up to "One Voice", the successful country single and is similarly taken from Gilman's the debut album One Voice.... " |
33 | 63 | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "There's a Hero" | — | — | — | — | |
| "She's My Girl" | 50 | — | — | — | Dare to Dream | |
| "Elisabeth" | 56 | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Everything and More" | 35 | — | — | — | Everything and More |
| "Hey, Little Suzie (The Cause of All That)" | 33 | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Gonna Find Love" | 25 | — | — | — | Billy Gilman |
| "Southern Star" | 17 | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "Crying" | 48 | — | — | — | Non-album song |
| 2008 | "When You Come Home" | 50 | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
^ "One Voice" also peaked at number 23 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
Country Tracks chart in Canada.
Other charted songs
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
|||
| 2000 | "Warm and Fuzzy" | 50 | Classic Christmas |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "One Voice" | Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is a country music and pop music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH-1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV.-Music videos:... |
| "Oklahoma" | ||
| "Warm and Fuzzy" | David McClister | |
| 2001 | "There's a Hero" | Brent Hedgecock |
| "She's My Girl" | ||
| "Elisabeth" | Shaun Silva Shaun Silva Shaun Silva is a music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include: Jack Ingram, Sugarland, Luke Bryan, Brooks & Dunn, and Rascal... |
|
| 2003 | "I Am (Shades of Life)" | |
| 2005 | "Everything and More" | Alec Asten |
| "Hey, Little Suzie (The Cause of All That)" |