Early Life
William Ray Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky to Ron Cyrus, a politician and former steelworker, and his wife, the former Ruth Ann Casto. Cyrus started singing at the age of four and his parents divorced the following year. His grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Growing up, he was surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music from his family. His right-handed father played guitar. Left-handed Cyrus tried to play his father's guitar, but could not. He attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before changing it to music. He dropped out of Georgetown during his junior year, realized he wanted to become a musician after attending a Neil Diamond concert and set a 10-month goal to start a career. In the 1980s, he played at a bar known as Changes Bar owned by Jimmy Gettys as a band called Sly Dog, before signing a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records. Sly Dog was named after a one-eyed dog that Cyrus owned.
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