Biography
Born on April 26, 1971, in Columbus, Ohio, Stanley Wayne DeMarcus, Jr.—known professionally as Jay DeMarcus—grew up immersed in music thanks in part to his parents’ own musical backgrounds. He regularly joined family jam sessions alongside his second cousin Gary LeVox and gradually mastered guitar, bass, keyboards, mandolin, and additional instruments. Relocating from Ohio to Nashville in 1992 to launch a professional career, he secured his first recording contract as a member of the Christian group East to West, which issued a self-titled album in 1993. When that ensemble disbanded, DeMarcus joined the road band of country star Chely Wright while continuing to perform at local clubs with LeVox, whom he had persuaded to leave his Ohio job and move to Tennessee. One evening, when the club band’s guitarist failed to appear, DeMarcus recruited Joe Don Rooney, a fellow member of Wright’s group, to fill the spot. The resulting chemistry among the three musicians gave rise to the multi-platinum country-pop ensemble Rascal Flatts. The trio’s debut self-titled album arrived in 2000 on Lyric Street Records, a Walt Disney Company imprint. In 2004 DeMarcus married former Miss Tennessee Allison Alderson, and two years later he produced Chicago’s album Chicago XXX.
Singles
