Biography
Jimmy Ryser entered the world on January 31, 1965, in Cleveland, Ohio, already drawn to music as a heartland singer/songwriter from an early stage. A congenital condition kept the youngster in hospitals for extended stretches, during which he studied violin to fill the hours. After his family relocated to Indiana, Ryser added guitar to his skills in his teens and soon joined bands for junior high events there. A chance placement of his demos with John Mellencamp secured a recording contract. Arista Records signed him in 1988, issuing his self-titled solo debut two years afterward. Sales stayed modest, yet the project yielded the minor hit “Same Old Look,” which climbed to number 78 in summer 1990; Ryser also logged strong live dates, among them opening slots for the Moody Blues. Health setbacks then removed him from the road and prompted his exit from Arista in 1992. He cut an unreleased album at Mellencamp’s studio before issuing Let It Go in 1998, which attracted scant attention. Returning to his studies, Ryser earned a psychology degree from Indiana University in 1999. The live album Alive for the First Time followed in 2000.
Albums
