Born on March 4, 1973, in Omaha, Nebraska, Kevin Dotson spent his childhood in Florida during the 1980s, where music captured his attention right away. At five he picked up the guitar and later mastered drums, piano, and bass while absorbing every variety of rock and mainstream pop during adolescence; early favorites included the prevailing new wave and heavy metal currents, though his developing songwriting and instrumental abilities soon drew him toward the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Zombies. In summer 1994 he relocated to Los Angeles intent on turning music into a career and quickly acquired the nickname Linus after his habit of wearing T-shirts modeled on the Peanuts character; the moniker endured and served as his professional identity, Linus of Hollywood, from that point forward.
By mid-1995 he had assembled the punk-pop group Size 14, its name taken from his shoe size, and secured a major-label contract within twelve months. The band issued its well-received self-titled album on Volcano in 1997. After the group disbanded, Linus contributed songwriting and performances to an array of rock and rap recordings and remixes featuring Smashing Pumpkins, Puff Daddy, and Lil' Kim while remaining active in Los Angeles's underground pop community, where he wrote and produced material for numerous emerging acts. In 1999 he cut his first solo album, Your Favorite Record, inside his home studio, Franklin Castle, handling most instruments personally; Bruce Witkin mixed the tracks at Pop Squad Studios in Hollywood, and the set appeared on the studio's Popsquad Records imprint.
At the start of 2000 Linus launched his own imprint, Franklin Castle Recordings, which reissued Your Favorite Record as its inaugural title. In addition to his original material the album spotlighted the catalog of little-known 1960s pop composer Margo Guryan—whose compositions had previously been interpreted by Spanky & Our Gang, Bobby Sherman, St. Etienne, Astrud Gilberto, Mama Cass, and Claudine Longet—through the inclusion of two of her songs. He devoted the balance of that year to assorted external assignments. His second solo album, Let Yourself Be Happy, followed in spring 2001.
