Born to a minister as the youngest in a family of five, Tyrone Wells grew up in Spokane, WA, where gospel constituted the only permitted listening until Stevie Wonder and James Taylor gradually entered his awareness. During his teenage years he relocated to Fullerton, CA, for college and took the role of lead vocalist in the Christian rock outfit Skypark. The band issued several releases, two of them on Epic, before Wells exited to concentrate on independent work. He established a weekly residency at the Fullerton coffeehouse McClain’s, where his self-released recordings quickly found buyers among attendees. Snapshot appeared in 2003 after he signed with True America, and the live set Close: Live at McClain’s followed in 2005. That year he also began assembling Hold On, drawing on material composed across the preceding twenty-four months. Exposure at the 2006 National Association of Campus Activities Convention in Boston prompted interest from multiple major labels; he ultimately aligned with Universal Republic, which released Hold On in early 2007 and Remain two years later.
