Biography

Raised in Overton, Nebraska, Reggie’s early years were typical of a youngster growing up in the changing seasons of the Midwest. He loved to play baseball. His dream was to be a famous baseball player like his namesake Hall of Fame Home Run King Reggie Jackson.

Reggie’s life underwent an abrupt change at the age of fourteen when he was hit by a car while riding his bike. After nine surgeries and saved by the power of prayer from having his leg amputated, a further life changing event followed. A nurse, whose name tag read Angel, asked him if he wanted to watch TV. He did and she turned on CMT. He asked her to change the channel because he liked heavy metal and rock not country music. “You will,” she said smiling as she walked out of the room. Garth Brooks came on singing “The Dance.” Lying in the hospital bed, Reggie became deeply moved by the powerful and meaningful message he heard in this country music song and finally understood why his grandfather was a big fan of this kind of music. Reggie’s dream changed. His passion became country music— listening to it, singing it and writing it. Garth Brooks showed him not only how to bring a song to life but how it can change lives.

Encouraged always by his mother and grandfather, his best friend, Reggie developed his music talent by singing country music when and wherever he had the opportunity and entering talent contests, the Galaxy of Stars Talent Search and the Colgate Country Showdown, where he was rewarded with some signs of recognition and success. After graduating from high school, he moved to Nashville, excited to dive into the music business, to meet hit songwriters and musicians.

Reggie did not find Nashville an easy town to survive in but eventually formed and developed working relationships recording and writing songs with new friends and mentors. His dream of a music career unfolded along a path of fateful connections during his years in Nashville. One day working on a construction job with Lee Wylie, a construction business owner, Lee introduced Reggie to Buddy Hyatt, the owner of a recording studio and an “amazing piano player,” and two months later to Eric Durrance, “a very talented songwriter and musician.” Eric and Reggie wrote one song together and went on to write over forty more. Together they wrote “Living In The Fast Lane,” the title song on Reggie’s debut album, a story about how we are all living in some kind of fast lane, encountering heartbreaks and relationships gone bad that we are trying to leave behind. Most of the songs on Reggie’s debut album are either written with Eric or by him. Reggie regards Eric as a best friend and a godsend to his career.

“Don’t Give Up,” written by Eric is one of Reggie’s favorite songs. “I enjoy going to schools and singing it to the young people. They need as much encouragement as they can get today. It also brings back memories of being stuck in the hospital after my accident and causes me to think of all the children in hospitals. It’s no picnic. It is why a charity close to my heart is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.”

Reggie is passionate about all of his songs and the stories they tell. Soon after meeting Dave Gibson, a well known Nashville songwriter during a recording session at Buddy Hyatt’s recording studio, he told Dave he was a big fan of Hank Williams and he wanted to write a song with a story like Hank would write. He asked Dave if he would write with him. Sitting on the back porch at Dave’s home, they wrote “Country Music Church.”

March 2010 was a sad time and a turning point for Reggie. His grandfather passed away. Reggie left Nashville and moved back to Nebraska. His grandfather’s favorite country singer was Roy Acuff and his dream for Reggie was to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. In 2011 Reggie, one of the Top Five Finalists in the National Texaco Country Showdown in Nashville, sang a special song he had written for and about his grandfather on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, “I’m Gonna Miss Him.”

March 2012 on the 23rd in Kearney, Nebraska, Reggie released “Living In The Fast Lane,” his debut album on Wynnesong
Records. Fellow musicians from Nashville joined Reggie to play and sing ten stories of a dream come true. “I am grateful for the support of my fans. They mean the world to me. They always keep me in check, and they let me know when they appreciate my music. I am looking forward to meeting new fans as I travel across the states promoting my National Single. Music is my life. I am happy when I am writing and singing songs that touch the lives of others.”

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