Pictured (L-R): Given Sr. VP of Publishing and Artist Development Cliff Downs; Given Founding Partner Cindy Owen; Billy Dean; Given Creative Director Kelsey Wise. Photo: McIntyre Barnhardt
Billy Dean has signed a publishing deal with Given Entertainment.
The signing reunites Given Founding Partner Cindy Owen and Dean from their days at Starstruck Entertainment, when Owen brought the artist to Narvel Blackstock for management. At the time, she served as the company’s Creative Director.
Since his launch in the early ’90s, Dean has sold millions of records, won numerous music industry honors and amassed a loyal following with his brand of pop-folk-influenced country. He won his first of several major awards in 1992 when the Academy of Country Music named him Top New Male Vocalist of the Year, and also presented him with the Song of the Year honor for “Somewhere In My Broken Heart.” The smash single also won Song of the Year from the Nashville Songwriters Association International, as well as awards from BMI and a Grammy nomination. Dean was also part of the Grammy-winning album Amazing Grace: A Country Salute To Gospel Vol 1, and Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, which won 1994 CMA Album of the Year. Other career accolades include CMT’s Rising Star Award and TNN’s Top Songwriter Award for his song “Billy the Kid.”
In addition to music, Dean has worked as an actor, appearing in several TV shows including Wings and Lois and Clark as well as the Dolly Parton movie Blue Valley Songbird. He also hosted some network music specials including ABC’s In Concert.
“Signing Billy is a no-brainer. His passion for music is as strong as it ever was and he is writing and singing better than ever,” Owen says. “We are proud to give him a platform to continue to build on the Billy Dean legacy that had so many of us hooked.”
“When Cindy listened to my new music, she said, ‘Billy, your best years of writing are ahead of you.’ That’s the kind of encouragement and support I look for in a publisher,” Dean says. “Given is giving me the freedom to dig deep to craft songs for this generation of incredibly gifted country music artists.”
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