Hit Songwriter Bios—Jeffrey Steele

From CMT.com:

"Born in Burbank, Calif., music took hold of Jeffrey Steele's imagination when he was 8 years old and singing for the first time at a function hosted by his church. His youthful rendition of Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" earned a standing ovation, so he belted it out another seven times for his captive audience.

"Within a few years, he was writing songs and began performing with local groups when he was 17. His background includes a mother who sang and enjoyed the big band sound, while his country-loving dad aspired to a songwriting career. He was exposed to the tons of records purchased by his siblings, and in his teens, he parked himself and his keyboards along the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles to perform. Later gigs had him playing Jimi Hendrix-type rock, while other jobs called for the country style of artists such as Willie Nelson.

"Steele was in his 20s and working in a house band when he started rubbing shoulders with such artists as Hank Thompson, Red Simpson and other West Coast musicians. Beginning in 1990, he performed as bassist and lead singer for the California group Boy Howdy for six years. In 1991, the California Country Music Association dubbed him best bassist and best male vocalist for his work with the band. The band also scored a major country hit with "She'd Give Anything," which R&B singer Gerald Levert remade as "I'd Give Anything." Upon the group's breakup, Steele settled in Nashville in 1994."

From SonyNashville.com:

"In a short period of time, Jeffrey [Steele] has established himself as the hottest songwriter in country music today, landing over 15 cuts in the past year alone. His hit parade boasts eight Top Ten country singles and includes cuts by Diamond Rio (Unbelievable), Colin Raye (Couldn't Last A Moment), LeAnn Rimes (Big Deal), and John Michael Montgomery (Hello L-O-V-E)...[as well as] song credits on the latest albums from Tim McGraw, Pam Tillis, Billy Ray Cyrus and Trace Adkins."

Jeffrey Steele has been staple of, an important part of, and a huge supporter of the Durango Songwriters Expo for years. Many times Jeffrey has conducted his extremely popular Words and Music Songwriting Workshop at the Expo...it is always a highlight of the event!

(Note: In the following soundclip, Jeffrey references the DVD of the making of Elton John's classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. You can find it here.)

Click below to hear Part 1 (of 4) of one of Jeffrey's great Workshops. The complete Workshop can be heard in the DurangoSong.com Backstage Archives (Year 2003).

Jeffrey Steele Words and Music Songwriting Workshop [22:43]
Recorded Live at the Durango Songwriters Expo

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