Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, father of teenage diva Miley Cyrus, has released his memoir "Hillbilly Heart", where he talks about his success, his daughter, and past scandals.
Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus was a sensation during his times. Unfortunately, to many people of today's generation, he is merely known as the father of Miley Ray Cyrus. The "Achy Breaky Heart" singer has now released a new memoir "Hillbilly Heart", where he talks about his daughter, his overnight success and the scandals that followed him in the past.
In an interview with "Nightline", Cyrus revealed that he had known his life would always be different, and nothing will be the same as it used to be. The singer also says that he actually wanted to be a baseball player and would have tried to have a career in it, had it not been for singer Neil Diamond. Things took a U-turn for him when he won a radio concert which gave him tickets to a Neil Diamond concert. Watching Diamond sing changed everything for Cyrus.
"Somewhere along that line, I started hearing a voice say, 'buy a guitar and start a band and you'll find your purpose in life,'" Cyrus said. "And every now and then, I would write, 'I want to be known as the next Elvis Presley.' Oh, that's a double-edged sword. Fame is a dangerous, dangerous thing."
For 10 years after that, Cyrus played at dive bars and clubs. He had almost given up on his dream of becoming a star when one day he was handed over the demo of "Achy Breaky Heart", his debut single which was released in 1992. The song became an instant hit, becoming one of the most successful country-pop crossover songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and is still something for what Cyrus is best known.
It was around this time that Miley Cyrus was born. Cyrus and his wife Tish named her Destiny Hope but later, because of her contagious and broad smile, they began calling her "Smiley", which was later shortened to "Miley".
"She did have a great deal of charisma," he said. "Miley had a dream. Her dream was to--again, she is an entertainer. She's an actress. She's a singer, songwriter, musician. I think that she would have found that dream. I think it was--this is the way that it was meant to be."
The book will be published April 18, 2013.