Terry Hamilton

Raised in the Appalachian foothills of Eastern Kentucky just off the beaten path of US Highway 23, also known as Country Music Highway, Terry Hamilton has a rich and diverse musical heritage.  He grew up listening to the same blend of country, bluegrass and gospel music that influenced the likes of Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, Keith Whitley, Crystal Gayle, Dwight Yoakam, Tom T. Hall, The Judds, Billy Ray Cyrus and others all from this very same area of the country.  As in the case of his musical heroes, music provided an escape from the harsh realities of life growing up in this rural, coal mining region of Eastern Kentucky.  As a young child he grew up singing the old gospel hymns he heard while attending the Ashcamp Old Regular Baptist Church in Ashcamp, Kentucky with his Christian parents and grandparents.  At the tender age of 6 he made his public debut at the Drift Theatre in Drift, Kentucky singing the Ray Charles classic, "Crying Time".  At age 11 he appeared on WLSI radio in Pikeville, Kentucky with his father, Charles, who would become his greatest musical influence. Terry was recently quoted as saying "My father played the guitar and harmonica much in the style of Woodie Guthrie, he was a talented man. I could see the heartfelt conviction of the music in his deep blue eyes, just as much as I could hear it in his playing." In 1982 Terry wrote and recorded his first songs, songs that eventually landed him his first recording and publishing contract with a small, independent label out of Orlando, Florida.  In the years that followed, writing would become his passion, and he would eventually pay tribute to the father who had influenced him so much musically with a song entitled, "King of The Country Song", just days before his father passed away. During the 80's Terry would go on to perform on WSM's Midnight Jamboree and TNN (The Nashville Network) as well as a host of other live radio and television programs. He opened shows for B.J.Thomas, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Forester Sisters, Chad Brock, Ronnie McDowell, the Marshall Tucker Band, Johnny Rivers and Jerry Lee Lewis just to name a few. In the early 90's Terry signed with Maduri Productions Inc. Carl Maduri who had managed rock-n-roll groups like Wild Cherry, Donnie Iris, James Gang and Joe Walsh signed Terry as his first country act. Carl was quoted in 2007 as saying "My first thought after listening to his demo tape was what a great voice he had, he has a voice that portrays such emotion and sincerity, I believe that Terry had the potential to become a major talent in the music business". While under Carl's management Terry recorded some truly phenomenal material, songs written by some of Nashville's best songwriters at the time, and would come very close to a major record deal. But as fate would have it around this same time Terry suffered a tragic personal loss. In 1993 his best friend took his life at the young age of 29.After the shocking loss of his friend Terry wrote and recorded one final album entitled "Letting Go" as a way to deal with his grief and to say goodbye to his friend. After finishing "Letting Go" he walked away from the music business and over a decade would pass before he would ever record again. In 2006 after many years absent Terry released a collection of spiritual songs he had written over the years entitled "Ashcamp Roots of My Faith". That album would not only rekindle Terry's love for music but renew him spirtually and set him on the path he was meant to travel. Recently Terry published his first book entitled "Life's Lyric's" A Life of Song  with an accompanying CD entitled Hamilton & Hurd "The Demo Sessions" encompassing 40 years of  songs and poems he has written over the past 4 decades. As a former member of the Gospel Music Association (GMA) and the Country Music Association (CMA) as well as being a lifetime writer and publisher member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Terry has written and recorded over 100 songs, and in 2013 released his 8th album entitled "Life's Railway" his first entire album of cover songs. The album features 11 classic gospel hymns from Terry's childhood and was produced by country music recording artist, David Frizzell, who produced Terry's first album over 25 years ago.  The album, which had been in the planning stages since 2011, had to be put on hold when Terry suffered a recurrence of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma which had been in remission since 2004.  After an intense 6 months of painful chemotherapy followed by 24 months of maintenance therapy, by the grace of God, Terry was able to return to Nashville and finish the project he had started. Talking with a friend in Nashville recently, Terry stated "this album, 'Life's Railway', really became a source of inspiration for me to fight to get better so I could return and finish what I had started for God.  I feel as though I have come full circle now.  I've recorded an album of songs that truly started my musical journey, songs that mean so much to me both personally and spiritually.  It was also great to be reunited with my old friend, David Frizzell, and to work together again after all of these years, yeah it's really like coming full circle for me in more ways than one."  Today Terry remains in treatment for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a battle that has lasted over a decade now, He asks for your continued prayers and hopes that his Gospel album, "Life's Railway" along with all of his original music will bless your life as much as it has blessed his. Recently Terry was recognized and honored for his charitable work, for using his music to raise money and awareness for various causes he has supported throughout his life. On September 17th, 2016 he was inducted into the Riverside High School Hall of Fame by the Riverside Alumni Association in his hometown of Painesville, Ohio. In November of 2022 Terry was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Andy Beshear. It is the Commonwealth of Kentucky's highest civilian honor.