He wears a cowboy hat, but more out of deference to Texas and his ancestors, as he is no hat act. He finished in second place to Buddy Jewell on Nashville Star in its first year, but extrapolating a mainstream stereotype from that would just be wrong. He is heart and soul and defies categorization. He is erudite, world wise, and yet hasn’t lost touch with his roots. He is as much at ease in a work shirt, and he is on the podium. It is time to take another look at this self-realized man.