The New Orleans-born singer/songwriter knew by age 5 that music would be the fascination of his life. He graduated from Dallas' Highland Park High School and, after earning a degree in philosophy from Washington & Lee University, settled in Dallas and put together a band, The Coconuts, and achieved rapid regional success. A subsequent move to Los Angeles proved to everyone involved that record company promises can be as ethereal as vapor. Coconuts came home, disillusioned, and the band broke up shortly thereafter.