John Corbett

Down-to-earth hunk John Corbett left behind a successful acting career in television and movies when he committed himself to his first creative love: music. Born in Wheeling, WV, Corbett grew up five blocks from the Capitol Music Hall, home of Jamboree USA, the second-longest-running live radio broadcast after Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. He also got to see the likes of Buck Owens at the small music club his uncle owned, while the cover band he played in while attending high school brought more rock music into his life. Moving to California in the mid-'80s, Corbett met rockabilly guitarist Tara Novick. The two would work on music together while Corbett was finding jobs acting, something that started as lark but grew into two hit television series (Northern Exposure, Sex and the City) and two hit films (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Raising Helen). His band would make a casual Christmastime appearance on The Tonight Show to perform "Santa Is Back in Town," and impromptu performances would happen at the Seattle music club he owned called the Phoenix, but it was until 2005 that Corbett decided to give up acting and head to Nashville. Novick joined him and the two would hang out with hit songwriters Odie Blackmon and Jameson Clark and eventually rounded up enough tunes for an album. Recording happened quickly to capture the excitement and momentum the duo were moving ahead with, so when major labels suggested waiting a year or so to devise marketing strategies, Corbett decided to go it alone. After giving his rocking kind of country some public exposure by sharing the stage with ZZ Top, Lisa Marie Presley, Charlie Daniels, and Asleep at the Wheel, Corbett released his self-titled debut on his own Fun Bone label in 2006.