Hubert Neal McGaughey, Jr. was born in Jacksonville, Texas on 30th July 1958. His father was of Irish descent and his mother was Filipino, their heritages adding to his music mix. As Neil McCoy he learned his craft by singing in a church choir and changed his name as his career developed. Neal McCoy's influences included country, R&B, swing, disco and jazz with further influences from rodeo concert performers. He much preferred singing country music, however, and started making a name for himself as a lively performer working the bars and clubs in East Texas. He would entertain with a combination of Country standards and Pop classics. In 1981 he was spotted appearing in a Dallas talent show by the talented singer Janie Fricke who sang his praises to Charley Pride. Charley Pride was equally impressed with McCoy's talents and signed him to his booking and management company, Chardon, after which McCoy toured with Pride for the next six years as his opening act. The first three albums in this collection were released on Atlantic Nashville Records and the fourth album, '24 - 7 - 365' was released on Giant Records.
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