Pat Terry and John Austin



In 1970, early musical influences began to surface when Pat Terry decided to pursue songwriting. As a pioneer of Contemporary Christian music, between 1974 and 1980 he wrote and recorded seven albums with his own Pat Terry Group, and toured the country playing a unique blend of inspirational country, pop, and blues, that earned him a loyal following of listeners. During that time his songs appeared on albums of a diverse list of artists that included pop singer, B.J. Thomas, country great, Ray Price, and cowboy hero, Roy Rogers. Terry's songs, "Home Where I Belong", and "I Can't Wait" became standards in the Contemporary Christian Music field. After disbanding his group in 1980, Terry recorded three critically acclaimed solo albums that featured a more rock oriented sound coupled with heartfelt confessional lyrics.

In 1985 Terry decided to leave the rigors of the road and make songwriting his primary pursuit. The new tradition of country music being recorded by artists such as Steve Earle, Ricky Skaggs, and Emmylou Harris, convinced him to become better acquainted with Nashville. He began making regular trips to Music City in 1986. As the co-writer of Foster and Lloyd's "Lie To Yourself", he enjoyed his first country music songwriting success. He then co-authored with Travis Tritt, the singer's first number one country hit, "Help Me Hold On".

His songs have been recorded by Confederate Railroad, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Kenny Chesney. During this period Terry also enjoyed the success of two more number one songs, Tanya Tuckers "It's A Little Too Late", and Sammy Kershaws "National Working Womans Holiday". More recently Terrys songs have appeared on albums by country hitmakers John Anderson and Tracy Byrd. In 2006 his beautiful "Someplace Green", as performed by The Oak Ridge Boys, was heard on both country and gospel radio.

John was born in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and started writing songs at age thirteen. Soon after high school he moved to Chicago and began performing on street corners and in subway stations. After winning a national songwriting contest, Austin secured a record contract and recorded his first album, with Mark Heard as producer. Backed by the likes of David Miner, Buddy Miller, and Erin Echo, Austin’s The Embarrassing Young (1992) introduced the music world to an artist rich in both melodies and lyrics.

A sparse second album—Authorized Unauthorized Bootleg—was released in 1994, and remains an adrenaline-drenched document of a Chicago caught in his rearview mirror.

Austin lived out of his car after leaving Illinois, ending up some time later in Atlanta to begin work on Byzantium (1996). Acclaimed as a “do-it-yourself masterpiece” by Performing Songwriter Magazine, the album showcases a fully backed Austin placing his lyrics with such precision that it is only in stepping back for reflection the listener sees in the mosaic of metaphor a piercing analysis of American cultural and spiritual decay.
The self-produced If I Was A Latin King, was released in 1998. The album revisits Austin’s encounter with gang violence in Chicago, and is filled with Latin rhythms and musical styles; it is a sonic and often experimental concept album that cruises the back streets of violence, love, death, and hope.

In 2002, Austin released his latest studio album, Busted at the Pearly Gates. Described as “part pop song-cycle, part roots-rock concept album,” it continues to prove that Austin is a vitally important singer/songwriter. In 2006 he released a best of called Collection One.