About Jimmy Wayne

Jimmy Wayne grew up in North Carolina. His mother was in and out of jail and relationships. His older sister, Patricia, married young. Wayne was in and out of foster homes and became homeless after running away from a group home, according to his website.

An elderly couple brought him home and treated him like their own. Wayne finished high school and college, then eventually moved to Nashville. After getting a record deal, his debut album released the songs "Stay Gone" and "I Love You This Much," which were chart toppers.

He co-wrote "Paper Angels" after he watched people walk by the Angel Tree in a mall. He received his first guitar at 14 through that very program. The song almost did not make it on the album. He released a second album and the title song, "Do You Believe Me Now," also topped the charts. His third album, "Sara Smile," was released in 2009.

In 2010, Jimmy Wayne walked across America, which he named "Meet Me Halfway." It was a seven-month, 1,700 mile journey from Nashville to Phoenix to raise awareness for at-risk youth in foster homes who age out of the system at 18, possibly becoming homeless. In 2012, Wayne helped raise the age to 21 in California and Tennessee.

After the walk, he was dropped by his record label and decided to write. In 2011, he became an author of Paper Angels, which was made into a TV movie. Some of the characters were inspired by real people, Doug's Bike Shop (Brad Paisley's dad gave Jimmy a bike for his trip) and Uncle Jessie (Wayne's real uncle), but not their stories.

Most recently, Jimmy Wayne wrote his autobiography Walk To Beautiful. Wayne is working on new music and bringing awareness to at-risk youth.