Birth name Lewis Gerald Storey Name Lewis Storey Website lewisstorey.com | Years active 1966–present | |
Born February 11, 1950 (age 74)
Casa Grande, Arizona, US ( 1950-02-11 ) Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, teacher Role Singer-songwriter · lewisstorey.com Genres Country, Folk rock, Music of Latin America, Blues Record labels Sony Music Entertainment, PolyGram Nominations Academy of Country Music Award for New Male Vocalist of the Year Associated acts Pam Tillis, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Dee Murray, John McFee, Barry Beckett, John Jorgenson | ||
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano | ||
Lewis Gerald Storey (born February 11, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated best New Male Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music, won several Songwriters Guild of America awards, and has collaborated with country music acts like Pam Tillis, Rosanne Cash and John Jorgenson. His most recent album, Storey Road, was released in August 2015.
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Biography
Storey was born in Casa Grande, a farming community in southern Arizona, to parents Jerry Storey and Ida Mae Storey. After getting kicked out of high school, he earned his GED and studied political science at Arizona State University. Here he helped plan and performed in the first Mill Avenue street festivals. After graduating, he and his wife Jane Storey joined the Peace Corps and carried out their service in Costa Rica and Venezuela.
In the early 1980s while performing around the American Southwest with the Storey-Richards Band, a Nashville-based repertoire agent spotted and contacted Storey. He was offered a record deal with CBS/Epic Records (later becoming Sony Music Entertainment). In 1986, he was nominated best New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music, losing to Dwight Yoakam. Later he was hired by PolyGram Records as a full-time staff songwriter and returned to Arizona. This led to collaborations with musicians like Pam Tillis on the 8 Seconds movie. Even though recognized as part of "the rising Nashville elite" in the 1980s, Storey's time in Arizona and Latin America has given rise to a style often described as border music.
He also spent several years teaching music-oriented courses at Casa Verde High School and Central Arizona College where he was distinguished as an award-winning instructor before retiring in 2012. He currently resides in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he creates most of his music.