Brent Smith of Shinedown Reveals Why He Sings [VIDEO]

Brent Smith of Shinedown isn’t someone who decided at the age of fourteen that he wanted to be in a band. Instead, he made the decision to become a singer at a very young 4-years-old. He’s revealed his journey in a new video by Beacon, which you can view below.

The specific inspiration for Smith was the television show The Dukes of Hazzard. Waylon Jennings sang the theme song, and Smith was so taken by the music that his grandmother bought him a 45 which he would listen to over and over. He says:

I would play it just over and over and over and over again, and honestly I knew pretty much from that moment that I wanted to be a singer. It's funny cause I would tell my parents, 'I want to do what the man's doing, like on the song.' And they were like, 'Oh, you want to be a guitar player or be in a band?' and I was like, 'No, I'm gonna be a singer.'

At the age of six he started writing songs, at least in his mind if not on paper.

A lot of kids grow up thinking there’s a profession they’d really like to do, yet they change their minds a million times or never actually achieve that dream. Seeing what he’s done makes me think maybe I can still be an astronaut after all.