Raised in Chesaning, MI, vocalist Ryan DeHues is a throwback to the days of crooners and big bands. It was while growing up in his small hometown that DeHues developed an appreciation of big band jazz and such legendary crooners as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and Jack Jones. His parents (who both sang with the choral group Fred Waring & the Pennsylvanians in the early '70s) also encouraged their son's musical endeavors. In the spring of 2000, Pat Boone's record company, Gold Label, sponsored a national contest for America's Next Great Crooner, which resulted in DeHues taking the top prize and receiving a recording contract with the label. June of 2001 saw the release of DeHues' debut album, My Dream Come True, which was produced by David Diggs and David Siebels, and featured a dozen standards (tops being a reading of George Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me," sung as a duet with Debby Boone), as well as a 30-piece orchestra. ~ Greg Prato