Jeff Carson

Jeffrey Lee Herndon (December 16, 1963 – March 26, 2022), known professionally as Jeff Carson, was an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri, and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in 1995, releasing his self-titled debut album that year, followed by Butterfly Kisses in 1998 and Real Life in 2002. He charted 14 singles on the Billboard country charts, including the Number One hit "Not on Your Love", the Top Ten hits "The Car" and "Holdin' Onto Something", and the Top 20 "Real Life (I Never Was the Same Again)". He retired from music in 2009 and became a police officer. Jeffrey Lee Herndon was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised in Gravette, Arkansas. In his childhood, he played harmonica and guitar and sang in church. In high school, he and some friends formed a band. They won second place at a local talent show for performing the song "Seven Bridges Road". After graduating, he attended another talent competition held at a park in Rogers, Arkansas. The winner of that competition then asked Carson to play in his band. The band split up after four years.Carson later moved on to Branson, Missouri, where he found work playing bass guitar in local bands, in addition to writing songs. While in Branson, he met his then-future wife, who persuaded him to move to Nashville, Tennessee, which he did in 1989. They married in 1989. In Nashville, he found work with a band that played at the Opryland Hotel, before convincing the hotel to book him as a solo act. He eventually recorded demos for other artists, before he was discovered by record producer Chuck Howard in 1994 and signed to Curb Records.