George Ducas

George Ducas (born George Evnochides, August 1, 1966 in Texas City, Texas) is an American country music artist. He has released two studio albums: 1995's George Ducas and 1997's Where I Stand, and has charted six singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, of which the highest was the #9 "Lipstick Promises" in 1995. In addition, he has written singles for Garth Brooks, George Jones, Radney Foster, Sara Evans, the Randy Rogers Band, and the Eli Young Band.

Biography

Ducas was born in Texas City, TX. When he was 5, his parents (an Exxon chemical engineer and an English professor) divorced. He moved to San Diego with his mother. He moved back to Houston six years later to live with his father and stepmother. He attended Lanier Middle School and graduated from Kinkaid High School in 1985.

He adopted his maternal grandmother's maiden name, Ducas, after high school. "My father said he'd always had trouble with his last name," Ducas told The Houston Chronicle in an article published on Sept. 30, 1994. "He suggested I change it. It felt strange and uncomfortable at first, but now I'm used to it."

Ducas left Houston to attend Vanderbilt University, graduating in 1989 with a degree in economics; after only working six months at an Atlanta bank, he quit to focus on music full time. "Maybe doing something secure is safer," Ducas told The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in 1997. "However, doing something you love is much more important, even if it's a little more dangerous."

Musical career

Ducas played in Nashville clubs for three years before signing with Liberty records in 1994. During this time, Radney Foster reached Top ten on the country charts with "Just Call Me Lonesome", a song which Ducas co-wrote. By the end of the year, Ducas was signed to Liberty Records, charting the single "Teardrops;" a Top Ten country hit ("Lipstick Promises") came in early 1995, followed by the release of his eponymous debut album. George Ducas also produced the #52 "Hello Cruel World" and the #72 "Kisses Don't Lie".

Due to a restructuring of Liberty Records, Ducas was transferred to Capitol Records Nashville, where he released his second album, 1997's Where I Stand. The album's release was delayed, however, due to the poor performance of its lead-off single "Every Time She Passes By". This song was withdrawn after only three weeks on the charts, then re-released in November 1996. However, Ducas continued to perform, headlining and opening shows for such acts as Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Diamond Rio, The Mavericks and Faith Hill. Ducas and Keith Anderson were two of several co-writers on "Beer Run (B Double E Double Are You In?)", a Top 30 duet for Garth Brooks and George Jones in 2001. The Dixie Chicks,Gary Allan and Trisha Yearwood also recorded album cuts which he co-wrote.

In 2005, Ducas and Foster wrote "A Real Fine Place to Start", a No. 1 hit for Sara Evans, and Ducas spent the latter half of 2007 opening shows for her. Other singles that Ducas has co-written include the Randy Rogers Band's 2007 single "Kiss Me in the Dark" and the Eli Young Band's 2008 single "Always the Love Songs", the latter of which he co-wrote with David Lee Murphy.

Ducas was signed by WhiteStar Entertainment in September 2008, but the label folded before any material could be released. His first single for the label was to have been "Walk Through This World with Me."

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George Ducas