Jadi Norris

Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, Norris knew what he wanted to do by the time he was 13. While performing at a local benefit show, "I got mobbed by a bunch of girls one night and that was it," he says with a grin. "When I realized I could make money doing' this, that sealed the deal!" Encouraged early on by a guitar playing grandmother, herself an excellent singer and picker, Norris made his entertainment debut at age five on a local gospel radio show. Elvis and Rock-a-Billy influenced him greatly and, thanks to his Dad, he eventually became a hard drivin' Southern rocker. At age 13 he had already begun performing on the Grand Strand club circuit of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. By the time he was 16 he was leading his first full-time working band and had "gone country" by the time he was 20. "I toured the Lower Forty-Eight and Alaska," says Norris. After a stint in Nashville singing jingles, demos, and honing his songwriting under the tutelage of some of Nashville’s best songwriters and pickers, Norris hit the road again. After three more grueling years of 48 weeks a year on the road, he grew tired of the traveling life and settled in Tucson, Arizona. In the spring of 2008 Norris recorded "Man of Steel", his first official release. The title of the song celebrates Jadi’s recovery from several spinal surgeries due to car accident that left him with a broken back and neck. “The “steel” is a metaphor for all of the engineering holding me together… I’ve always heard that having ‘backbone’ is an attribute.” Norris says with a wry grin. “The best thing is that I’m an inch taller!” For Jadi Norris, it's all a dream finally come true. "In spite of my "education" in the real world, I prefer simple things," says Jadi, "and I thank God every day for all the simple things that make life colorful and memorable. I really just want to touch people with some good music. As long as I can do that, it’s a good day." Considering everything, it's a safe bet that Jadi Norris, the "Man of Steel", will have thousands of new friends and fans in very short order.