Jay DeMarcus

Early life

DeMarcus was born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr. on April 26, 1971, in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from the Tree of Life Christian Schools and Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus while living with his mother and sister. He also has a half-sister named Rhonda George (1961–2017) from his father's side of the family. DeMarcus attended Lee College in Cleveland, Tennessee, from 1990 to 1992. At the time, he traveled and performed as a keyboard player in the Christian music group New Harvest, led by Danny Murray.

Career

DeMarcus co-founded the contemporary Christian music group East to West and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1993. In 1997, after East to West disbanded, he called his second cousin, Gary LeVox, with whom he played when they were younger, and convinced him to come to Nashville and provide some harmonies on Michael English's album Gospel, which he was producing. They engineered the album together, and became English's backup band and road manager. The album was nominated for the Dove Award for Inspirational Song of the Year. He soon became bandleader for Chely Wright.

In addition to producing for English, he has also produced albums for James Otto, Jo Dee Messina, Austins Bridge, Chicago and others.

On March 4, 2010, DeMarcus and his band mates were guest stars on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, appearing as themselves. In the episode titled "Unshockable" (10.14), he is electro-shocked by his bass guitar during a performance at a Vegas club, leaving him with total amnesia which he recovers from at the end of the episode. DeMarcus has continued to explore his acting career, appearing in the film A Country Christmas, as well as episodes of ABC's Nashville and Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva.

In October 2018, DeMarcus founded the label Red Street Records, an independent Christian music label.

Personal life

On May 15, 2004, DeMarcus married Allison Alderson, a former beauty queen who has held the titles Miss Tennessee 1999 and Miss Tennessee USA 2002. DeMarcus met her on the set while filming the video for the Rascal Flatts song, "These Days". Their first child, a daughter, Madeline Leigh, was born in December 2010. In July 2012, he and Allison welcomed son Dylan Jay. He also has another daughter from a previous relationship, whom he placed for adoption because he and his then-girlfriend were not ready to parent the baby.

Discography

Main article: Rascal Flatts discography

• Rascal Flatts (2000)
• Melt (2002)
• Feels Like Today (2004)
• Me and My Gang (2006)
• Still Feels Good (2007)
• Unstoppable (2009)
• Nothing Like This (2010)
• Changed (2012)
• Rewind (2014)
• The Greatest Gift of All (2016)
• Back to Us (2017)
• Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets (2025)

Non-Rascal Flatts album credits

Filmography

Awards and nominations for producing

References

References

1. "Live Daily Jay DeMarcus interview".
2. "Stanley Wayne DeMarcus October 24, 1942 - October 29, 2020".
3. "Billy Joe DeMarcus October 12, 2009".
4. "Happy #SiblingsDay!!! My sister has the BEST sibling ever. Sorry to everyone else 😜".
5. "Rhonda George August 26, 1961 — December 10, 2017".
6. "Music Journeys: Jay DeMarcus".
7. (2008-03-24). "James Otto: Putting the Pieces Together". [[Country Weekly]].com.
8. Mueller, Walt. "Rascal Flatts: Taking kids to the country". Center for Parent/Youth Understanding.
9. (24 October 2018). "Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus to Helm New Christian Label, Red Street Records".
10. "Jay DeMarcus Welcomes Daughter Madeline Leigh".
11. "Jay DeMarcus Welcomes Son Dylan Jay".
12. (20 August 2018). "Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus Raising His Kids to 'Know Who Jesus Is'".
13. (18 August 2020). "Rascal Flatts Drummer Jay DeMarcus Opened up About Placing Daughter for Adoption".
14. "Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus reveals 'heartbreak' over giving daughter up for adoption".
15. "Jay DeMarcus Reveals He Previously Placed a Daughter for Adoption: 'I Wanted to Be in Her Life'".