Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, LeVox made a name for himself as the lead singer in the multi-platinum-selling country-pop group Rascal Flatts. He has loved music ever since he can remember and fondly recalls Saturday nights at his grandparents’ house when they all use to sing hymns together.
Gary was working for the Franklin County (OH) Board of Developmental Disabilities when he decided to give Nashville a shot one night while sitting in his mom’s kitchen and feeling God’s presence before him. Right then and there he quit the job he had had for 10 years and sold everything on a true leap of faith. He knew he had been given a gift, and right then and there he decided it was time to try and use it. Two minutes after he drove into town, he was in a Nashville studio singing backgrounds on Michael English’s gospel record. Soon thereafter, Rascal Flatts was born, and now more than two decades later, that gift keeps on giving.
BREAKING OUT…
Since their founding in 2000 and subsequent breakout with the Top 5 hit, “Prayin’ for Daylight,” the band went on to infuse country’s traditional mainstream with smooth-pop textures, arena-rocking energy and faithful positivity, impacting countless fans and fellow artists along the way. They racked up 17 Number One hits, over 23.4 million albums sold, 35 million digital downloads, 2.2 billion streams worldwide and 4.4 billion streams solely on Pandora, while also selling over 11 million concert tickets and earning more than 40 trophies from the ACA, ACM, AMA, CMA, People’s Choice and more, making them the most awarded country group of the past decade.
A FAMILY MAN.
LeVox has been married to Tara Vernon since 1999. He says it was love at first sight when they met backstage at a gospel festival concert. “I knew at that moment that I was looking at my future wife,” he said in a 2011 interview. “It was the weirdest thing ever.” They now have two daughters together, Brittany and Brooklyn.
LeVox is a devout family man, outdoorsman and man of God. When he is not performing, he spends as much time with his family and in the outdoors as he can, and God is an ever-present force in the life of the blue-eyed tenor. Another passion for LeVox is supporting and rooting hard for The Ohio State Buckeyes.
Singing talent runs deep in the LeVox household. Gary’s eldest daughter, Brittany and youngest daughter Brooklyn, are both gifted with incredible voices and musical talent. Brittany premiered her first music video on July 31, 2020, for her song titled “Airplane Mode.” Her very first single, “Crime” released on April 10, 2020.
Very Gary…
LeVox’s first musical performance was at the age of eight, in a play at his church.
LeVox has been friends with Jamie Foxx since the mid-1990s including being roommates with the Oscar winner at one point. Foxx made a guest appearance on the album Still Feels Good. “We used to sit around for hours at Jamie’s house, singing and playing and having a good time…So when Jay and Joe and myself wrote this song, we thought it would be great to have him on it. I called him up just to say, ‘Hey, man, you’ve got to hear this song. I think you could really, really kill it.’ He said, ‘Tell you what. I’ll sing on your record if you guys will sing on mine.’ I said, ‘All right.’”
In July 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, LeVox promised a job to anyone in Nashville, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio, or Cincinnati, who needed work. LeVox is the owner of a moving company, “Black Tie Moving,” and said he would hire any person who has lost a job, wants extra income, or is a veteran.
LeVox has had acting roles in Hannah Montana: The Movie(2009), To Appomattox (2015), Yes, Dear (2000) and CSI (2010).
Before moving to Nashville to pursue his music career, LeVox worked for the Franklin County Board of Development Disabilities.
As a kid, LeVox says he was already a true believer of God. “We are all blessed to have had such a wonderful Christian foundation as kids. Being old Pentecostal boys from Ohio, our first memories of life were not about music, but church every Wednesday and twice on Sunday. My grandmother had a strong influence on my faith life. She was the absolute center of making sure we got to church three times a week…every week. Throw us a piece of Juicy Fruit, and off we would go.”
When asked about the role God has played in his musical journey … “I feel like God graced us with a platform where we can not only touch people’s lives through music, but by being men of God offstage too,” explained LeVox during an exclusive interview with TwoTen Magazine. “At those times when we are with fans that are going through something like cancer, it is so wonderful to not only sing for them but to hold their hand and pray with them. I want them to know that they have a friend in me. I’m not just some guy on the stage. I feel like Christ has put me in this position because He knew I could handle the obligation, which often means taking the time to lift someone up in prayer.”
While he could certainly fill a room with tales from the road, Gary’s more prone to talk about rutting whitetails and gobbling turkeys. “Anytime I have the chance to talk about hunting and fishing, I’m like, ‘man, let’s do it,’”LeVox says. “This was my life way before I even knew music. My brother and I grew up raising beagles at 8 or 9 years old. Running rabbits was our big thing. So, it has been my life. Music is truly what I do, and hunting and the outdoors is truly who I am.”
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