The oldest member of the Backstreet Boys, Kevin Scott Richardson, was born in Lexington, Kentucky on October 3rd,
1971. In 1975, Kevin's parent's, Jerald and Ann, decided to move away from the city. So, they took Kevin and his 2 older
brothers, Jerald Jr. and Tim, to live on a 10-acre farm outside of Harrodsburg. Kevin's dad then became the manager of the Cathedral Domain, a church-owned youth camp. (The Cathedral Domain was founded in 1946 by the Bishop of
Lexington, William Moody. It is secluded in woods 300 feet up in the foothills of the Appalachian mountain range. School children from 8 to 18 come for summer holidays with a mixture of religious studies and outdoor activities. It still runs today.) The Cathedral Domain lies between two towns, Beattyville and Irvine. It was isolated but was very enriching for all of the family. There was a log cabin for the Richardson's to stay in, but Jerald wanted to build a house for them on the hillside next to the church. Kevin, Jerald Jr., and Tim all helped in the construction and it was soon finished a year later.
In the recreation hall of the Cathedral Domain, there was an old, slightly out of tune piano. Kevin was used to playing the church organ but eagerly accepted the piano. He started to play it the first few weeks he was at the Cathedral Domain. He first learned to play Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" by ear. He was not able to read music but learned a lot of songs by ear. (A later girlfriend, Christi, tried to teach him to read music, but he was not able to pick it up.)
The Richardson's lived in Lee County but was also a short distance from the borderline of Estill County. Only the Estill county schools in Irvine offered good football teams. Both Kevin and Tim wanted to play football, so Kevin enrolled at the junior high and Tim enrolled at the high school. Kevin was very popular at his school and made friends quickly. But since Kevin lived a ways from his school, he never spent his breaks with his school friends. The winters were lonely for him but the summers were fantastic. Kids would come from all over the country for the summer camp. Kevin would make friends with them, but after a week, they left. "I found it weird emotionally and would cry when I had to say goodbye. I wouldn't see them for a year, or sometimes never again." Luckily for Kevin, when his friends left, another bunch of kids would arrive and he would be happy again.
Kevin made friends with one boy, Keith, who was from Danville, a two-hour drive away. The 2 became like brothers. They shared many interests, especially music. Keith would always return each summer to the camp and was soon treated
like a fourth son in the Richardson's household. Keith is still Kevin's friend. (If you check out Kevin's Thank Yous, Keith's name is listed.) Kevin and Keith were paid to be team leaders at the Cathedral Domain. Being leaders involved work like cleaning the cabins and the pool, mowing the grass, and sweeping the volleyball court. But their main responsibility was to make sure the kids had a fin vacation. Skit Night was a favorite event at the Cathedral Domain. Kevin and Keith soon became the stars of the show. Kevin always loved singing, but he was worried that he had a terrible voice. Kevin played the keyboards while Keith took on the lead vocals. But when Kevin did sing, the crowd's reaction was ecstatic. Kevin soon learned that his voice was pleasant to hear.
After joining Estill County High School, Kevin got involved with the choir. He was also on the football team and was the
only guy in both choir and on the football team. Tim was already a respected player and was nicknamed Tom Cat. It wasn't long until the football team nicknamed Kevin, Kittie Cat. Kevin was a good student who also earned good grades.
He had many friends and was also a real charmer with the ladies. His first steady girlfriend was Christi Ore. Christi was 16, a year older than Kevin, when they started dating. It was Kevin's first relationship and it lasted nearly three years. (Christi is now married with kids in case you were wondering.)
As Kevin became better on the keyboards, he entered a talent show at his school during his sophomore year. Christi was by his side, cheering him in the whole time. Many people often called Kevin a "pretty boy" because he sang. But the football team was proud of him and supported him, and that was all that mattered to Kevin. He soon devoted his time to the school choir and was selected for the All State Choir. He also started a rock band but soon became frustrated with it. The other members did not have the same determination that Kevin had. His group wasn't the only thing that was frustrating him. His relationship with Christi was having problems. She had left to go to college. They broke up once, but had gotten back together a few months later. But they eventually drifted apart.
With Christi gone, Kevin started a new relationship with a blonde cheerleader named Kristy Flynn. She was 2 years younger than Kevin, but their relationship was more serious and adult like. Going into his senior year, Kevin was
pressured by his parents and teachers to make a decision for his future. Kevin decided to enlist in the air force.
During his senior year, he was the star in Bye Bye Birdie. It was a phenomenon. Kevin and his co-star, Dena Riddell
brought the play alive. It was Kevin's first taste of fame and he enjoyed it. He graduated high school in 1989 and spent the summer working at a fast food restaurant. While waiting for his enlistment date, he received a call from a man who ran a small studio in Danville where Kevin and Keith used to record songs. A musician who worked there was looking for a male singer and wondered if Kevin was interested. The group already had two women in their 30s. Kevin was a bit too young but he took the job anyway. Kevin then delayed his start date for the air force to this group, Paradise. But joining Paradise lost Kevin's recruitment. The air force didn't want someone who kept delaying his recruiting day. He also lost Kristi.
Paradise ended up being a dead end for Kevin so he quit. He went back to Kentucky and started working for lawn care
company with his best friend from school Jimmy, who is also still Kevin's friend today. One day, Kevin said to Jimmy, "We got to get out of this town. Why don't we just take off and go to Florida?" Jimmy thought it was a good idea, so the next day, they headed off to Florida. They both got jobs at Disney World. Jimmy worked in the car parking section while Kevin became a tour guide.
Kevin's parents soon came down for the holiday. They were also joined by Jerald Jr. who was working as a model in
Miami. They all took Kevin's tour and were thrilled that Kevin was finally happy. Soon after Jerald and Ann returned back to Kentucky, Jerald became ill. Jerald was always a strong man and never acknowledged that he was sick. But when the stomach pains did not go away, he feared he had an ulcer. He went to the Lexington Hospital for an exam and soon found out he had cancer.
Jerald and Ann decided not to tell Kevin right away, in hopes that Jerald could be cured. Eventually, the truth hit them- Jerald would soon die. They then told Kevin about his father and he rushed back to Kentucky. Kevin was reluctant in believing that his dad was really going to die. He finally took it in when his dad told him, "Well, I guess I'm not going to get to see my grandbabies." Jerald died on Monday, August 26, 1991. Kevin stayed with his mom for a year. When he realized that his mom was okay, he decided to move back to Florida.
When Kevin moved back to Florida, he became very busy. At Disney, he started working in the entertainment section
where he was a Ninja Turtle, Aladdin, and Eric from The Little Mermaid. He also joined a local theater group and started to model. He also met his new girlfriend, Kristin Willits. They met in a cafeteria at Disney World. Kristin had a friend whose boyfriend, Bob, worked for Lou Pearlman. Bob knew that Kevin wanted to be a singer, so he told Lou about Kevin. Lou brought Kevin in for an audition and liked him. In March of 1993, Kevin became the 4th member of the Backstreet Boys along side of AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter.
After relentless searching for a 5th member, Kevin informed Lou that he had a cousin who had a good voice that might be
what they were looking for. Lou didn't take Kevin's idea too seriously and told him if they didn't find a local 5th member, then they would think about calling his cousin. After weeks of not finding anyone, Lou gave up and said, "Okay Kevin. You better give your cousin a call." On Monday, April 19, 1993, Kevin called his cousin, Brian Littrell, at school.
Brian was in American History class at Tates Creek High School when a message came over the PA system. "Urgent
telephone call for Brian Littrell. Please come to the office immediately." Brian became very nervous thinking that something was wrong at home. He got to the office and picked up the phone. Kevin then came on the line, "Hey cuz. What's up? How ya doing'? It's Kevin." Brian became thoroughly confused. He asked Kevin, "What's going on Kevin? Why call now?" Kevin responded, "I've met these guys and we're starting a band. We've been looking for another member and I've told them about you. They want you to come down to Florida so they can meet you. How does that sound?" Brian didn't believe that it was true. He wasn't allowed to stay on the phone anymore so he asked Kevin to call him at
home at 3:00. Kevin waited until a little past 3:00 to call Brian. He then gave Brian all the detail. Kevin already called Brian's parents to see if it was okay and it was. So, it was all up to Brian. Brian eagerly accepted. Kevin said he would call back later with more details. At 9:00, Kevin called from Lou's house. Lou first talked to Brian's parents and told them that Brian would have a tutor so he could graduate. He then talked to Brian. He asked Brian to sing for him. Brian sang "Here and Now" by Luther Vandross. Lou was very impressed and asked Brian to come to Florida.
Brian took the morning flight the next day. He switched planes in Atlanta and then proceeded to Orlando. Kevin greeted his cousin at the gate. Kevin then took him to Lou's house. Once Lou and the rest of the guys heard Brian's voice, he became the 5th and final member. The first real gig Kevin and the rest of the guys played was at Sea World with 3,000 people. Before that, they had played at various restaurants, shopping malls, and clubs. The Backstreet Boys soon started to tour the United States at high schools. It was fun playing at schools. But to every up, there was a down. The worst day happened in Newark, NJ. It was tough school and they didn't want Backstreet Boys from the start. If that wasn't bad enough, the power went out when they were about to start singing. The kids jeered them and they became
humiliated. Kevin soon took charge. He raised his hands for silence. When that didn't work, he shouted at them to be
quiet. They instantly became quiet. Kevin said to them, "We're sorry about the tape, but there's nothing we can do if the power goes. We've come here to sing today and that's what we're going to do. We're now going to sing you something a cappella." And that's exactly what they did. They kids were completely in awe. That day brought many emotions. It was a good feeling that the kids ended up impressed with them, but it was a bad feeling losing power and being jeered by people. But Kevin and the rest would go through many more trouble.
Trying to get a record deal was very hard. Everyone they went to declined them a deal. They soon enquired a deal with
Mercury Records. They were so happy they finally had a deal with a record company. But then, all of a sudden, Mercury
pulled out. They said that they Boys did not know how to sing. (Too bad for Mercury.)
Finally, in early 1994, the Backstreet Boys were performing in Cleveland, Ohio when 2 representatives from Jive Records
saw them. They liked what they saw and eventually, the Boys were signed with Jive Records. The Backstreet Boys soon
started to record songs. The first single they released was We've Got It Goin' On. It only reached No. 69 on the Billboard Charts. The States didn't seem to be working out so the Backstreet Boys went over to Europe. The Boys finally had the recognition they deserved.
In Europe, We've Got It Goin' On was in the top 10 and they were awarded their first Gold Record. In 1996, the Backstreet Boys became very busy. Their main focus was Europe, especially Germany. They soon released I'll Never Break Your Heart, which flopped in Britain but caused crazed fan mania in Germany. Finally, when they released Get Down, they made it in Britain. It reached # 14. The Boys then recorded Backstreet's Back where Kevin made a tribute to
his father- he dedicated the album to him. Though their fame in Europe was outstanding, when they cam back to the States, no one knew who they were. They were a famous pop group in Europe, but just 5 normal guys in the US. Eventually, in 1997, the US finally accepted the Backstreet Boys.... |
