Cory Branan is a singer/songwriter, born in Southaven, Mississippi. He garnered comparisons to Ryan Adams, Pete Yorn, and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst with the release of his 2002 debut album The Hell You Say. By his teens, Branan was playing hard rock and heavy metal, eventually fronting a Black Sabbath cover band. In his early 20s he began to explore the music of John Prine, a move which urged him to pick up a guitar and start writing songs. In 2000, the Memphis chapter of NARAS awarded Branan with the Phillips Award for "Newcomer of the Year.