A graduate of Oklahoma State University who also attended two years of law school, Jeff Wood knew mega-star Garth Brooks from college and used to watch him perform at a Holiday Inn there. When Wood was thinking of moving to Nashville to pursue a music career, Brooks was the first one to show him around town. Getting his first publishing deal in 1994 with EMI Publishing, Wood wrote "Cowboy Love," which was cut by John Michael Montgomery. After a short-lived and fruitless deal with Liberty Records, Wood signed with Imprint Records and recorded his debut album in 1996. ~ Jack Leaver