Self-made superstar Pat Green was born in 1972 in San Antonio, Texas. Green's stepfather pushed him out of the nest in 1997, firing him from his job and forcing him to focus on music. Just one year later, Green landed a high-profile slot at Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic. His attention-grabbing performance launched a career that saw him sell an amazing 250,000 records independently before eventually signing to Universal/Republic in 2001. His second major-label release, 2003's Wave on Wave, was a crossover hit, breaking into the Billboard Top 10 and eventually going gold.