Eddie Bush, Royal Reed, J.D. Souther, Chris Roberts
After a solo career, Royal Reed, a native of El Paso, Texas, met Chris Roberts, a native of New Orleans in the late 1990s while both were starring in a production of the Broadway musicalThe Civil War, alongside singer Larry Gatlin in New York City.[2] Gatlin, who had once fronted a trio which also included his two brothers (Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers) mentored Reed and Roberts suggesting they add a third member to complete their vocal-centric group.[3] Initially, they could not find a suitable third member for the trio. Eventually, they befriended Marcus Hummon with whom they began to write songs.[3] Through Hummon, the two discovered South Carolina native Eddie Bush who was added to the group in 2005.[4] The three members discovered that they worked well together as a vocal trio, and they chose the name One Flew South.[5] All three sing lead vocals on their songs.[6]
One Flew South's first recording was the song "Friends for Life" which Hummon co-wrote; the trio recorded the song on the soundtrack to the 2006 film The Fox and the Hound 2.[7] After the song was released, the trio began recording demo tapes while seeking a record deal. With Hummon's help they were signed to a recording contract with Decca Records in 2007, as well as a publishing contract with Sony/ATV Publishing.[3] Their debut album, Last of the Good Guys was released on May 27, 2008, debuting at No. 67 on the BillboardTop Country Albums charts;[5] Most of the album's songs were co-written by the group's three members along with Hummon and rock songwriter J.D. Souther.[8] Hummon also produced the album in addition to playing guitar, piano, and mandolin on it. The album's lead-off single, "My Kind of Beautiful" was co-written by Andy Griggs, who previously recorded it on his 2005 album This I Gotta See. It went for radio adds on June 2[9] and debuted at No. 57 on the BillboardHot Country Songs charts for the chart week of June 21, 2008 where it stayed for a week. For the week of August 16, 2008, the song re-entered the Hot Country Songs charts at No. 56.
