The Texas Tenors: A Made-in-America Success Story

One year ago three friends were struggling to pay the bills. Flash forward one year and the three friends are singing to sold out venues across the world...here is their amazing story.

Springfield, MO (PRWEB) December 1, 2010

Don't be fooled by their somber black suits and cowboy hats. The Texas Tenors take their music seriously, but never themselves. Weaving effortlessly from John Denver to Puccini to “West Side Story,” the trio takes their audience on a musical ride from West Virginia to Italy to New York City, pausing between genres long enough only to tell stories and smile for pictures.

And why shouldn't they smile?

One year ago, these three friends—Marcus Collins, JC Fisher, and John Hagen—were struggling to pay the bills. On a whim, after having performed together only a couple of times, the trio decided to audition in Houston, Texas, for “America's Got Talent,” a televised talent show judged by Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hasselhoff—and 100 million viewers. The three friends won the hearts of millions of fans, which landed them into the finals, making them the highest ranking vocal group in the history of the show.

Flash forward one year. The Texas Tenors have now played everywhere from Las Vegas to Scotland. They've performed in front of Merle Haggard and with symphony orchestras. Fans who fell in love with the Texas Tenors on TV come out to see the trio perform the songs that wowed judges.

But a large part of their fan base consists of people who have discovered this remarkable act on their own—and in the process, discovered something interesting about themselves.

“The most satisfying thing is when a diehard country fan says, ‘I never thought I liked opera until I heard you sing,'” says John Hagen, an award-winning opera singer.

“Or when someone says, ‘I didn't think I liked country music, until I heard you guys sing it,'” adds JC Fisher, who grew up on a cattle ranch. Not surprisingly, he's the more countrified tenor.

Marcus Collins just laughs. “The most amazing thing is to think how fast this has all happened,” says the blond tenor whose singing style is more contemporary than either Hagen or Fisher. Marcus is also the one who Sharon Osbourne looked at with bedroom eyes and declared: “You're hot.”

The truth is, all three Texas Tenors are hot. The only thing hotter is what happens when their three voices combine on stage at the Starlite Theatre in Branson, Mo.

“The response to this show has been incredible,” says Randy Little, owner of PFI Western Store in nearby Springfield. Little and partners bought the Starlite in 2008 with the hopes of adding to the musical diversity of Branson. “But I don't think any of us could've imagined the Texas Tenors. Who would've thought you could have a country singer, a contemporary artist, and a classical opera singer all on the stage at the same time?”

Backstage the three men laugh when they recall how they first fell in love with music. For Collins, it was at the age of four when he heard Disney's “It's a Small World.” For Hagen, it was as a 12-year-old boy, when he figured out how to make “Pavarotti's Greatest Hits” play on his record player all night long. For Fisher, it was at a high school basketball game when he volunteered to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before starting for the team. “The choir director came up to me afterwards and said, ‘Why the heck aren't you in choir?'”

As with most success stories, this one hasn't been without bumps and detours. As a teenager, Collins battled weight issues, tipping the scales at nearly 300 pounds. Fisher, the only married tenor and a father of three, struggles with hearing loss. Hagen declared bankruptcy in 2008.

But if music can heal, music between friends can work miracles, which is clearly the case when these three friends create breathtaking harmonies.

Looking toward the future, the Texas Tenors hope to schedule more symphony dates, create a new album, and write an original hit song. But busy as they are, they always find time to smile and thank the fans who voted for them on “America's Got Talent.”

For now, Branson is lucky to have that talent on stage for a limited number of shows in 2010 and 2011.

For more information about the Texas Tenors and their Branson show schedule, visit http://www.StarliteTheatre.com or call (417) 337-9333.

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