Cory Branan

Cory Branan
Cory Branan at Gypsy Sally's (Washington, DC) October 2015
Background information
Birth name	Cory D. Branan
Born	(1974-12-15) December 15, 1974 (age 42) Memphis, Tennessee U.S.
Origin	Southaven, Mississippi U.S.
Genres	Alternative country Rock Folk
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Bloodshot Records Madjack
Associated acts	Lucero Thrift Store Cowboys Jason Isbell
Website	corybranan.com

Cory Branan (born December 15, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter from Mississippi.

Branan was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to parents Dallas Lee Branan, a jet mechanic at FedEx, and Peggy Branan (née Rhodes). He grew up in Southaven, Mississippi, in the northwest corner of Mississippi, the third largest city in Mississippi and a suburb of Memphis. His family comes from Arkabutla, Mississippi. He grew up with musical influences from church, gospel music his dad listened to, and his family: his father played the drums, his grandfather played guitar and his great-grandfather played the violin.

Branan learned how to play the guitar young, and by his teens, Branan was playing guitar in diverse genres from hard rock, black metal (Black Like Me), to heavy metal in local bands, eventually fronting a Black Sabbath cover band as well as playing country music. He credits a creative writing teacher in high school, Evelyn Simms, for suggesting books outside the usual high school curriculum and encouraging his writing.

Branan attended Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, community college, as well as University of Memphis.

After high school Branan moved to Memphis, where, among other jobs, he worked as a bartender at the Peabody Hotel.

In his early 20′s he began to explore the music of singer-songwriter John Prine, which led to Branan writing his own songs, which he began performing at open mic nights at Memphis' Daily Planet.