📍Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
1978 – 1991“Usher Raymond IV was born in Dallas, Texas, in October 1978, and spent his early years in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a riverside city in the hills of the south-east of the state, where his mother's family lived. His father left when he was a baby, and he was raised by his mother, Jonnetta, and his stepfather, with his younger brother, James. Church was the centre of family life, and his mother, who directed the choir at their local Baptist church, encouraged him to sing from an early age. At about nine he joined the church youth choir, and his voice quickly stood out. He grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown and Donny Hathaway, and he studied dance moves from music videos, practising in front of the mirror at home. At eleven he was invited to join a local pre-teen R&B group called NuBeginnings, and they recorded an album of songs. But his mother believed he had the talent to be a solo star, and she took him out of the group and managed his career herself. When he was about twelve, the family moved to Atlanta, then the centre of a booming R&B and hip-hop scene, so that he could have better opportunities. There he entered talent shows, and after singing on the television talent show Star Search in 1991, he was signed by LaFace Records at fourteen. His 1997 album My Way made him a star, and he went on to become one of the best-selling R&B artists of all time. He has often credited his mother and the church choir in Chattanooga for giving him his voice and his discipline.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today