
“If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will”
That’s what Coffey Anderson realized the fi rst time he held a guitar in his hands—and it
transformed him from a college basketball star to a singer, songwriter and entertainer.
As a kid growing up in Bangs, Texas, Coffey was pretty sure he’d be a basketball player. Quick on
his feet and 6’5” by age 16, he never felt better than when he was out on the dirt road shooting hoops.
But there was always music in his home, and he’d been singing Gospel tunes for as long as he
could remember. His fi rst “concert” was a spontaneous performance for the neighbors from the back
of his dad’s pickup.
At age 6, he joined the church choir alongside his mother and older sister. “We always had people
coming to our house singing and for prayer meetings,” Coffey says. “I felt like I went to church every
day—or at least every other day—growing up.”
As musical as he was, basketball still came fi rst. His achievements as an all-star player ultimately
landed him a number of college scholarships. Coffey headed for Howard Payne University to play for
the Yellow Jackets. But one night in 2002, his life took an unexpected turn.
“You can sing”
That night he was just a nervous guy headed over to his girlfriend’s house to meet her father.
He walked into a room lined with guitars. The man of the house took one off the wall and began to
play—and Coffey started to sing along.
“He looked at me and said ‘Boy, you can sing. Take this guitar home with you and learn how to
play it,” Coffey remembers.
He was surprised by the praise, but took it seriously. Starting to play with a Mel Bay beginner’s
book and a patient friend, he learned his fi rst three chords: G, C and D. “I was so blown away to fi nd
out that you could play just about anything by starting with three chords.”
Coffey kept playing and singing in his dorm room, and soon people were lining the hallways to
listen. So he moved down to the lobby, and more people came.
Within 90 days of having picked up that guitar, a friend
hooked him up with a gig to open for a touring band that was
stopping by the university.
Before the show, he went to meet the headlining act
backstage. “Turned out it was Bart Millard of MercyMe—the
very fi rst band he opened for,” he says.
His shock was understandable: MercyMe had just released
their debut album Almost There with the hit song “I Can Only
Imagine.”
Finding his voice
Following his rst live show, Coffey didn’t quit basketball,
but his drive to play music took over his life. After graduating
with a degree in Practical Theology and a minor in Spanish,
he decided to take a radically
different path.
He began writing songs
and used his bedroom closet
as a studio to record an album. When he’d sold 350 copies, he
headed for Los Angeles to test his talent.
He even auditioned for Season 2 of American Idol, making it to
the Hollywood round as one of 75 nalists.
“When you’re from a place where everybody knows
everybody…picking up and moving to another town on a
whim—that’s the hardest thing you could do,” he says.
Once in LA, he began crashing auditions and movie sets and
singing on Santa Monica’s famed Third Street Promenade. He
brought down the house at open mic nights and won himself free
studio time—which he used to record an 8-song demo.
“It was an experience,” he recalls. “You meet lots of people
you don’t trust, because there’s not a lot of trust in this city…but
you have to nd a way to give yourself a chance.”
To do that, Coffey lived by one simple rule: “I never told
myself ‘no.’”
His next move was to embrace the publishing power of the
Internet by posting videos on YouTube. In each video, Coffey showed viewers how to play pop songs,
praise songs and some of his own tunes.
Within 4 days of his rst postings, he had 17,000 views. Within 7 days, that number climbed
to 63,000.
Star-studded dreams
All of Coffey’s hard work paid off. In 2008, he auditioned for Nashville Star and was the fi rst
contestant of color to become one of the top 12 fi nalists. On his way to the top 4, he performed one of
his original songs, “Southern Man.” Finally, he had the chance to show America who he was while
playing on a national stage.
“Nashville Star was amazing. But it’s an odd feeling to realize you’re on TV. And that 12 million
people are watching you,” Coffey says. “It’s live—extremely live!”
“I got to play so many of my favorite songs, from ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ to ‘Take Me Home,
Country Roads,’ to ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna and even some Creedence Clearwater Revival.”
In the episodes leading up to the show’s fi nale, the judges agreed that Coffey’s performance
of “Southern Man” showed “incredible charisma,“ but in the end classifi ed him as “not country
enough.”
Judge Jeffrey Steele told him, “You’re a great showman…you’re a star—I don’t know if you’re the
next Nashville Star, but you’re a star.”
That sparked Coffey’s mission to write and sing music that couldn’t be pigeonholed into just one
category—whether it be pop, country, Christian or folk.
“My music is for anyone who has ears,” Coffey says with a grin. “I write songs you can listen
to when you’re feeling happy or feeling depressed, when you’re
hanging out with friends or having a night in with your girl…and
also songs for worship.”
In his mind, it doesn’t matter what you call it. But if he had to
narrow it down, he’d describe his signature style as part of the “lifestyle
genre.”
Bringing Southern charm to pop music
Of course, taking Coffey out of Texas didn’t take Texas out of Coffey.
And to this day, he draws a lot of inspiration from his Texas roots and
Baptist upbringing.
That upbringing was profoundly changed by the loss of his mother,
Gloria, just before his 11th birthday. She was a schoolteacher, an author of
Her accomplishments inspired him to do what he does best:
Inspire others.
“I realized that life is short…and that the time to make a
difference is now.”
To date, Coffey has released 4 albums. His fi rst release,
Inspiration Volume 1, lives up to its name with upbeat
contemporary tracks like “All Ye,” “Never Turn Back” and
“Glory Glory.”
Southern Man Sally” and “Memphis.” Soon after came the soulful acoustic release Me and
You—where Coffey surprises listeners by blending folksy appeal with his
beat-box.
Most recently, Coffey released the two-volume set, Worship Unplugged,
with a unique remix of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and a reprise of “All Ye.”
He’s played with and opened for a diverse range of artists, including
Chris Tomlin, Boyz II Men, John Michael Montgomery, Blake Shelton, Chris
Cagle, Trace Adkins and Leeland.
Stepping into the spotlight
On April 30, 2010, Coffey signed his fi rst record deal with Los Angeles label Dream Records.
In typical Coffey fashion he shared the good news with his fans via live webcast with partner site
Ustream.tv.
Now he’s in the studio recording his next album, which is scheduled to be released
September 28, 2010.
Inspiration is something that comes easily for him, and that’s why he’s built his new album
around that theme. It’s still driven by his unique acoustic sound, but with a new twist.
“My mission is to take inspirational music that you might hear on Sunday and turn it into
something you want to listen to all week,” he explains. “You want that message to get you through
the week—that you are going to carry on and make it through this, whatever you’re dealing with.”
Until the new release, Coffey has a message for his fans that’s a lot like the mantra he lived by as
he was just starting out…
“You’re just one ‘yes’ away from something good happening for you. Give yourself a chance, and watch that ‘yes’ come.”