Jimmy Wayne (born October 23, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, author, and advocate. Born Jimmy Wayne Barber in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, he built a recording career around emotionally direct songs that draw on hardship, family instability, homelessness, faith, and the search for belonging.
Wayne experienced an unsettled childhood and spent time in foster care and on the streets. Music became an important source of direction, and he eventually developed his skills as a guitarist and songwriter. Before pursuing a recording career, he worked as a prison guard at Gaston Correctional Facility while studying criminal justice at a local community college. He later moved to Nashville, where he worked as a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music. Among his early songwriting credits was "Put Your Hand in Mine," recorded by Tracy Byrd in 1999.
Wayne signed with DreamWorks Nashville in 2001 and released his self-titled debut album on June 24, 2003. Produced by Chris Lindsey and James Stroud, the album introduced a contemporary country performer whose polished sound was balanced by unusually personal material. Its first single, "Stay Gone," reached No. 3 on the Billboard country chart, while "I Love You This Much" reached No. 6. The later singles "You Are" and "Paper Angels" also charted in the country Top 20.
The songs on Jimmy Wayne frequently used narrative detail to connect private experience with broader social concerns. "Paper Angels" addressed the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program, while "Blue and Brown" reflected Wayne's experiences with a foster brother who later became an inmate at the prison where Wayne had worked. The album established his reputation as a singer capable of presenting difficult subjects within an accessible country format.
After DreamWorks Nashville closed, Wayne's recording contract moved to Big Machine Records and later to its Valory Music Group imprint. His second album, Do You Believe Me Now, arrived in 2008. The title track became his first No. 1 country single, and the album reached No. 4 on the country albums chart. Wayne followed it with Sara Smile in 2009, a collection named after the Hall & Oates song. Daryl Hall and John Oates appeared with him on a new version of "Sara Smile," and Wayne also toured with Brad Paisley in 2009.
Wayne's later work expanded beyond recording. In 2010, he walked from Nashville to Phoenix to raise awareness of young people leaving the foster-care system without stable support. The experience informed his 2011 Christmas novel Paper Angels and his 2014 memoir Walk to Beautiful: The Power of Love and a Homeless Kid Who Found the Way. He also became involved in efforts to extend foster-care support beyond age 18, including legislative advocacy in Tennessee and California.
The television film Paper Angels premiered in 2013, bringing Wayne's charitable concerns and songwriting themes to a wider audience. Although his major-label recording career was concentrated in the 2000s, his continuing work as a speaker, author, and foster-care advocate has remained central to his public identity. His music is best known for combining mainstream country songwriting with autobiographical storytelling and a sustained concern for vulnerable young people.