Darryl, 6’ 7” and raised in Beaver Falls, PA., moved with his brother Don in 1989 to the country music capital of the world- Nashville, TN. They had high hopes of landing a recording contract. Two years later, calling themselves the Ellis Brothers (after Don’s middle name), they were signed with Sony Epic Nashville. They cut two CD’s, No Sir and Day in the Sun.

No Sir sold 175,000 units! The duo had three videos on CMT. Their song, “No Sir,” was in the top 40 on the Billboard Charts and was voted into the TNN Video Hall of Fame.

They opened for stars like Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Alabama , and Reba McEntire. They toured with Barbara Mandrell, Billy Dean, Diamond Rio, and Trisha Yearwood. They also had the opportunity to play the Grand Ole Opry twelve times. One of the highlights of the Opry was sharing the stage with Garth Brooks.

The duo was nominated for the TNN, CMA, and ACM award shows. They may have won these awards too, if it weren’t for a couple of other duos: The Judds and Brooks & Dunn. After touring for five years in the ‘90s, the brothers who had sung together all of their lives, decided to try solo projects. Keith Bilbrey of WSM radio in Nashville sums it up best, “Darryl is three minutes away from stardom.”