J.D. Kelly got his start singing in cover bands at the age of thirteen. He studied voice with Myra Manning in the 1980s while writing, recording, and performing with the Frankie Carr Band. After the band’s signature song “Perfume and Leather” (co-written by Kelly) was selected as a regional winner in the WAPP “Rock to Riches” contest, Kelly and his bandmates regrouped as “Broken Toys”, a popular New York-based writing project and live act that garnered a production deal with Atlantic Records.

One of the songs from that collaboration was “Tears Cried in the Rain”, which appeared on the debut album from Kelly’s next project, “From The Fire”. That album, “Thirty Days and Dirty Nights”, was produced by Jean Beauvoir and Pat Regan, and is considered a classic in the Melodic Rock genre.

Two more self-produced albums emerged from From The Fire – “Evil Men Do”, in 2014, and “OctOPus” in 2016. After playing at the “Firefest” and “Rockingham” festivals in the U.K., Kelly returned to the U.S., and, ultimately, joined “Eaglemania” in May, 2017.