Truck driver Earl Heatherly of Chattanooga, Tenn., was driving down the street one day when he saw someone throwing away a guitar. The instrument had only five strings, but he took it home to his 5-year-old son, Eric.

He taught Eric the first three chords of “Folsom Prison Blues” and gave him a stack of old records to listen to. Today, Eric is a country music singer with a rockabilly, honky-tonk sound who is well known by many country music fans.

Eric grew up playing and creating his own sound. He practiced songs by Conway Twitty, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Roy Orbison. At age 8 he wrote his first song, and he had his stage debut at age 13 in a talent show. He played in bands as a teenager and eventually moved to Nashville with the dream of being a star. Eric’s father, who drives for United Parcel Service, and his mother, Nola, have been a tremendous support.

“It’s cool to look back and see what an inspiration [Earl] was when I started out,” Eric says. “He’s been at it [trucking] for 30 years. That’s a long time. He’s 56 and will retire in October.”

Eric’s music style eventually came together, and today he performs his rockabilly sound to fans. His first hit single, “Flowers on the Wall,” is a remake of an old Statler Brothers song and was on his first album, Swimming in Champagne. These days, Heatherly, 31, is swimming in success, but he hasn’t forgotten where it all began, or the man who gave him his start.

“We are so tight. I can’t tell you how tight my whole family is,” he says. “I would have never succeeded without them. I threw away a full scholarship at Chattanooga State to go on the road. I didn’t see a return for a long time. My family could have said ‘I told you so,’ but they always backed me.”