Jimmy Wayne was born in North Carolina. He and his sister were in and out of foster care when their mother could not care for them. When he finished high school he worked at the Gaston Correction Facility before moving to Nashville, Tennessee where he signed a recording contract with DreamWorks Records in 2001. He released his debut single in 2003. In 2010, Jimmy Wayne sent out on a 2670km walk to raise awareness of the homelessness faced by young people aging out of the foster care system.