Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969 in Bethel Acres, Oklahoma) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album Old Enough to Know Better. Its title track, which served as his debut single, reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and three more singles from it all reached Top Ten as well. 　　Hayes' second album, 1996's On a Good Night, was also certified gold, although its No. 2-peaking title track was the only Top 40 hit from it. When the Wrong One Loves You Right, his third album, produced two more singles, including the No. 5 "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)", although he left the label by 1999. A year later, he signed to the Monument roster, where he released Highways & Heartaches. This album produced no Top 40 country hits, however. 　　In 2003, he founded the duo McHayes with Alan Jackson's fiddle player Mark McClurg. The duo charted one single on the country charts and recorded one unreleased album for the Universal South label, "Lessons in Lonely." He joined the backing band for former Alabama lead singer Randy Owen in the late 2000s, and self-released Place to Turn Around in 2009. 　　In December 2011, Hayes was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. Shortly after learning of his illness, he wrote the song "Is It Already Time," a ballad about his battle with the disease. He has been in remission since June 2012. 　　Wade Hayes was born and raised in Bethel Acres, Oklahoma. His father, Don Hayes, also a professional country musician, inspired him to begin playing music as well. Initially, Hayes had learned to play mandolin, but later switched to guitar after his father bought him one. When he was eleven years old, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where his father signed him to an independent record label. The label soon declared bankruptcy. The family returned to Oklahoma, where Wade later found work as a musician in his father's band. 　　Although he attended three different colleges, Hayes dropped out of college in 1991 in pursuit of a career in country music, after seeing bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs perform on the 1991 Country Music Association awards show. Wade returned to Nashville, where he began recording demo tapes and writing his own material. Eventually, Hayes partnered with a songwriter named Chick Rains, who recommended him to Don Cook, a record producer who has produced albums for several country music artists, including Brooks & Dunn.