Born Jo-Dee Marie Messina (after her Uncle Donlop) on August 25, 1970, in Framington, Massachusetts to Mary and Vincent Messina. She was raised in Holliston, Massachusetts, the youngest of four. Her older brother Vinnie and two older sisters Marianne and Terese.

Music has always been a big part of Jo Dee's life. At age 8 she took up tap and began singing and dancing. She participated in local plays, such as The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof. Jo Dee knew even as a child, that a singer is what she wanted to be. When Jo Dee was 13 she began singing at local clubs with different bands. When she was 16 she got her own band. She always laughs about the name "The Jo Dee Messina Band" The Jo Dee Messina band became the last part of the Country Music scene in New England. Her band played for 4 hours a night, six days a week. At age 19 Jo Dee decided she needed to move to Nashville if she was going to pursue her carreer. She packed up her Poniac Sunbird ( the car she owned at the time) with all she could fit into it and drove to Nashville.

When Jo Dee first got to Nashville, she didn't have a job so she began "temping" in accounting and computer programming as well as singing in talent contests for money to survive. She had won a chance to perform on a radio show called "Live at Libby's". After performing on the show twice, she was asked back to be a "regular" to sing every week. Shortly after th man named Byron Gallimore (one of Jo Dee's producers) had heard her and called her to see if she would like to work with him on getting a record deal. Jo Dee was so excited. He was the first person who offered to help Jo Dee without wanting something (money, percentages, etc.). Soon after they met Jo Dee and Byron got to work. They started listening for songs to demo when one day aanother act Byron was producing was in the office and met Jo Dee. They hit it off great. His name was Tim McGraw. Jo Dee and Tim became friends and have stayed that way ever since. Tim had alot to do with Jo Dee's start and still has alot to do with her records. He co-produces Jo Dee with Byron Gallimore.

At Fan Fair 1994, Jo Dee had gone backstage of Tims show when she noticed an executive of Curb records walking by her. She had stopped him introduced herself and then jokingly said "What you guys really need is a redhead". It was at that point when a man named James Stroud had approached the two of them and started talking about a tape of Jo Dee's he had just heard. Soon after that happened her producer Byron heard from Curb and they asked if they'd be interested in working together. From that point Jo Dee began making her first album.