Kevin's early childhood was spent on a 10-acre farm before living in a modern-day log cabin. While
a freshman in high school, he received his first keyboard and began playing at weddings and talent
shows. He also was part of the chours and drama club. His credits range from solo pianist/singer
entertainer and Ballroom Dance Instructor, to character roles as aladdin and Sebastian while
working at the Disney MGM Studios themem park. Some of Kevin's favorite things to do are
weightlifting, dancing, shooting hoops, playing football, roller skating, ice skating, watching
reruns of "Roseanne" and writing music on his keyboards.
He may not be the flashiest dancer. And of the five Boys, he probably has the fewest lead parts to
sing. But behind the scenes, it is Kevin Richardson, the one the others sometimes call Freight,
who keeps the speeding Backstreet train on track. A perfectionist, Kevin approaches each task
- whether it's giving a pep talk to his fellow singers during the TEEN PEOPLE photo shoot or making
sure a steak is barbecued just right - with the take-charge manner of a CEO. "My dad was probably
the one who instilled that in me," says Kevin, 26, taking a break between Walt Disney World's Grad
Night shows underneath Cinderella Castle, the very place he used to suit up as Aladdin when he
worked there in 1993. "He would always say - pardon my French -'If you're gonna half-ass is, don't
do it at all."
His father Jerald's death from colon cancer six years ago made Kevin "a lot more serious" says
Brian, who's also Kevin's cousin (Brian's dad and Kevin's mom, Ann, are siblings). A Kentucky
native, Kevin joined the Backstreet Boys soon after moving to Orlando. At 21, the baby of the
family (his brothers are Jerald Jr., 33, and Tom, 30) suddenly found himself a big brother to his
new band mates - three of whom had yet to finish high school. But Kevin's self-appointed role as
the group's watchdog doesn't always sit well with the others.
"I think deep down inside he feels that his contribution to the group is to be the oldest and to
make sure everything is straight. That's just the way he is," says Brian. "But here I am, gonna
be twenty-four, and I really don't need Kevin telling me what to do."
"The fellas probably think I'm the hardest or the roughest or the meanest," admits Kevin, "but I'll
cry at the drop of a hat sometimes."
And in public, no less. When the group played his home state for the first time, Kevin teared up
upon spotting his family in the audience. He also wept during a show on their last trip to
Montreal: "There was a kid in the front row, and I knew he was blind. He couldn't see us, but he
was smiling. I said to AJ, 'He's blind, go and touch his hand.' And AJ did. And I just started
crying, you know? I just lost it."
Though the cutthroat music business can sometimes be unsettling for this family-oriented country
boy (record execs have tried on occasion to break up the group by offering certain members solo
contracts), Kevin says fans like that one make it all worthwhile.
"We're touching people's lives and making people forget about their problems for a moment," He
pauses. "That's what music's all about, I think."
