Leon moved to Ward S.C., and formed a part time Country band that performed at Honky Tonks and Skull Busters along the Ga. and S.C. border. For several years he was an instrument mechanic for the S.C. Electric and Gas Company. His boss was one of those guys that always wanted everything his way, and wanted you to do everything he said to do when he said to do it. In 1975, thanks to this boss, that was more "Hitler" than supervisor, Leon quit his secure but unfulfilling 9 to 5 job, and made his part time hobby of singing his full time career. Leon said "He was always telling me to do exactly what he said without questions, whether I thought it was right or wrong. Just do exactly what he said. We had a $40,000 machine that wasn't work- ing. My boss got mad and told me to throw it in the river. So I got a screw driver, took the machine off the wall and started carrying it to the river. The boss  came out and jumped all over me. I said 'You always told me to do what you said.' "His boss didn't quite see it in that way so Leon quit before he got fired.

He then got a job singing at the Holiday Inn in Augusta, GA, and would drive to Nashville (440 miles) everyday to apply for jobs at the recording studios. He finally got a job with True Records working in the mail room. Leon always had his guitar with him and any chance he got he would play, hoping that someone would notice his talent. Finally he got his chance and his first album was a tribute to Elvis Presley. Leon didn't want to make the record because he had always been an admirer of Elvis's and didn't want to start his career on the death of his friend. But it was his first contract so he had no choice, and the album turned out to be a big success.

Leon got discouraged with his contract with True records and tore it up. In the spring of 1978, he was on stage in a club in Georgia that was supposed to be his last performance in the music business. A business man from Orlando, Fl., Carroll Fulmer,  was in the  audience, and he liked Leon's show so much he offered to be Leon's  manager and start Orlando Records, with  Leon as his recording artist. Leon soon found out that  Mr. Fulmer didn't know anything about country music when he admitted he didn't know who Ralph Emery was! But Leon figured if  Mr. Fulmer was willing to put up the money, he was willing to give it a try. Leon's first two recordings on the Orlando Label, "We Let Love Fade Away," and "Givin Up Easy," didn't make much impression. His third recording "Don't Feel Like the Lone Ranger" in 1979 was a hit. Knowing it was hard for a new artist on a new label to get started, when "Don't Feel Like the Lone Ranger" made it to the top 40, Leon went on a promotional tour,  using Mr. Fulmer's private airplane and pilot. While going to a radio station in Tucson Arizona in a taxi, the driver turned to Leon and said, "You're a country music singer aren't you?  " Leon admitted to it and the driver said, "Wait, don't tell me, I know the name of the song." Leon waited awhile and then said,  "Don't Feel Like the Lone Ranger." The driver turned around again and said, "Oh, you don't know the name either.

His first song to make the top ten was "Over." This got his music noticed and he was asked to be on the New Faces Show. A representative from RCA was in the audience which lead to a recording contract with RCA in October of 1980. Leon's first release with RCA was "Giving Up Easy," which also was released by the Orlando label. It went to number 5 on the RCA label while only reaching 81 on the Orlando Label. When Leon first heard the song "Hurricane", he knew he wanted to record it. It just seemed to match his style and personality. When the song went number two nationwide in 1981, Leon was nicknamed  "The Hurricane."  and his band, "Tender Loving Care,"  was renamed to  "Hurricane."  The song was so well liked in Louisiana that Leon was asked to be Grand Marshall of the Mardi Gras.

One of the many things Leon's fans like about his performances is the energy Leon puts into his shows. Jumping off the stage into the audience became a routine for Leon that did not always turn out the way he anticipated. During his first appearance on the Grand Old Opry, which is carried live via WSM, Leon made his famous leap, and all he saw was the new wires WSN had run. 3 seconds of dead air time is crucial to a radio station; WSN was down for 3 minutes! When  he appeared in a show at Grosebeck Texas with Reba McEntire, Janie Fricke, and Johnny Duncan, Leon again threw his body off the stage  not  knowing of the "moat" that had been dug to ease crowd control. His left foot landed at an awkward position causing a great deal of pain, but he continued both the song and the show without showing any outward signs of the difficulties he was encountering. After the show the pain was so intense, Leon refused to take off his boot, and he limped through two more sets over the next few days. After a show in Winston Salem, he finally had a physician examine the foot. He had 3 hairline fractures, contusions, and a severe sprain. Another time, when taping a show for the Nashville After Hours show, the taping session was temporarily halted when Leon jumped into the camera and sound equipment. On 27 March 1983 Leon went on a promotional tour to Rome, Italy, where he appeared on several radio and TV shows. At a press party on a horse breeding farm, they gave Leon an old farm horse to ride. But Leon, being an old time rider, asked for a horse with a little spirit to let them know he was not a dude. Leon was the first country singer to tour Italy. 

After appearing on several television shows, such as "Nashville Now," and "140 Paradise" also having several albums and eleven top ten hits in a row, Leon was not happy with the promotion he was receiving from RCA. At the end of 1984 he quit  RCA and signed with Mercury Records. Bill Rice was engaged as his producer, and gave Leon a contemporary country style that resulted in such hit singles as "Too Good To Say No To," "Feel's Like Forever" and "Til a Tear Becomes A Rose". However by 1986, Leon was back with Orlando Records with "Give Me Someone I Can Love," "Danger List," and "Still In the Picture,". 

Being on the road is great for the many fans that stand in line to get tickets to see  "The Leon Everette Show," but it is not always fun and games to the one paying the bills. Leon once said it cost more than  $360,000 just to operate on the road. Added to that is the unexpected expense like the time in Louisiana when the bus slid off the road in a patch of ice, costing another $27,000 in repairs. That same year the engine block cracked and later both generators broke down. It is no Wonder that Leon wanted to buy a team of Huskies, and build a new bus without wheels.     Then the only expense would be a lot of dog food!