Pat McLaughlin is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Waterloo, Iowa, but moved to San Francisco, California in the early 1970s. There McLaughlin began to write songs, playing alone at open mic nights and in the streets near the bay. After a brief stint in Boston, he moved to Nashville where he formed a band and released his first album in 1980. Two consecutive projects for Capitol Records followed. His first major label album Pat McLaughlin made its debut in 1988.