 In 1987, after the death of his father, LeVasseur changed his last name to Steele as a tribute to his father, who processed steel for a living.In 1990, Steele and three other California musicians — Hugh Wright, along with brothers Cary and Larry Park — formed the band Boy Howdy, in which he served as lead vocalist and bass guitarist.Jeffrey Steele wrote a song, 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' about the returning veterans from the Gulf war, Curb signed Boy Howdy but made them change their group name to 'New Frontier' they went to appear on 'Nashville Now' hosted by Ralph Emery who liked the band name Boy Howdy this helped convince Curb records to let them keep the Boy Howdy name.