In the mid-1980's, Childs served as music director and keyboard player for a series of Nostalgic Rock 'n' Roll tours featuring Fabian, Frankie Avalon, the Drifters, the Shirelles and more than 40 other stars of the 50's and 60's. Childs was often featured as the opening act and sometimes emcee for these shows. His association and friendship with the legendary stars of early Rock and Roll continues today; he is still occasionally called upon to accompany or direct a nostalgia show, such as a recent appearance by the Shirelles on the Grand Ole Opry.

In 1987, Childs returned to Memphis to temporarily co-host a morning television program and to host and appear on the Miss Mississippi and Miss Tennessee pageants. At this time, he began an association

with the Department of Tennessee Tourism, for which he recorded a commercial jingle "Tennessee, We're-Playing Your Song" and made appearances in the United States, Canada, England, Holland, and Belgium to promote tourism for the State of Tennessee and the city of Memphis.

Time off from the road always found Childs immersed in songwriting. In 1991, several of his original songs debuted on Ed McMahon's Star Search television show in Hollywood, where he was a four-time winner and finalist. Childs then took his songs to Nashville and landed a recording contract with RCA Records. His debut album on RCA, produced by Josh Leo and Mark Wright, featured three Billboard and Gavin chart singles and music videos. His third music video, "Simple Life", went #1 in Billboard, and all three videos were top ten on Country Music Television in Europe. The next few years found Childs touring the country with top country stars like Clint Black, Trisha Yearwood, Tanya Tucker, Mark Chesnutt and Charlie Daniels. Childs parted with RCA Records in 1995 and was quickly signed by EMI Music as a songwriter. He recently signed a new recording agreement with EMI as well.