“My parents always had a bunch of Frank Sinatra records lying around, along with Tony Bennett and Harry Connick Jr. ... all of those guys I would sing along to,” Mickle said. “The records actually taught me how to sing before I even really got into it professionally.”

A music career almost didn’t happen, as he once was interested more in taking to the field than the stage.

“I had always played sports, but when I was attending Deer Creek, I was kind of talked into joining choir and it got me into my first musical, and that’s when it all kind of started. That’s when I found my calling.”

After graduating from Oklahoma City University with a master’s degree, Mickle posted videos of himself performing on YouTube. One such video intrigued the future manager of the act, Vince Kavanaugh; fellow members Josh Cobb and Sam Swerczek were found the same way.

“He actually had the idea of bringing three guys together from across the country to sing music that kind of embodies the American vision of the American experience: show tunes, Christmas songs, patriotic stuff, pop standards,” Mickle said. “Timeless music based on jazz, old standards and the Great American Songbook. We all jumped at the chance.”

The American Three’s debut album, One, released in January, was unique in that the trio rehearsed the music online and only met each other while recording the disc in Nashville.

However, Mickle said it was as if they had known each other for years, which comes across in their live shows.

“We like to have a lot of fun onstage,” he said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s not like whenever we do a concert, we want everyone to sit down and bathe in the music. It’s not a classical concert, by any means. We all grew up watching the Rat Pack and we take that into our performances.”

A second album will follow soon. “What I’m probably most excited about [is] showing people what I’ve been doing,” Mickle said. “I work at the Apple Store, and I have a lot of friends in Oklahoma and they all kind of wonder, ‘What do you do every weekend when you’re gone?’ I keep telling them I’m doing music, but now I can finally show them.”