Givens was born in Rogersville, Tennessee, in 1947 to tobacco and dairy cattle farmers from Hawkins County.
Givens served in the United States Army, from which he was honorably discharged.
Givens operates a tobacco and cattle farm in Hawkins County and was involved in real estate in Rogersville and northeast Tennessee.
In 1997, Givens was appointed chairman of the Agriculture Committee in the Tennessee House, a position which he held for the rest of his time in the General Assembly.
In 2003, Governor Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, appointed Givens to be the 34th Commissioner of Agriculture of Tennessee.