Chely Wright
Chely Wright (* 25. October 1970 in Kansas City , Missouri ), actually Richelle Renee Wright , is an American country - singer . Chely Wright has released eight albums and one EP and uses her musical success for various charitable purposes.
biography
Chely Wright was born in Kansas City , Missouri on October 25, 1970 , and grew up in the small town of Wellsville, Kansas . Although her family had little financial means, it was the long musical tradition that had a great influence on Chely from an early age. At the age of four she started singing in the church choir, later she was a member of several country music groups. In her youth, she performed in many honky tonks with her own band, Country-Line .
Wright later got a job on the country television show Ozark Jubilee , after which she worked at the Opryland amusement park in Nashville . She had made the leap to the country metropolis and was trying to stay afloat with odd jobs in order to advance her career in Nashville. In May 2010 she spoke about her homosexuality in the American magazine People . This makes her the first major representative of the otherwise rather conservative country scene to live openly homosexually. She has been married to LGBT activist Lauren Blitzer since August 2011 .
The documentary Wish me Away about Wright's Coming Out was released in 2011. The film's title is also a title on Wright's 2010 album Lifted Off the Ground . The film was shot over three years and premiered at the 35th Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco . The film has been available on DVD since the end of May 2012.
music
The first five albums
As an employee of the Opryland , she finally met producer Harold Shedd , and soon afterwards she signed a contract with his label Mercury Records . In 1994 her first album Woman In The Moon was finally released. The album, like its successor Right In The Middle Of It (1996), was denied great success , however, she was awarded an ACM award for best singer of the year.
With the third album Let Me In , now under the label MCA , Wright finally made the breakthrough, especially the song Shut Up And Drive was very popular.
The next album, Single White Female (1999), was even more successful, the single of the same name reached number 1 in the country singles charts and also reached the mainstream top 40. Chely Wright established her position with She Went Out For Cigarettes , which also found a place in the charts.
2001 the album Never Love You Enough came on the market, originally planned for September 11th, the release had to be postponed by ten days because of the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 . Never Love You Enough was also able to celebrate great success (album Top-10), but was still unable to build on the single White Female .
Change of label
In June 2002 Wright left the MCA label and was able to sign a contract with Vivaton in January 2004 . Work on the next album, The Metropolitan Hotel , began immediately , and a video for the title single The Back of the Bottom Drawer was also shot. However, the album was not released by the Vivation label and in June 2004 Wright announced the end of the collaboration.
Bumper of My SUV
Still without a label, Wright released a song called Bumper of My SUV in the fall of 2004 , which quickly became a prominent cornerstone of her career. The song, which Wright wrote himself, tells a true story: Wright received an army sticker from her brother, a member of the United States Marine Corps , which she attached to the bumper of her car. A short time later, another driver responded by showing her middle finger to this sticker, which inspired Wright to write the song. Thus, Bumper of My SUV prejudices in question, but also as a mental support of the soldiers in the Iraq war meant. A publication was not initially planned. However, when the piece was very well received in military circles, especially the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service ( AFRTS ), Wright decided to publish it commercially.
In the meantime, she had signed a contract with the Dualtone label .
The success of the song was overshadowed by an action by their fan club president. Together with friends, he posed as a family member of the Marines and wished Bumper of My SUV on various radio stations to increase its success. When this scandal became known, Wright immediately separated from him.
Sixth album
Wright's sixth album, The Metropolitan Hotel , was released on February 22, 2005 . It contains ten other tracks, most of which are also from Wright's pen, the two hits Bumper of my SUV and Back of the Bottom Drawer . Musically, Wright goes back to her roots with her sixth work, turning away from mainstream music and producing real country music again.
Despite the good reviews received almost everywhere, the album was not very successful, which can be attributed to the unknown label and the songs that are not always mainstream.
Lifted off the ground
In 2008 Wright switched to the Vanguard Records label . She released her seventh album, Lifted Off the Ground, in May 2010. All tracks on the album, with the exception of Heavenly Days , were written by Wright himself and produced by Grammy winner Rodney Crowell . The first single on the album was Broken . In early 2011 Wright released a dance mix of the song Damn Liar .
Engagements alongside music
In addition to her musical career, Wright is heavily involved in social issues. She had often given concerts in various war and crisis areas such as Iraq, often for members of the US Army. Wright also founded the aid organization Reading, Writing & Rhythm , which supports music teaching in public schools.
In 2000 acted Wright as a model for the Internet fashion and beauty portal fashionwindow.com , in 2001 she got a role in the movie Max Keeble's Big Move ( Max Keeble's Big Move ).
In 2002 Wright was also voted 94th on the Sexiest Women Hitlist of the men's magazine FHM , during which time the singer also recorded recordings published in the magazine.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1997 | Let me in |
US171 (7 weeks) US |
Country25 (44 weeks) Country |
|
| 1999 | Single white female |
US124  (5 weeks)US |
Country15 (69 weeks) Country |
|
| 2001 | Never Love You Enough |
US62 (3 weeks) US |
Country4 (38 weeks) Country |
|
| 2005 | The Metropolitan Hotel |
US96 (2 weeks) US |
Country18 (10 weeks) Country |
|
| 2010 | Lifted off the ground |
US200 (1 week) US |
Country32 (13 weeks) Country |
|
| 2016 | I am the rain |
US181 (1 week) US |
Country13 (1 week) Country |
|
More studio albums
- 1994: Woman in the Moon
- 1996: Right in the Middle of It
Compilations
- 2003: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection
- 2007: The Definitive Collection
- 2008: The Ultimate Collection
EPs
- 2004: Everything
- 2008: Chely Wright Live
- 2011: Damn Liar - The Dance Remix
- 2018: Santa Will Find You
- 2019: Revival
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1994 | He's a Good Ole Boy Woman in the Moon |
- |
Country58 (10 weeks) Country |
|
| Till I Was Loved By You Woman in the Moon |
- |
Country48 (14 weeks) Country |
||
| 1995 | Sea of Cowboy Hats Woman in the Moon |
- |
Country56 (8 weeks) Country |
|
| Listening to the Radio Right in the Middle of It |
- |
Country66 (7 weeks) Country |
||
| 1996 | The Love That We Lost Right in the Middle of It |
- |
Country41 (15 weeks) Country |
|
| 1997 | Shut Up and Drive Let Me In |
- |
Country14 (20 weeks) Country |
|
| Just Another Heartache Let Me In |
- |
Country39 (15 weeks) Country |
||
| 1998 | I Already Do Let Me In |
- |
Country36 (20 weeks) Country |
|
| 1999 | Single White Female Single White Female |
US36 (20 weeks) US |
Country1 (31 weeks) Country |
|
| It Was Single White Female |
US64 (10 weeks) US |
Country11 (30 weeks) Country |
||
| 2000 | She Went Out for Cigarettes Single White Female |
- |
Country49 (8 weeks) Country |
|
| Hard To Be A Husband, Hard To Be A Wife Grand Ole Opry 75 Years Volume Two |
- |
Country68 (2 weeks) Country |
with Brad Paisley
|
|
| 2001 | Never Love You Enough Never Love You Enough |
- |
Country26 (20 weeks) Country |
|
| Jezebel Never Love You Enough |
- |
Country23 (20 weeks) Country |
||
| 2003 | Scary Old World Another Way to Go |
- |
Country52 (9 weeks) Country |
with Radney Foster
|
| 2004 | Back of the Bottom Drawer Everything |
- |
Country40 (15 weeks) Country |
|
| The Bumper of My SUV The Metropolitan Hotel |
- |
Country35 (19 weeks) Country |
||
More singles
- 1996: The Love He Left Behind
- 2005: C'est La Vie (You Never Can Tell)
- 2010: Broken
- 2011: Damn Liar
- 2016: What About Your Heart
Web links
- Official website (English).
- Record label by Chely Wright
- Chely Wright at cmt.com: videos, interviews, biography (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ^ New York Times: A Singer Comes Out; Now Will Nashville Let Her Back In?
- ↑ Queer: Lesbian country singer Chely Wright marries
- ↑ Wish me Away documentation . Retrieved June 8, 2012.
- ↑ Full history (Engl.)
- ↑ a b Chart sources: US
- ↑ a b Awards for Music Sales: US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wright, Chely |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wright, Richelle Renee (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 25, 1970 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kansas City , Kansas |