Gene Watson's Peers: Chely Wright
Gene Watson's peers within the country music industry
believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas, so much
so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' - and
rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2008 were most gracious with their
time & words. It is here, within this special part of gene-watson.com, that
you have an opportunity to read a quote from
Chely Wright, which she submitted to this site on Monday 6 October 2008.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Chely Wright who made a special
contribution to this unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Chely Wright
This quote was submitted on Monday 6 October 2008
'Gene Watson is one of the reasons I fell in love with
country music.
I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Gene over the years & he is
truly special...as a singer & as a person.
One of my favourite tours of all time was with Gene & his band. We toured
Japan & I watched his part of the show every night.
It was as clear then as it is today that Gene Watson is one of the best
voices to ever sing a country song'.
Thank you, Chely Wright, for your support
of Gene Watson.
About Chely Wright...
Chely Wright was born (on 25 October
1970) in Wellsville, Kansas & grew up in a family with four generations of
musicians.
Chely was fascinated by her family's record collection which included
material from artists such as Buck Owens RIP, Loretta Lynn,
Connie Smith, Wanda Jackson,
Porter Wagoner RIP & Conway Twitty RIP.
Chely started singing in bands at the age of eleven & within a few years had
formed her own band called County Line. The summer before her senior year in
high school, she went to Branson, Missouri where she landed a job in the
Ozark Jubilee, the long-running country show whose alumni included Brenda
Lee & Red Foley (RIP).
Chely's grandfather encouraged her to audition for a job in a musical
production at the Opryland Theme Park, a job that she acquired. She took her
final exams a week early & moved to Nashville.
While in Nashville, Chely interned & attended writers' nights, while honing
her singing & song-writing. Harold Shedd, whose production credits include
Alabama, signed Chely to Mercury/Polygram & her first album, 'Woman in the
Moon', was released in 1994 on the corporation's Polydor Nashville label.
Chely Wright was named 'Top New Female Vocalist' by the Academy of Country
Music although her singles initially did not crack the Billboard country
music Top 40.
Chely Wright's second album, 'Right in the Middle of It', (Polydor Records,
1996) also failed to make a dent on the Billboard country music album chart
too.
In 1996, Chely Wright sought out both a new record label & a new producer;
she hooked up with MCA Records & Tony Brown. She asked to be released from
her contract with Mercury & subsequently signed with MCA.
In 1997, Chely Wright saw the release of 'Let Me In', her first album
release on MCA Records (the album included 'Shut up & drive', her first Top
20 hit). Subsequent albums released on MCA Records include 'Single White
Female' in 1999 & 'Never Love You Enough' in 2001.
It was also in 2001 that Chely Wright joined Diamond Rio on 'I'm trying', a
track on their 'One More Day' album (Arista Nashville, 2001).
Chely Wright saw the release of the compilation album '20th Century Masters
- The Millennium Collection: The Best of Chely Wright' on MCA Nashville in
2003.
It was also in 2003 that Chely parted ways with MCA Records after 'Never
Love You Enough' failed to meet sales expectations. In January 2004, she
signed with Vivaton Records, a new independent record label. An album
release, however, never materialised.
Chely Wright split from Vivaton Records in June 2004. Again without a record
label, she nevertheless released a single, 'Bumper of my SUV', in late 2004,
which was mostly available online & various radio stations.
'Bumper of my SUV' was written by Chely following an altercation with an
irate woman who noticed the United States Marine Corps bumper sticker on the
back of Wright's car.
The success of 'Bumper of my SUV' prompted Chely to start Painted Red Music
Group, her own record/publishing company. She then released the 'Everything'
EP which contained the tracks 'Back of the bottom drawer' & 'Bumper of my
SUV'.
The record was made exclusively available through Chely Wright's official
website & was later made available in many retail outlets such as Wal-Mart,
Target & Best Buy.
The success of the EP led to Chely Wright being signed to Dualtone Records
who released 'The Metropolitan Hotel' album in February 2005.
The album included both 'Back of the bottom drawer' & 'Bumper of my SUV',
along with ten additional songs, most of which were written or co-written by
Chely.
At the time of the acquisition of this Gene Watson quote from Chely Wright
(in October 2008), she was working on an album project for Vanguard Records
called 'Notes to the Coroner'.
In October 2008, the Leatherhead, Surrey, England-based label
Hump Head
Country released 'Chely Wright - The Ultimate Collection', a generous
20-track compilation of the lady's finest cuts.
Visit Chely Wright's Official Site
Visit Chely Wright's Official
MySpace Site