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| Birth Name(s) : Richel Renee Wright |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
singer-songwriter |
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Full Chely Wright Biography
Chely Wright (born Richel Renee Wright October 25, 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri), is an American Country Music singer, who released her debut album in 1994. Although she received an ACM award for Top New Female Vocalist that same year, none of her initial songs made any impact on the charts. She has also won a BMI award for a song she penned for country artist Clay Walker. In 1999, she released her fourth album; her biggest hit was the chart topper "Single White Female".
She started singing in bands at age 11 and within a few years had formed her own band, County Line. The summer before her senior year in high school, she went to Branson, Mo., and landed a job in the Ozark Jubilee, the long-running country show whose alumni included Brenda Lee and Red Foley. At her grandfather's urging, she auditioned and won a job in a musical production at the Opryland theme park. She took her final exams a week early and moved to Nashville. While there, she interned and attended writers' nights, while honing her singing and songwriting. Harold Shedd (whose production credits include Alabama) signed her to Mercury/Polygram, and her first album was released in 1994 on the corporation's Polydor label.
After releasing two unsuccessful albums through Mercury/Polygram (her debut and its follow-up in 1996), Wright had her first Top Twenty country hit in 1997 with the song "Shut Up and Drive," off her third album, Let Me In, which was released by MCA Nashville. In 1999, her fourth album, Single White Female, brought her several hit songs and her first gold album certification. During the three-year gap before her next album, Wright collaborated with fellow country artist Brad Paisley on a duet entitled "Hard to Be a Husband, Hard to Be a Wife," which was written for the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry. Paisley and Wright performed the song during a CBS television special and it was released as part of a collection of songs from that special. The duet was later nominated for Vocal Event Of The Year as part of the 35th Annual CMA Awards, but lost. Additionally, Wright joined with Diamond Rio for a song on their One More Day album, as well as Paisley's Part II album. Both were released in 2001. Chely was also featured in People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2001. She was ranked #93 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2002. In 2003, she was named "Woman of the Year" by the American Legion Auxiliary and "Kansan of the Year" for her career achievements, her charity work and her support of the U.S. armed forces. She was recognized by MENC in 2001 with its "Stand Up For Music Award" and in 2002, she was presented with their "Fame Award" for her with her Reading, Writing and Rhythm Foundation.
On September 10, 2001, Wright was in Canada participating in the 2001 Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs). Along with several other country artists, including Cyndi Thomson, Wright was stranded in Canada following the September 11, 2001 attacks. In an odd twist, Wright's fifth album, Never Love You Enough, was originally supposed to be released on September 11 but was later pushed back to September 25. Although Never Love You Enough debuted at #4 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, it was unable to match the success of Single White Female.
The narrator of the song has a bumper sticker on her car for the United States Marines and a woman gives her the finger for what she sees as the narrator's support for the Iraq war. The narrator explains that she has a brother in the Marines, a father who served in the Navy, and a grandfather who was wounded at Normandy in World War II. She says that she does not want war but values the military for their protection of American freedoms. The song is based on Wright's own family; she does have a brother currently in the Marines. Only weeks before the single started getting media attention Wright had signed with Dualtone Music Group, and announced the release of her sixth album in February 2005 (the same album that had earlier been completed for Vivaton).
The Metropolitan Hotel, Wright's sixth album, was finally released on February 22, 2005 on Dualtone Records. The CD included both "The Bumper of My S.U.V." and "Back of the Bottom Drawer," along with ten additional songs, most of which were written or co-written by Wright. The album itself was produced in conjunction with her own company. Although not a break-out commercial hit, debuting at #18 on Billboard's Top Country chart (it was #7 on the Top Independent Albums chart), The Metropolitan Hotel gained some critical praise, especially for "The River." People magazine rated the album as Critics Choice. The music video for the song, about a river that runs near her hometown of Wellsville called the Mardis De Cygnes, became popular on CMT. The fourth single released from The Metropolitan Hotel was "C'est La Vie (You Never Can Tell)", a re-titled cover of Chuck Berry's song "You Never Can Tell".
Currently, Chely is working on a new project with Grammy winning singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell producing. The new album is set for a 2008 release.
Chely Wright is the founder of Reading, Writing, and Rhythm Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the importance of musical education in America's schools and helps supply musical instruments and equipment.
A large fund raiser is held each year in June at Nashville's Wildhorse Saloon, (just before CMA Music Festival). |
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