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Curtis Wright

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Curtis Wright
Birth nameCurtis Blaine Wright
Born (1955-06-06) June 6, 1955 (age 69)
OriginHuntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States
GenresCountry
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1974–present
LabelsMCA/Airborne, Liberty, Voxhall Records
Formerly ofSuper Grit Cowboy Band, Orrall & Wright, Shenandoah, Pure Prairie League

Curtis Blaine Wright (born June 6, 1955) is an American country music artist. He first played in the 1970s and 80s as a member of the Super Grit Cowboy Band before becoming a solo artist in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wright charted three singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs between 1990 and 1993. He has also recorded as a member of Orrall & Wright, Shenandoah, and Pure Prairie League. In addition to these, Wright holds several credits as a songwriter, including the number one singles "A Woman in Love" by Ronnie Milsap, "Next to You, Next to Me" by Shenandoah, and "What's It to You" by Clay Walker. Curtis Wright now resides in his hometown Huntington Pennsylvania with his wife Debra He continues writing and is pursuing his music career.

Biography

[edit]

Curtis Blaine Wright was born June 6, 1955, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.[1]

Initially a member of a band known as the Country Generation, succeeded by the Super Grit Cowboy Band, Wright later performed as a backup vocalist and guitarist for Vern Gosdin.[2] In December 1989, he quit Gosdin's band and wrote Ronnie Milsap's number one single "A Woman in Love".[3] Wright signed with Airborne Records in 1989 and released "She's Got a Man on Her Mind", which charted at number 38 on Hot Country Songs. (A version of the same song by Conway Twitty charted one year later.) Wright was also slated to release an album titled Slick Hick in March 1990, which would have been produced by himself and Jeff Carlton.[4] However, the album went unreleased due to financial issues with the label.[5]

Later in the same year, he co-wrote Shenandoah's "Next to You, Next to Me" with Robert Ellis Orrall, and Steve Wariner's top 20 hit "There for Awhile". In 1992, Wright signed to Liberty Records, where he released his self-titled debut album that year. This album produced two more low-charting singles. It also included the song "What's It to You", which Wright also co-wrote with Orrall. Although Wright's version was never released as a single, Clay Walker later recorded this song on his 1993 debut album, and his version was a number one hit that year. He also co-wrote Shenandoah's 1992 single "Rock My Baby".[6] Also in 1992, Wright co-wrote a song with fellow country singer Dennis Robbins and musician Warren Haynes which would become the title track of Robbins first Giant Records album called "Man With A Plan", for which Wright also provided backing vocals. By 1994, Wright joined Orrall to form Orrall & Wright, a duo which charted two singles, recorded one album for Giant Records and received a Duo of the Year nomination from the Country Music Association before disbanding.[2] Wright later wrote Daryle Singletary's 1996 single "Too Much Fun".

After the departure of their former lead singer Brent Lamb (who, in turn, replaced Marty Raybon) in the late 1990s, Shenandoah chose Wright as their third lead singer.[7] Wright left Shenandoah in 2007 to join Reba McEntire's band and Jimmy Yeary succeeded him. He also toured as a member of Pure Prairie League in the beginning of the 21st century.[8]

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
Title Album details
Slick Hick
  • Release date: Unreleased
  • Label: Airborne Records
Curtis Wright[9]
Curtis Wright[10]
  • Release date: April 22, 2016
  • Label: Voxhall Records

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart
positions 		Album
US Country CAN Country
1989 "She's Got a Man on Her Mind"[1] 38 — Slick Hick (unreleased)
1990 "You Saved Me"[11] — —
1992 "Hometown Radio"[12] 59 66 Curtis Wright (1992)
1993 "If I Could Stop Lovin' You"[13] 53 79
2016 "Going Through Carolina" — — Curtis Wright (2016)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

[edit]
Year Video Director
1993 "If I Could Stop Lovin' You" Michael Merriman

Chart Singles written by Curtis Wright

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The following is a list of Curtis Wright compositions that were chart hits.

Year Single Title Recording Artist Chart Positions
Billboard Country Billboard Hot 100 RPM Country
1982 She Is the Woman Super Grit Cowboy Band 48
1987 You Saved Me Patty Loveless 43
1989 Who Needs You The Sanders 73
A Woman in Love
co-written with Doug Millett 		Ronnie Milsap 1 1
Who's Lovin' My Baby John Anderson 66
1990 Next to You, Next to Me
co-written with Robert Ellis Orrall 		Shenandoah 1 1
There for Awhile
co-written with Anna Lisa Graham 		Steve Wariner 17 16
1991 She's Got a Man on Her Mind
co-written with Billy Spencer 		Conway Twitty 22 43
1992 Rock My Baby
co-written with Billy Spencer and Phil Whitley 		Shenandoah 2 4
1993 What's It to You
co-written with Robert Ellis Orrall 		Clay Walker 1 73 1
1994 If I Ever Love Again
co-written with Billy Spencer 		Daron Norwood 48 52
If You Could Say What I'm Thinking
co-written with Robert Ellis Orrall 		Orrall & Wright 70 68
1995 My Girl Friday
co-written with Carl Jackson 		Daron Norwood 58
Too Much Fun
co-written with T. J. Knight 		Daryle Singletary 4 10
1998 Takin' the Country Back
co-written with Marty Stuart 		John Anderson 41 69
When You Get to Be You
co-written with Dennis Robbins and Michael Dan Ehmig 		Lisa Brokop 64 57
2003 You Can't Take It With You When You Go
co-written with T. J. Knight 		Rhonda Vincent 58
2004 Go Home
co-written with Jim Collins 		Steve Holy 49
2005 Get Outta My Way
co-written with Robert Ellis Orrall 		Carolina Rain 28

References

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  1. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2017). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017. Record Research, Inc. p. 407. ISBN 978-0-89820-229-8.
  2. ^ a b Mansfield, Brian. "Curtis Wright Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  3. ^ Roland, Tom (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books. p. 572. ISBN 0-8230-7553-2.
  4. ^ "New Artist Fact File" (PDF). Radio & Records: 56. December 1, 1989.
  5. ^ Lewis, Jim (February 21, 1990). "Record label can't release artist's song". The Bryan Times. UPI. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  6. ^ "Shenandoah". Patterson & Associates. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  7. ^ Bennett, Mark (May 2, 2007). "Shenandoah to perform at Fairbanks Park festival". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  8. ^ Smith, Stephen (May 2, 2007). "Raise the Roof 5: Pure Prairie League Ready for Show". The Pilot. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  9. ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard. August 15, 1992. p. 57.
  10. ^ This is not a reissue of the 1992 album
  11. ^ Richliano, Jim (November 18, 1989). "New on the charts" (PDF). Billboard. p. 48. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. July 18, 1992. p. 72.
  13. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. December 19, 1992. p. 71.
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