Kevin Welch
Encyclopedia
Kevin Welch is an American country music
artist. He has charted five singles on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts and released eight studio albums. He is also one of the cofounders of the Dead Reckoning Records
label, which he founded with fellow musicians Kieran Kane
, Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson, and Harry Stinson.
. After graduating high school, he began touring with bands like New Rodeo and Blue Rose Cafe.
Welch moved to Nashville
in 1978 to work as a songwriter. Singers like Ricky Skaggs
, Waylon Jennings
, Patty Loveless
, Garth Brooks
, Trisha Yearwood
and Don Williams
were using his material. At the same time he was very active in local clubs, performing with John Scott Sherrill
and the Wolves In Cheap Clothing, The Roosters, and finally his own band - The Overtones. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with Reprise Records
.
In 1990 the album Kevin Welch was recorded and 2 years later Western Beat. The former produced four charting singles on Hot Country Songs
, including "Til I See You Again," which reached #39.
In 1994 he co-founded Dead Reckoning Records
along with Kieran Kane
, Tammy Rogers
, Mike Henderson and Harry Stinson. The following year Life Down Here on Earth was published and in 1999 Beneath My Wheels. The majority of songs are Welch's originals. In 2002 the album Millionaire was recorded partially in Nashville and mostly in Denmark with a stellar line-up of Scandinavian players.
In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin to produce You Can't Save Everybody. The trio followed this up with Lost John Dean in 2006, to general acclaim. Lost John Dean reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. The following eponymous Kane Welch Kaplin, with the addition of Lucas Kane, was also nominated for Duo/Group. The group traveled to Australia 10 times, as well as Europe and the UK, Canada, and all over the United States.
Throughout the 2000s, Welch has teamed up with Australian band The Flood
. They have recorded albums and DVDs together, and toured the country twice.
Welch moved to Wimberley, Texas, on 1 April 2008. In 2009, he recorded A Patch Of Blue Sky, his first solo project in 8 years. The recording features Texas musicians as well as his son Dustin, who played banjo and slide guitar, and his daughter Savannah, who appeared with her band the Trishas.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist. He has charted five singles on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts and released eight studio albums. He is also one of the cofounders of the Dead Reckoning Records
Dead Reckoning Records
Dead Reckoning Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. The label was established in 1994 by musicians Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers and Harry Stinson as a way to produce their own records without the frustration of a major record...
label, which he founded with fellow musicians Kieran Kane
Kieran Kane
Kieran Kane is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number...
, Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson, and Harry Stinson.
Biography
At the age of 7, Welch and his family moved to Midwest City, OklahomaMidwest City, Oklahoma
Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state....
. After graduating high school, he began touring with bands like New Rodeo and Blue Rose Cafe.
Welch moved to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1978 to work as a songwriter. Singers like Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...
, Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
, Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...
and Don Williams
Don Williams
Don Williams , is an American country singer, songwriter and a 2010 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He grew up in Portland, Texas, and graduated in 1958 from Gregory-Portland High School. After seven years with the folk-pop group Pozo-Seco Singers, he began his solo career in 1971,...
were using his material. At the same time he was very active in local clubs, performing with John Scott Sherrill
John Scott Sherrill
John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. He has written songs for such artists as John Anderson, Brooks & Dunn, Jimmy Buffett , Johnny Lee, George Strait, Steve Wariner, Patty Loveless, Josh Turner, Waylon Jennings, Alison Krauss, Peter...
and the Wolves In Cheap Clothing, The Roosters, and finally his own band - The Overtones. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
.
In 1990 the album Kevin Welch was recorded and 2 years later Western Beat. The former produced four charting singles on Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
, including "Til I See You Again," which reached #39.
In 1994 he co-founded Dead Reckoning Records
Dead Reckoning Records
Dead Reckoning Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. The label was established in 1994 by musicians Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers and Harry Stinson as a way to produce their own records without the frustration of a major record...
along with Kieran Kane
Kieran Kane
Kieran Kane is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number...
, Tammy Rogers
Tammy Rogers
Tammy Rogers is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. In addition to releasing three albums on the Dead Reckoning Records label , she works as a studio musician, primarily on fiddle, violin and viola...
, Mike Henderson and Harry Stinson. The following year Life Down Here on Earth was published and in 1999 Beneath My Wheels. The majority of songs are Welch's originals. In 2002 the album Millionaire was recorded partially in Nashville and mostly in Denmark with a stellar line-up of Scandinavian players.
In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin to produce You Can't Save Everybody. The trio followed this up with Lost John Dean in 2006, to general acclaim. Lost John Dean reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. The following eponymous Kane Welch Kaplin, with the addition of Lucas Kane, was also nominated for Duo/Group. The group traveled to Australia 10 times, as well as Europe and the UK, Canada, and all over the United States.
Throughout the 2000s, Welch has teamed up with Australian band The Flood
The Flood (band)
The Flood is an Australian roots music band led by Kevin Bennett. They won the Tamworth 2006 Golden Guitar Award for Vocal Group with their song "Hello Blue Sky"...
. They have recorded albums and DVDs together, and toured the country twice.
Welch moved to Wimberley, Texas, on 1 April 2008. In 2009, he recorded A Patch Of Blue Sky, his first solo project in 8 years. The recording features Texas musicians as well as his son Dustin, who played banjo and slide guitar, and his daughter Savannah, who appeared with her band the Trishas.
Albums
| Year | Title | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Kevin Welch | 69 | Reprise |
| 1992 | Western Beat | ||
| 1995 | Life Down Here on Earth | Dead Reckoning | |
| 1999 | Beneath My Wheels | ||
| 2002 | Millionaire | ||
| 2004 | You Can't Save Everybody (with Kieran Kane Kieran Kane Kieran Kane is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number... and Fats Kaplin) |
Compass | |
| 2006 | Lost John Dean (with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin) | ||
| 2007 | Kane Welch Kaplin (with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin) | ||
| 2010 | A Patch of Blue Sky | Music Road |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1989 | "Stay November" | 41 | — | Single only |
| "I Came Straight to You" | 64 | — | Kevin Welch | |
| 1990 | "Till I See You Again" | 39 | 18 | |
| "Praying for Rain" | 49 | 66 | ||
| 1991 | "True Love Never Dies" | 54 | 37 | |
| "Somethin' 'Bout You" | — | 80 | Western Beat | |
| 1995 | "Life Down Here on Earth" | — | — | Life Down Here on Earth |
| "I Feel Fine Today" | — | — | ||
| 1997 | "Anna Lise Please" | — | — | Beneath My Wheels |
| 2002 | "Killing Myself" | — | — | Millionaire |
Guest singles
| Year | Title | Artist | US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Tomorrow's World" | Various artists | 74 | Single only |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Till I See You Again" | Charley Randazzo |
| 1991 | "True Love Never Dies" | |
| 1992 | "Somethin' 'Bout You" | |
| 1995 | "I Feel Fine Today" | Michael McNamara |
| 1996 | "Life Down Here on Earth" | |
| 1999 | "Anna Lise Please" | |
| 2002 | "Killing Myself" | Chris Cates, Harry Stinson |