Beth Nielsen Chapman
Encyclopedia
Beth Nielsen Chapman is an American
singer-songwriter
, mostly known for her numerous hits recorded by country
and pop music
performers.
and pop
group called "Harmony" in Montgomery, Alabama
, effectively replacing Tommy Shaw
who had just left to join Styx
. She played acoustic guitar and piano as well as providing vocals for the group in a locally-popular bowling alley bar called Kegler's Kove and has returned to play in the area on an infrequent basis ever since.
, "In the Time it Takes".
Co-songwriter of Faith Hill
's hit song "This Kiss
", Chapman has written songs performed by numerous artists: Trisha Yearwood
("Down On My Knees", "You Say You Will", "Trying to Love You"), Martina McBride
("Happy Girl
"), Willie Nelson
("Nothing I Can Do About It Now", "Ain't Necessarily So", "If My World Didn't Have You"), Tanya Tucker
("Strong Enough to Bend"), Lorrie Morgan
("Five Minutes"), Mary Chapin Carpenter
("Almost Home"), Jim Brickman
& Rebecca Lynn Howard
("Simple Things"), Alabama
("Here We Are"), Suzy Bogguss
("Save Yourself"), Claudia Church
("What's the Matter With You Baby"), Holly Dunn
("You Say You Will"), Crystal Gayle
("When Love is New"), Highway 101
("All the Reasons Why
", "Long Way Down"), Terri Clark
("Sometimes Goodbye"), Mindy McCready
("One in a Million"), Waylon Jennings
("Shine On Me", "Old Church Hymns and Nursery Rhymes"), and Bette Midler
("The Color of Roses"), among others.
Several artists have performed with Beth on her albums: Bonnie Raitt
on "Heads Up for the Wrecking Ball" and "Shake My Soul"; Vince Gill
on "Deeper Still"; John Prine
on "Every December Sky"; Michael McDonald
on "Right Back Into the Feeling" & "Will and Liz"; Emmylou Harris
& Kimmie Rhodes on "There's a Light"; Paul Carrack
on "In the Time it Takes"; and her son Ernest Chapman III on "Your Love Stays".
Some of Chapman's songwriting collaborators have been Annie Roboff, Bill Lloyd and Eric Kaz
.
, according to the Billboard Top Adult Contemporary Hits book.
Chapman also charted one song on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Chart. "Sand and Water" reached Number 2 on the Bubbling Under chart, a position often listed as #102 on the Hot 100 in various Billboard singles books.
. The song "Sand and Water" was written after Ernest's death; Elton John
performed this song during his 1997 world tour. The song was featured on the episode "Sand and Water" in Season 7 of ER
(2000), as well as in the Season 1 episode "Dead Man Dating" of the TV series Charmed
in October 1998.
She has one son, Ernest, born 1981.
, was released in the United Kingdom
on January 25, 2010, with an expected United States release mid-year. The album contained eleven new compositions. The single "Even As It All Goes By" closed out 2009 as BBC Radio 2
's 'Record of the Week' and was the only new single added to the 'A list' of BBC Radio 2's playlist at the end of 2009. Additionally Back To Love was BBC Radio 2's 'Album of the Week' starting on January 18, 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, mostly known for her numerous hits recorded by country
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...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
performers.
Early history
In 1976, Chapman played with a rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group called "Harmony" in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, effectively replacing Tommy Shaw
Tommy Shaw
Tommy Roland Shaw is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the rock band Styx. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with the supergroup Damn Yankees and Shaw Blades, and has released several solo albums....
who had just left to join Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
. She played acoustic guitar and piano as well as providing vocals for the group in a locally-popular bowling alley bar called Kegler's Kove and has returned to play in the area on an infrequent basis ever since.
Career success as songwriter
Chapman had several popular songs on the Adult Contemporary charts in the 1990s, such as "I Keep Coming Back to You", "Walk My Way", "The Moment You Were Mine" and "All I Have". In 1993, she sang a popular duet with Paul CarrackPaul Carrack
Paul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
, "In the Time it Takes".
Co-songwriter of Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
's hit song "This Kiss
This Kiss
"This Kiss" is a song written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff, and recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill. Released on March 10, 1998 as the first single from her 1998 album Faith, it became a crossover single, reaching #1 on the U.S...
", Chapman has written songs performed by numerous artists: 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...
("Down On My Knees", "You Say You Will", "Trying to Love You"), Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
("Happy Girl
Happy Girl (song)
"Happy Girl" is the title of a song written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Annie Roboff. It was recorded by American country music singer Martina McBride, who released it in May 1998 from her fourth studio album, 1997's Evolution. The song reached a peak of #2 on the U.S...
"), Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
("Nothing I Can Do About It Now", "Ain't Necessarily So", "If My World Didn't Have You"), Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
("Strong Enough to Bend"), Lorrie Morgan
Lorrie Morgan
In 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
("Five Minutes"), Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
("Almost Home"), Jim Brickman
Jim Brickman
Jim Brickman is an American songwriter and pianist. He has been named the most charted male Adult Contemporary artist to date, with six of his albums receiving Gold and Platinum status. He is known for his solo piano compositions, pop-style instrumentals, and vocal collaborations with artists...
& Rebecca Lynn Howard
Rebecca Lynn Howard
Rebecca Lynn Howard is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums...
("Simple Things"), Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
("Here We Are"), Suzy Bogguss
Suzy Bogguss
Susan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After...
("Save Yourself"), Claudia Church
Claudia Church
Claudia Church is an American country singer whose hits include "What's the Matter With You Baby" and "Home in My Heart ".-Biography:...
("What's the Matter With You Baby"), Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn is a country music artist who first found fame with her 1986 Top-10 hit "Daddy's Hands" from her self-titled début album. Dunn has charted more than a dozen country singles, two of which reaching the #1 spot.Dunn is the daughter of a minister father...
("You Say You Will"), Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
("When Love is New"), Highway 101
Highway 101 (band)
Highway 101 is an American country music band founded by Paulette Carlson , Jack Daniels , Curtis Stone and Scott "Cactus" Moser . With Carlson as lead vocalist, the band recorded three albums for Warner Bros. Records Nashville and charted ten consecutive Top Ten hits on the Hot Country Songs...
("All the Reasons Why
All the Reasons Why
"All the Reasons Why" is a single by American country music group Highway 101. Released in September 1988, it was the second single from their album Highway 101². The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in January 1989....
", "Long Way Down"), Terri Clark
Terri Clark
Terri Lynn Sauson , known professionally as Terri Clark, is a Canadian country music artist who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that year...
("Sometimes Goodbye"), Mindy McCready
Mindy McCready
Melinda Gayle "Mindy" McCready is an American country music singer. Active since 1996, she has recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the...
("One in a Million"), 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...
("Shine On Me", "Old Church Hymns and Nursery Rhymes"), and Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
("The Color of Roses"), among others.
Several artists have performed with Beth on her albums: Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
on "Heads Up for the Wrecking Ball" and "Shake My Soul"; Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
on "Deeper Still"; John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
on "Every December Sky"; Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
on "Right Back Into the Feeling" & "Will and Liz"; Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
& Kimmie Rhodes on "There's a Light"; Paul Carrack
Paul Carrack
Paul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
on "In the Time it Takes"; and her son Ernest Chapman III on "Your Love Stays".
Some of Chapman's songwriting collaborators have been Annie Roboff, Bill Lloyd and Eric Kaz
Eric Kaz
Eric Kaz, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947, is a singer-songwriter active mainly in the late 1960s and the 1970s.-Biography:He first appeared on the popular music scene in the mid-60s playing piano in a band called Children of Paradise with Happy and Artie Traum...
.
Charting singles
Chapman has charted eight singles on the Billboard Top Adult Contemporary Singles chart. She is tied for first place (with Marilyn Maye) as the artist with the most charted Adult Contemporary hits without ever reaching the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, according to the Billboard Top Adult Contemporary Hits book.
Chapman also charted one song on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Chart. "Sand and Water" reached Number 2 on the Bubbling Under chart, a position often listed as #102 on the Hot 100 in various Billboard singles books.
Personal life
Chapman's husband, Ernest Chapman, died of cancer in 1994. In 2000 she experienced her own battle with breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. The song "Sand and Water" was written after Ernest's death; Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
performed this song during his 1997 world tour. The song was featured on the episode "Sand and Water" in Season 7 of ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(2000), as well as in the Season 1 episode "Dead Man Dating" of the TV series Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
in October 1998.
She has one son, Ernest, born 1981.
Recent recordings
Chapman's latest album, Back to LoveBack to Love (Beth Nielsen Chapman album)
Back To Love is the ninth studio album by Beth Nielsen Chapman. It was released in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2010 and in the United States on May 25, 2010.-Track list:#"Hallelujah" – 4:14...
, was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on January 25, 2010, with an expected United States release mid-year. The album contained eleven new compositions. The single "Even As It All Goes By" closed out 2009 as BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's 'Record of the Week' and was the only new single added to the 'A list' of BBC Radio 2's playlist at the end of 2009. Additionally Back To Love was BBC Radio 2's 'Album of the Week' starting on January 18, 2010.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
US Christian | US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
||
| 1980 | Hearing It First | |||
| 1990 | Beth Nielsen Chapman Beth Nielsen Chapman (album) Beth Nielsen Chapman is the second album by singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Beth Nielsen Chapman; except where indicated#"Life Holds On"#"No System for Love"... |
19 | ||
| 1993 | You Hold the Key You Hold the Key You Hold the Key is Beth Nielsen Chapman's second album. It was released in 1993 on Reprise Records, and features a duet with British singer-songwriters and Mike + The Mechanics vocalist/keyboardist Paul Carrack, called "In The Time It Takes".... |
16 | ||
| 1997 | Sand and Water Sand and Water -Track listing:#"The Color of Roses" #"Beyond the Blue" #"All the Time in the World" #"Sand and Water" #"Fair Enough"... |
30 | ||
| 1999 | Greatest Hits Greatest Hits (Beth Nielsen Chapman album) Beth Nielsen Chapman's Greatest Hits was a 1999 compilation album with the following tracks:1) Beyond The Blue 2) Happy Girl 3) Walk My Way 4) All I Have 5) Life Holds On 6) The Color of Roses... |
|||
| 2002 | Deeper Still Deeper Still Deeper Still is Beth Nielsen Chapman's uncharted 2002 album.-Tracks:#"World of Hurt" #"Angels by My Side" #"Every December Sky" #"Shake My Soul"... |
|||
| 2004 | Hymns Hymns (Beth Nielsen Chapman album) -Tracks:#"Ave Verum Corpus" #"Veni Veni Emmanuel" #"Tantum Ergo" #"O Salutaris Hostia" #"Adoramus Te" #"O Sanctissima"... |
21 | 29 | 29 |
| 2005 | Look Look (Beth Nielsen Chapman album) Look is a 2005 album by Beth Nielsen Chapman. It reached number 63 in the UK Albums Chart.-Tracks:#"Trying to Love You" #"Right Back into the Feeling" #"Look"... |
|||
| 2007 | Prism Prism (Beth Nielsen Chapman album) Prism is a two CD concept album by Beth Nielsen Chapman released in 2007.Disk One#God Is In + Written by Billy Jonas/Laura Mahr/Chris Chandler/BNC/Annie Roboff... |
|||
| 2010 | Back to Love Back to Love (Beth Nielsen Chapman album) Back To Love is the ninth studio album by Beth Nielsen Chapman. It was released in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2010 and in the United States on May 25, 2010.-Track list:#"Hallelujah" – 4:14... |
15 | ||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN AC | CAN | |||
| 1991 | "Walk My Way" | 14 | — | 15 | 39 | Beth Nielsen Chapman |
| "All I Have" | 12 | — | 37 | 49 | ||
| "I Keep Coming Back to You" | 13 | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | "Life Holds On" | 33 | — | — | — | |
| 1993 | "The Moment You Were Mine" | 37 | — | 21 | 23 | You Hold the Key |
| 1994 | "In the Time It Takes" | 25 | — | — | 34 | |
| 1997 | "Sand and Water" | 22 | 102 | 47 | — | Sand and Water |
| 2000 | "Shake My Soul" | 26 | — | — | — | Where the Heart Is Soundtrack |
Contributions
- Song of AmericaSong of America (album)Song of America is a 3-disc, compilation album comprising 50 songs related to the history of America. Released on September 18, 2007 under Split Rock Records/Thirty One Tigers, the music collection was conceived by former U.S...
(2007) - "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" - Time and Love: The Music of Laura NyroTime and Love: The Music of Laura NyroTime and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro is a 1997 tribute album to Laura Nyro, recorded shortly after the singer-songwriter's death of ovarian cancer.Almost all of the artists recorded Nyro's songs...
(1997) - "Stoney EndStoney EndStoney End is the twelfth studio album by Barbra Streisand. Released in 1971, it was a change in direction for Streisand with a more upbeat contemporary pop sound...
"