Charles Kelley
Encyclopedia
Charles Burgess Kelley is an American country music
singer-songwriter and founding member of Lady Antebellum
, a country rock trio formed in 2006 and signed to Capitol Nashville.
, and began his musical career at the age of 11. His older brother, Josh Kelley
, is also a musician and singer. As teenagers, Charles, Josh and oldest brother John formed a band called Inside Blue; the band released a five-song CD that garnered the attention of a major label. In middle school, Kelley met Dave Haywood
and, at the age of 14, they wrote their first song. They both graduated from Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia.
Kelley attended the University of Georgia
in Athens, Georgia
, where he was a member of the Nu Zeta chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha
fraternity. He graduated in 2004 with a degree in finance.
Before moving to Nashville, Tennessee
, in mid-2005 to pursue a musical career, Kelley worked in his brother John's construction business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
, as an accountant for an affiliated waste management company. Kelley made the move after his brother Josh, who was a pop
musician at the time, bought a house in Nashville and convinced him to come live there so they could write songs together.
, and Dave Haywood
founded the country music group Lady Antebellum in 2006 and released their self-titled debut album
in April 2008. The trio either wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs on the album, which featured production by Paul Worley
and Victoria Shaw
. The album included the trio's debut hit, "Love Don't Live Here", along with the singles, "Lookin' for a Good Time
" and "I Run to You", the latter of which became their first Number One hit on Billboard
s Hot Country Songs
chart in July 2009. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in October 2009. In 2008, they returned to Charles' and Dave's former high school alma mater, Lakeside High School, and performed a short concert in the gymnasium.
In January 2010, Lady Antebellum released its second album, Need You Now
, which was led off by the five-week No. 1 and crossover hit, "Need You Now". All three members of the band co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on the album and produced alongside Worley. The album generated the No. 1 hits, "American Honey
" and "Our Kind of Love
", and the Top 10 single, "Hello World
", and was certified triple platinum in October 2010.
In May 2011, Lady Antebellum released "Just a Kiss
" as the first single from its third album, Own the Night
, which was released on September 13, 2011.
bandmate, Dave Haywood
. One of those songs was "Do I
" on labelmate Luke Bryan
's 2009 album, Doin' My Thing
. Written in late 2008, the song was released to radio in April 2009 and peaked at No. 2 on Billboard
s Hot Country Songs
chart in December of that year. The song also featured Lady Antebellum's HIllary Scott
on background vocals.
In 2009, Kelley and Haywood penned a song called "It's Only" for Danny Gokey
's debut album, My Best Days
, with "I Run to You" cowriter, Tom Douglas
. That same year, the two also wrote "Love Song" with Blake Shelton
and Miranda Lambert
, which Lambert would later record for her third studio album, Revolution
.
In 2010, Kelley and Haywood wrote "Kiss Me Slowly" with Will Anderson
, lead singer of the pop rock
band, Parachute
. The song made it on to Parachute's second studio album, The Way It Was, and was released to iTunes
in the weeks leading up to the release of the album. That same year, Kelley, along with Scott and Haywood, recorded a duet with Maroon 5
called "Out of Goodbyes" as Lady Antebellum. The song was included on Maroon 5's third studio album, Hands All Over
, but was never released as a single.
In addition, Kelley has co-written numerous songs for his brother, Josh Kelley
. Those songs are "Just Say the Word" and "Pop Game" on Josh's 2006 album, Just Say the Word
, which were written by the brothers with Haywood; "Lift Me Up" and "Stay Awake" on 2008's Special Company
; and "Georgia Clay
" and "Ain't Lettin' Go" on his 2011 country debut, Georgia Clay
.
tweeted
a photo of Kelley showing off his wedding band, saying, "What is that you see on Charles' hand... yep a wedding ring!!!" McConnell represents several country musicians, including her brother-in-law, Josh Kelley
.
As a result of his brother Josh Kelley's marriage, Charles Kelley is the brother in-law of actress Katherine Heigl
.
Kelley had the lyrics, "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," from the Beatles song, "Blackbird
", tattooed on his right forearm in early 2009. In 2010, Kelley got a second tattoo, a design of the flower of life
, on his upper left arm.
In addition to being an avid golfer, Kelley is a motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2006 Harley Softail Custom
.
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...
singer-songwriter and founding member of Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum is an American country pop music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. The trio is composed of Charles Kelley , Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott .The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol...
, a country rock trio formed in 2006 and signed to Capitol Nashville.
Early life and career
Kelley was born in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, and began his musical career at the age of 11. His older brother, Josh Kelley
Josh Kelley
Joshua Bishop "Josh" Kelley is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Kelley has recorded for Hollywood Records, Threshold Records and DNK Records as a pop rock artist, and has had four hit singles on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart...
, is also a musician and singer. As teenagers, Charles, Josh and oldest brother John formed a band called Inside Blue; the band released a five-song CD that garnered the attention of a major label. In middle school, Kelley met Dave Haywood
Dave Haywood
David Wesley Haywood is an American country music singer. He is one-third of the band Lady Antebellum, in which he plays piano, guitar and mandolin, and sings backing vocals....
and, at the age of 14, they wrote their first song. They both graduated from Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia.
Kelley attended the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, where he was a member of the Nu Zeta chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...
fraternity. He graduated in 2004 with a degree in finance.
Before moving to Nashville, Tennessee
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 mid-2005 to pursue a musical career, Kelley worked in his brother John's construction business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, as an accountant for an affiliated waste management company. Kelley made the move after his brother Josh, who was a 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...
musician at the time, bought a house in Nashville and convinced him to come live there so they could write songs together.
In Lady Antebellum
Kelley, Hillary ScottHillary Scott (singer)
Hillary Dawn Scott is an American country music singer-songwriter. She is currently a member of Lady Antebellum, a country band that was formed in 2006 and signed to Capitol Nashville.-Early life:...
, and Dave Haywood
Dave Haywood
David Wesley Haywood is an American country music singer. He is one-third of the band Lady Antebellum, in which he plays piano, guitar and mandolin, and sings backing vocals....
founded the country music group Lady Antebellum in 2006 and released their self-titled debut album
Lady Antebellum (album)
Lady Antebellum is the self-titled debut album by the American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released on April 15, 2008. Its lead-off single, "Love Don't Live Here" was released in late 2007 and entered Top 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in May 2008. A second single,...
in April 2008. The trio either wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs on the album, which featured production by Paul Worley
Paul Worley
Paul Worley is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Records' Nashville division as chief creative officer...
and Victoria Shaw
Victoria Shaw (singer)
Victoria Lynn Shaw is an American country music artist. She has recorded four studio albums, and has charted five singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
. The album included the trio's debut hit, "Love Don't Live Here", along with the singles, "Lookin' for a Good Time
Lookin' for a Good Time
"Lookin' for a Good Time" is a single by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It is the second single from their self-titled debut album, as well as their second Top 20 hit on the Billboard country charts...
" and "I Run to You", the latter of which became their first Number One hit on 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...
s 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...
chart in July 2009. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in October 2009. In 2008, they returned to Charles' and Dave's former high school alma mater, Lakeside High School, and performed a short concert in the gymnasium.
In January 2010, Lady Antebellum released its second album, Need You Now
Need You Now
"Need You Now" is a country pop song performed by American country music group Lady Antebellum. The song was co-written by Lady Antebellum and Josh Kear, and produced by the trio along with Paul Worley. It serves as the lead-off single and title track to their second studio album, Need You Now,...
, which was led off by the five-week No. 1 and crossover hit, "Need You Now". All three members of the band co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on the album and produced alongside Worley. The album generated the No. 1 hits, "American Honey
American Honey
"American Honey" is the title of a song written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey and Shane Stevens. It was recorded by the American country music group Lady Antebellum, who released it on January 11, 2010 as the second single from its second studio album, Need You Now...
" and "Our Kind of Love
Our Kind of Love
"Our Kind of Love" is the title of a song recorded by American country music group Lady Antebellum. Written by the trio along with Busbee, it serves as the third single from their second studio album, Need You Now...
", and the Top 10 single, "Hello World
Hello World (song)
"Hello World" is the title of a song written by Tom Douglas, Tony Lane, and David Lee which was recorded by Lady Antebellum. It was released as the fourth single from their album Need You Now. The song was scheduled to be released to country radio on 4 October 2010, but debuted on the Hot Country...
", and was certified triple platinum in October 2010.
In May 2011, Lady Antebellum released "Just a Kiss
Just a Kiss
"Just a Kiss" is a song by American country music group Lady Antebellum. It was released on May 2, 2011, by Capitol Records, as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Own the Night . Dallas Davidson collaborated with band members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood to write...
" as the first single from its third album, Own the Night
Own the Night
Own the Night is the third studio album by the American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released on September 13, 2011 through Capitol Nashville. It was produced by Paul Worley...
, which was released on September 13, 2011.
Other Projects
Kelley's other works consist of co-writing songs for other artists, mainly with Lady AntebellumLady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum is an American country pop music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. The trio is composed of Charles Kelley , Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott .The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol...
bandmate, Dave Haywood
Dave Haywood
David Wesley Haywood is an American country music singer. He is one-third of the band Lady Antebellum, in which he plays piano, guitar and mandolin, and sings backing vocals....
. One of those songs was "Do I
Do I
"Do I" is a song co-written and recorded by country music artist Luke Bryan. It is the lead-off single to his second studio album Doin' My Thing...
" on labelmate Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan
Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan is an American country singer who debuted in 2007 with the single "All My Friends Say", a Top 5 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His debut album, I'll Stay Me, was released on Capitol Records in 2007. This album also produced chart singles in "We Rode in...
's 2009 album, Doin' My Thing
Doin' My Thing
Doin' My Thing is the second studio album by American country music singer Luke Bryan. It was released on October 6, 2009 via Capitol Records Nashville. The album includes the singles "Do I," which peaked at number 2 on the U.S...
. Written in late 2008, the song was released to radio in April 2009 and peaked at No. 2 on 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...
s 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...
chart in December of that year. The song also featured Lady Antebellum's HIllary Scott
Hillary Scott (singer)
Hillary Dawn Scott is an American country music singer-songwriter. She is currently a member of Lady Antebellum, a country band that was formed in 2006 and signed to Capitol Nashville.-Early life:...
on background vocals.
In 2009, Kelley and Haywood penned a song called "It's Only" for Danny Gokey
Danny Gokey
Daniel Jay "Danny" Gokey is an American country music singer and church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol...
's debut album, My Best Days
My Best Days
Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave a positive review, saying that its sound recalled country pop and contemporary Christian music, but also saying that it "sure feels like Danny Gokey has gotten himself a strong set of songs that find him in strong voice." Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave...
, with "I Run to You" cowriter, Tom Douglas
Tom Douglas (songwriter)
Thomas Stevenson "Tom" Douglas is an American country music songwriter. Active since the early 1990s, he has written Top Ten hits for John Michael Montgomery, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Collin Raye and others....
. That same year, the two also wrote "Love Song" with Blake Shelton
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
and Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is an American country music artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut...
, which Lambert would later record for her third studio album, Revolution
Revolution (Miranda Lambert album)
Upon its release, Revolution received general acclaim from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".Rolling Stone magazine...
.
In 2010, Kelley and Haywood wrote "Kiss Me Slowly" with Will Anderson
Will Anderson (singer)
William Charles Anderson is the lead vocalist in the band Parachute, a pop rock band whose five members have been friends since high school and through college. They hail from Charlottesville, Virginia, the place that most of them call their hometown. Known for songs "She Is Love", Forever and...
, lead singer of the pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
band, Parachute
Parachute (band)
Parachute is a rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The members graduated from college in May 2008 and since then have been touring and promoting their debut album Losing Sleep and sophomore album The Way It Was full-time.-History:...
. The song made it on to Parachute's second studio album, The Way It Was, and was released to iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
in the weeks leading up to the release of the album. That same year, Kelley, along with Scott and Haywood, recorded a duet with Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
called "Out of Goodbyes" as Lady Antebellum. The song was included on Maroon 5's third studio album, Hands All Over
Hands All Over
"Hands All Over" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Featuring lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music written by guitarist Kim Thayil, "Hands All Over" was released in 1990 as the second single from the band's second studio album, Louder Than Love . It also appeared on the...
, but was never released as a single.
In addition, Kelley has co-written numerous songs for his brother, Josh Kelley
Josh Kelley
Joshua Bishop "Josh" Kelley is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Kelley has recorded for Hollywood Records, Threshold Records and DNK Records as a pop rock artist, and has had four hit singles on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart...
. Those songs are "Just Say the Word" and "Pop Game" on Josh's 2006 album, Just Say the Word
Just Say the Word
Just Say The Word is Josh Kelley's third album, his first on his own independent label, Threshold Records. To date there has been three different releases with different tracks.- Track listing :...
, which were written by the brothers with Haywood; "Lift Me Up" and "Stay Awake" on 2008's Special Company
Special Company
Special Company is the fourth album from singer-songwriter Josh Kelley. The album was released on February 5, 2008. The album peaked at #7 on the Top Heatseekers.- Track listing:...
; and "Georgia Clay
Georgia Clay (song)
"Georgia Clay" is the title of a song written by Josh Kelley, Charles Kelley and Clint Lagerberg. It was recorded by Josh Kelley and released in August 2010 as the first single from his album Georgia Clay.-Critical reception:...
" and "Ain't Lettin' Go" on his 2011 country debut, Georgia Clay
Georgia Clay
-Album:-Singles:...
.
Personal life
Kelley is married to Cassie McConnell after two years of dating. The couple wed in a Nashville courthouse in late June 2009 as a legal formality before having a destination wedding in the Bahamas the following Fourth of July weekend. After the wedding, Lady AntebellumLady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum is an American country pop music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. The trio is composed of Charles Kelley , Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott .The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol...
tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
a photo of Kelley showing off his wedding band, saying, "What is that you see on Charles' hand... yep a wedding ring!!!" McConnell represents several country musicians, including her brother-in-law, Josh Kelley
Josh Kelley
Joshua Bishop "Josh" Kelley is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Kelley has recorded for Hollywood Records, Threshold Records and DNK Records as a pop rock artist, and has had four hit singles on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart...
.
As a result of his brother Josh Kelley's marriage, Charles Kelley is the brother in-law of actress Katherine Heigl
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
.
Kelley had the lyrics, "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," from the Beatles song, "Blackbird
Blackbird (song)
"Blackbird" is a Beatles song from the double-disc album The Beatles . Blackbird was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney.-Origins:...
", tattooed on his right forearm in early 2009. In 2010, Kelley got a second tattoo, a design of the flower of life
Flower of Life
The Flower of Life is the modern name given to a geometrical figure composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles. They are arranged to form a flower-like pattern with a sixfold symmetry, similar to a hexagon...
, on his upper left arm.
In addition to being an avid golfer, Kelley is a motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2006 Harley Softail Custom
Softail
The term softail refers to motorcycles and bicycles that feature a rear suspension system with springs or shock absorbers to absorb bumps. On Softail motorcycles, the shock absorbers or springs are often hidden underneath out of view to give the appearance of a hard-tail or rigid frame, however...
.
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Awards | Award | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... s |
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal - "I Run to You" | |
| Best Country Song - "I Run to You" | |||
| Academy of Country Music Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the... |
Song of the Year - "Need You Now" | ||
| Country Music Association Country Music Association The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre... |
Song of the Year - "Need You Now" | ||
| 2011 | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... s |
Album of the Year - "Need You Now" | |
| Best Country Album - "Need You Now" | |||
| Record of the Year - "Need You Now" | |||
| Song of the Year - "Need You Now" | |||
| Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal - "Need You Now" | |||
| Best Country Song - "Need You Now" | |||
| BMI | Pop Song of the Year - "Need You Now" |
External links
- MediaRhyme Inc. 2011 Awards and Nominations