Ricky Lynn Gregg
Encyclopedia
Ricky Lynn Gregg is a country music
artist of Native American
descent. Active between the years of 1993 and 2001, he has recorded three studio albums: two on Liberty Records
(1993's Ricky Lynn Gregg and 1994's Get a Little Closer) and one on Row Music Group (2001's Careful What You Wish For). His first two albums produced three hit singles on the Billboard
country music charts, including the #36-peaking "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart".
and released his eponymous debut album. The album produced a #34 single in "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart", a cover of a Mel Street
song. Following it were "Can You Feel It" and "Three Nickels and a Dime". In 1993, Billboard
ranked him at #4 on their list of Top New Country Artists of the Year.
A second album, titled Get a Little Closer, was released on Liberty in 1994, with its title track being the only single. One year later, Gregg's manager, Jimmy Bowen
, retired due to thyroid cancer, and Gregg was dropped from his label soon afterward. In 1997, Gregg found another manager, named Eddie Rhines, who helped the singer rebuild his fan base. By 2001, his third album, titled Careful What You Wish For, was released on the then-newly established independent label Row Music Group (RMG).
Gregg has also begun a charity called Trail of Hope, which provides clothing for underprivileged Cherokee
, Choctaw
and Sioux
Indians.
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 of Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
descent. Active between the years of 1993 and 2001, he has recorded three studio albums: two on Liberty Records
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
(1993's Ricky Lynn Gregg and 1994's Get a Little Closer) and one on Row Music Group (2001's Careful What You Wish For). His first two albums produced three hit 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...
country music charts, including the #36-peaking "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart".
Musical career
Ricky Lynn Gregg grew up in Longview, Texas, and began singing in the church at a very early age. His earliest influences were gospel and country. By 1992, Gregg was performing as a solo singer; the same year, he signed to Liberty RecordsLiberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
and released his eponymous debut album. The album produced a #34 single in "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart", a cover of a Mel Street
Mel Street
King Malachi Street , commonly known as Mel Street, was an American country music singer.-Biography:Street was born in Rowe, Virginia to a coal mining family...
song. Following it were "Can You Feel It" and "Three Nickels and a Dime". In 1993, 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...
ranked him at #4 on their list of Top New Country Artists of the Year.
A second album, titled Get a Little Closer, was released on Liberty in 1994, with its title track being the only single. One year later, Gregg's manager, Jimmy Bowen
Jimmy Bowen
Jimmy Bowen is an American record producer and former pop music performer.Bowen was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He began as a teenage recording star in 1957 with "I'm Stickin' With You," originally the flip side of the hit record "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, but ultimately a Top 20 recording...
, retired due to thyroid cancer, and Gregg was dropped from his label soon afterward. In 1997, Gregg found another manager, named Eddie Rhines, who helped the singer rebuild his fan base. By 2001, his third album, titled Careful What You Wish For, was released on the then-newly established independent label Row Music Group (RMG).
Gregg has also begun a charity called Trail of Hope, which provides clothing for underprivileged Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Indians.
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
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... |
||
| Ricky Lynn Gregg |
|
37 | 190 | 9 |
| Get a Little Closer |
|
— | — | — |
| Careful What You Wish For |
|
— | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak 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... |
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 Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
|||
| 1993 | "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart" | 36 | 109 | 42 | Ricky Lynn Gregg |
| "Can You Feel It" | 58 | — | 79 | ||
| "Three Nickels and a Dime" | — | — | — | ||
| 1994 | "No Place Left to Go" | — | — | — | |
| "Get a Little Closer" | 73 | — | — | Get a Little Closer | |
| "After the Fire Is Gone After the Fire Is Gone "After the Fire Is Gone" is a 1971 duet single by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty and written by L.E. White as the only single released from the LP, We Only Make Believe. "After the Fire Is Gone" was the first number one on the U.S. country chart for Lynn and Twitty as a duo. It spent two weeks at... " |
— | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "To Find Where I Belong" | — | — | — | |
| "Santa Claus is Coming to Town Santa Claus Is Coming to Town "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934.... " |
— | — | — | single only | |
| 2001 | "Be Careful What You Wish For" | — | — | — | Careful What You Wish For |
| 2002 | "I Wanna Be Loved by You" | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart" | |
| "Can You Feel It" | ||
| "Three Nickels and a Dime" | ||
| 1994 | "Get a Little Closer" | Michael Merriman |
| "After the Fire Is Gone" | ||
| 1995 | "To Find Where I Belong" | |
| 2001 | "Be Careful What You Wish For" | Tom Bevins |
| 2002 | "I Wanna Be Loved by You" | Peter Lippman |