Stephanie Bentley
Encyclopedia
Stephanie Kay Bentley is an American country music
artist. She made her debut in 1996 as a duet partner on Ty Herndon
's single "Heart Half Empty", which peaked at #21 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The single was included both on Herndon's 1995 debut album What Mattered Most
and on Bentley's 1996 debut album Hopechest
. It produced three more singles for her on the country charts, although only one ("Who's That Girl") reached Top 40.
Bentley never recorded an album or charted a single after the release of Hopechest. However, she did find success as a songwriter, having penned Faith Hill
's 1999 crossover single "Breathe
", as well as Martina McBride
's 2002 Top 5 hit "Concrete Angel
". She has also co-written album cuts for Céline Dion
, Pam Tillis
and Jo Dee Messina
, and recorded a song to the soundtrack for the film Holes
.
, who was President of the United States
at the time. In 1984, she formed a band called Special Delivery.
, where she worked as a demo singer. One of the songs for which she sang a demo was "Shake the Sugar Tree
", which later became a Top 5 hit when Pam Tillis
recorded it for her 1992 album Homeward Looking Angel
. Bentley's demo vocals were dubbed into Tillis' recording of the song.
which produced no albums or singles, Bentley signed to Epic Records
in 1995. Her first chart entry in 1996 was as a duet partner on Ty Herndon
's single "Heart Half Empty" (from his debut album What Mattered Most
) which peaked at #21 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. "Heart Half Empty" was followed by her first solo release for Epic, "Who's That Girl", which peaked at #32. This was the first single from her debut album Hopechest
, issued by Epic that year. The album produced three more singles after "Who's That Girl", although these latter three singles—"Once I was the Light of Your Life", "The Hopechest Song" and "Dead Ringer"—all failed to make Top 40.
" by Faith Hill
, which spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard country music charts in late 1999-early 2000 and became the Number One song of 2000 on the Billboard Hot 100
year-end countdown. Bentley also co-wrote Lorrie Morgan
's 1998 single "I'm Not That Easy to Forget" with George Teren and Chris Waters, Martina McBride
's 2002 hit "Concrete Angel
" with Rob Crosby
, as well as Gloriana
's 2009 debut single "Wild at Heart
" with Josh Kear
and Matt Serletic
. Bentley also contributed the songs "I Will Survive" to the soundtrack of the 2003 film Holes
and "Don't It Feel Good" to the soundtrack the 2005 film Must Love Dogs
.
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. She made her debut in 1996 as a duet partner on Ty Herndon
Ty Herndon
Boyd Tyrone "Ty" Herndon is an American country music and Christian singer. Signed to Epic Records in 1995, Herndon made his debut that year with the Number One single "What Mattered Most", followed by the release of his first album, also entitled What Mattered Most...
's single "Heart Half Empty", which peaked at #21 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 Singles & Tracks charts. The single was included both on Herndon's 1995 debut album What Mattered Most
What Mattered Most
What Mattered Most is the debut album of American country music artist Ty Herndon, issued in 1995 on Epic Records. The album's title track, which was Herndon's debut single, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in mid-1995...
and on Bentley's 1996 debut album Hopechest
Hopechest
Hopechest is the only album released by country music artist Stephanie Bentley. It was released in 1996 on Epic Records Nashville and it accounted for four singles, in addition to reprising a single from Ty Herndon's debut album What Mattered Most on which Bentley provided duet vocals. The album...
. It produced three more singles for her on the country charts, although only one ("Who's That Girl") reached Top 40.
Bentley never recorded an album or charted a single after the release of Hopechest. However, she did find success as a songwriter, having penned 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 1999 crossover single "Breathe
Breathe (Faith Hill song)
"Breathe" is a country song by American recording artist Faith Hill, released as the first single from her 1999 album of the same name. The song was written by Stephanie Bentley and Holly Lamar. "Breathe" became Hill's 7th number one on the country music charts in the US. The song spent four weeks...
", as well as 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....
's 2002 Top 5 hit "Concrete Angel
Concrete Angel
"Concrete Angel" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride and co-produced by McBride and Paul Worley. Composed by Rob Crosby and Stephanie Bentley, the song was released in 2002, as the last single from McBride's 2001 Greatest Hits album...
". She has also co-written album cuts for Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
and Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Marie Messina , known professionally as Jo Dee Messina, is an American country music artist. She has charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and has been nominated for two...
, and recorded a song to the soundtrack for the film Holes
Holes (film)
Holes is a 2003 film based on the novel of the same name by Louis Sachar, who also wrote the screenplay, with Shia LaBeouf as the lead role of Stanley Yelnats...
.
Early life
Bentley's musical interests began at age nine, when she, her sister, and a friend entered and won a talent contest. The three later toured briefly as a musical group, even singing for Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, who was President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
at the time. In 1984, she formed a band called Special Delivery.
Move to Tennessee
She later moved to Nashville, TennesseeNashville, 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...
, where she worked as a demo singer. One of the songs for which she sang a demo was "Shake the Sugar Tree
Shake the Sugar Tree
"Shake the Sugar Tree" is the title of a country music song written by Chapin Hartord. It was recorded by American singer Pam Tillis on her 1992 album Homeward Looking Angel, from which it was released in 1992 as the album's lead-off single...
", which later became a Top 5 hit when Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
recorded it for her 1992 album Homeward Looking Angel
Homeward Looking Angel
Homeward Looking Angel is the third album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. The album was a #23 album on the Billboard charts. This album produced four singles for Tillis on the Hot Country Songs charts: the Top Five hits "Shake the Sugar Tree" and "Let That Pony Run" , as well as the...
. Bentley's demo vocals were dubbed into Tillis' recording of the song.
1995-1997: Ty Herndon duet and Hopechest
After a failed deal with 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:...
which produced no albums or singles, Bentley signed to Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
in 1995. Her first chart entry in 1996 was as a duet partner on Ty Herndon
Ty Herndon
Boyd Tyrone "Ty" Herndon is an American country music and Christian singer. Signed to Epic Records in 1995, Herndon made his debut that year with the Number One single "What Mattered Most", followed by the release of his first album, also entitled What Mattered Most...
's single "Heart Half Empty" (from his debut album What Mattered Most
What Mattered Most
What Mattered Most is the debut album of American country music artist Ty Herndon, issued in 1995 on Epic Records. The album's title track, which was Herndon's debut single, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in mid-1995...
) which peaked at #21 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 Singles & Tracks charts. "Heart Half Empty" was followed by her first solo release for Epic, "Who's That Girl", which peaked at #32. This was the first single from her debut album Hopechest
Hopechest
Hopechest is the only album released by country music artist Stephanie Bentley. It was released in 1996 on Epic Records Nashville and it accounted for four singles, in addition to reprising a single from Ty Herndon's debut album What Mattered Most on which Bentley provided duet vocals. The album...
, issued by Epic that year. The album produced three more singles after "Who's That Girl", although these latter three singles—"Once I was the Light of Your Life", "The Hopechest Song" and "Dead Ringer"—all failed to make Top 40.
1997-present: Songwriting
Although Bentley never charted or recorded an album after 1997, she found success writing songs for others, most notably "BreatheBreathe (Faith Hill song)
"Breathe" is a country song by American recording artist Faith Hill, released as the first single from her 1999 album of the same name. The song was written by Stephanie Bentley and Holly Lamar. "Breathe" became Hill's 7th number one on the country music charts in the US. The song spent four weeks...
" by 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...
, which spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard country music charts in late 1999-early 2000 and became the Number One song of 2000 on the Billboard Hot 100
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...
year-end countdown. Bentley also co-wrote 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....
's 1998 single "I'm Not That Easy to Forget" with George Teren and Chris Waters, 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....
's 2002 hit "Concrete Angel
Concrete Angel
"Concrete Angel" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride and co-produced by McBride and Paul Worley. Composed by Rob Crosby and Stephanie Bentley, the song was released in 2002, as the last single from McBride's 2001 Greatest Hits album...
" with Rob Crosby
Rob Crosby
Robert Crosby Hoar , is an American country music artist, known professionally as Rob Crosby. Between 1990 and 1996, Rob charted eight singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. He has also recorded six studio albums, with his most recent, Catfish Baby, being released in 2007...
, as well as Gloriana
Gloriana (band)
Gloriana is an American country music group founded in 2008. It is composed of brothers Tom Gossin and Mike Gossin , as well as Rachel Reinert and, until July 2011, Cheyenne Kimball . Before the band's foundation, Kimball was the 2002 winner of the competition America's Most Talented Kid and a...
's 2009 debut single "Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (song)
"Wild at Heart" is the title of a song recorded by American country group Gloriana. In early 2009, the song was released as the group's debut single, and was available as a digital download on May 8, 2009. It served as the lead-off single to Gloriana's self-titled debut album that was released...
" with Josh Kear
Josh Kear
Joshua Peter "Josh" Kear is an American songwriter. His credits include Carrie Underwood's number-one "Before He Cheats," for which Kear won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 2007 and Lady Antebellum's number-one "Need You Now," for which Kear won an Academy of Country Music Award for Best...
and Matt Serletic
Matt Serletic
Matt Serletic is a record producer who has worked with several popular bands and artists for Atlantic Records, including Collective Soul, Matchbox Twenty, Blessid Union of Souls, Edwin McCain, Stacie Orrico, Taylor Hicks, Rob Thomas, and singer/songwriter Angie Aparo. Serletic will be working with...
. Bentley also contributed the songs "I Will Survive" to the soundtrack of the 2003 film Holes
Holes (film)
Holes is a 2003 film based on the novel of the same name by Louis Sachar, who also wrote the screenplay, with Shia LaBeouf as the lead role of Stanley Yelnats...
and "Don't It Feel Good" to the soundtrack the 2005 film Must Love Dogs
Must Love Dogs
Must Love Dogs is a 2005 romantic comedy film based on the book written by Claire Cook. It is the third film directed and written by Gary David Goldberg. The film, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, was produced on a budget of $30 million...
.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country |
||
| Hopechest Hopechest Hopechest is the only album released by country music artist Stephanie Bentley. It was released in 1996 on Epic Records Nashville and it accounted for four singles, in addition to reprising a single from Ty Herndon's debut album What Mattered Most on which Bentley provided duet vocals. The album... |
|
60 |
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... |
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,... |
|||
| 1996 | "Who's That Girl" | 32 | 31 | Hopechest |
| "Once I Was the Light of Your Life" | 60 | — | ||
| "The Hopechest Song" | 47 | — | ||
| 1997 | "Dead Ringer" | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Guest singles
| Year | Single | Artist | 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... |
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,... |
||||
| 1996 | "Heart Half Empty" | Ty Herndon Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone "Ty" Herndon is an American country music and Christian singer. Signed to Epic Records in 1995, Herndon made his debut that year with the Number One single "What Mattered Most", followed by the release of his first album, also entitled What Mattered Most... |
21 | 12 | What Mattered Most What Mattered Most What Mattered Most is the debut album of American country music artist Ty Herndon, issued in 1995 on Epic Records. The album's title track, which was Herndon's debut single, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in mid-1995... |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Heart Half Empty" (with Ty Herndon Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone "Ty" Herndon is an American country music and Christian singer. Signed to Epic Records in 1995, Herndon made his debut that year with the Number One single "What Mattered Most", followed by the release of his first album, also entitled What Mattered Most... ) |
Steven Goldmann Steven Goldmann Steven Goldmann is a Canadian music video and film director. He has directed over 200 music videos. Goldmann also directed the movies Broken Bridges and Trailer Park of Terror, and has additionally directed several television programs.-1990-1999:... |
| "Who's That Girl" | ||
| "The Hopechest Song" | Tara Johns |