Beth Nielsen Chapman (born September 14, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter who has written hits for

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

performers. She was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is u ...

in 2016. Nielsen Chapman is two-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

and ACM Award nominee and won the

Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year The following list shows the recipients for the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year. This Award goes to the songwriter(s) and is for artistic achievement in songwriting. Any Country Music song with original words and music is eligi ...

in 1999 for writing

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

's " This Kiss".

Early life and history

Beth Nielsen Chapman was born on September 14, 1958, in

Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than and is the second-largest city in ...

, as the middle child of five to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Air Force Major father and a nurse mother. While Chapman was growing up, her family moved several times and settled in Alabama in 1969. While living in Germany at age 11, Chapman started playing guitar after her mother hid a

Framus Framus is a German string instrument manufacturing company, that existed from 1946 until going bankrupt in 1975. The Framus brand was revived in 1995 as part of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG, in Markneukirchen, Germany. The company's cus ...

guitar as a

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

gift in her room. She also learned to play the piano at the same time she started playing guitar. As a child and teenager, she listened to a variety of music including

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

. In 1976, Chapman played with a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and pop group called "Harmony" in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, effectively replacing

Tommy Shaw Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...

who had just left to join

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

. She played acoustic guitar and piano as well as providing vocals for the group in a locally-popular

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

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 Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts in the 1990s, such as "I Keep Coming Back to You", "Walk My Way", and "All I Have". In 1993, she sang a duet with

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, "

In the Time It Takes "In the Time It Takes" is a song written and performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman, released as a radio-only single from her second album '' You Hold the Key''. The song features vocals from Paul Carrack. It peaked at #25 on the '' Billboard'' Ad ...

". Co-songwriter of

's hit song " This Kiss", Chapman has written songs performed by numerous artists including

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

("Down On My Knees", "

You Say You Will "You Say You Will" is a song written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Verlon Thompson. It was originally recorded by Holly Dunn for her 1992 album '' Getting It Dunn'' and later by American country music artist Trisha Yearwood. It was released in March ...

", "Trying to Love You"),

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

Happy Girl "Happy Girl" is a song written by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Annie Roboff, and recorded by American country music singer Martina McBride. It was released in April 1998 as the third single from McBride’s album ''Evolution''. It reached a peak of #2 ...

"),

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

(" Nothing I Can Do About It Now", "

Ain't Necessarily So "Ain't Necessarily So" is a song written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, and recorded by American country music artist Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' S ...

", "If My World Didn't Have You"),

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

("Strong Enough to Bend"),

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mo ...

(" Five Minutes"),

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(" Almost Home"),

Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album ...

and

Rebecca Lynn Howard Rebecca Lynn Howard (born April 24, 1979) is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums. Her highest-charting single, "Forgive", peaked at N ...

("Simple Things"),

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(" Here We Are"),

Suzy Bogguss Susan Kay Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She began her career in the 1980s as a solo singer. In the 1990s, six of her songs were Top 10 hits, three albums were certified gold, and one album re ...

("Save Yourself"),

Claudia Church Claudia Lorraine Church (born January 12, 1962) is an American country music singer-songwriter whose singles include "What's the Matter With You Baby" and "Home in My Heart (North Carolina)". Biography Church was the second daughter of Claude a ...

("What's the Matter With You Baby"),

Holly Dunn Holly Suzette Dunn (August 22, 1957 – November 14, 2016) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Dunn recorded for MTM Records between 1985 and 1988, Warner Bros. Records between 1988 and 1993, and River North Records between 1995 ...

("You Say You Will"),

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...

("When Love is New"),

Highway 101 Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (drums) ...

All the Reasons Why "All the Reasons Why" is a song written by Paulette Carlson and Beth Nielsen Chapman, and recorded by American country music group Highway 101. It was released in September 1988 as the second single from their album '' 101²''. The song reached ...

", "Long Way Down"),

Terri Clark Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark, born August 5, 1968, is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...

("Sometimes Goodbye"),

Mindy McCready Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's '' Ten Thousand Angels'', w ...

("One in a Million"),

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

("Shine On Me", "Old Church Hymns and Nursery Rhymes"),

Ilse DeLange Ilse Annoeska de Lange (born 13 May 1977), better known as Ilse DeLange, is a Dutch country and pop rock singer-songwriter. As a member of The Common Linnets, she finished in second place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Biography Ilse An ...

("World of Hurt"),

Megan McKenna Megan Elizabeth McKenna (born 26 September 1992) is an English television personality and singer. After making appearances on ''Ex on the Beach'' (2015–2016), she received wider attention for appearing on ''Celebrity Big Brother'' (2016) and ...

("Far Cry from Love"),

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

("The Moment You Were Mine"),

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

("The Color of Roses"), and (co-written)

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when " Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the '' ...

("She Walks With Me" on ''This Is Your Time''). Several artists have performed with Chapman on her albums:

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

on "Heads Up for the Wrecking Ball" and "Shake My Soul";

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

on "Deeper Still";

Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...

on "Thanks to Spring";

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

on "Every December Sky"; Michael McDonald on "Right Back Into the Feeling" and "Will and Liz";

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

and

Kimmie Rhodes Kimmie Rhodes (born March 6, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter. She has recorded and released a total of sixteen solo CDs, written and produced three musicals and published a novella/cookbook, served as an associate producer for a document ...

on "There's a Light";

on "In the Time It Takes"; and her son Ernest Chapman III on "Your Love Stays". Chapman performed at the 2nd Annual "Women Rock! Girls and Guitars" special on Lifetime, singing backing vocals with

, performing with the ensemble on a cover version of Take It To The Limit, and on "There's a Light" with

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

and

Shea Seger Shea Seger (born 1979Shea Seger – Biography
) is an American singer-songwriter born in

singing back-up. Some of Chapman's songwriting collaborators have been Annie Roboff, Bill Lloyd,

Eric Kaz Eric Justin Kaz (born January 21, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. Besides his solo work, Kaz was a member of Blues Magoos for their fourth and fifth albums, ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' and ''Gulf Coast Bound ...

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

Joe Henry Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums. Early life H ...

. and

Judie Tzuke Judie Tzuke ( ; born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1979 hit " Stay with Me till Dawn", which reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. Life and career Early life Tzuke's family relocated ...

Charting singles

In her native country, Chapman has never made the Hot 100 chart as a recording artist, although she 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 100, 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 No. 102 on the Hot 100 in various Billboard singles books. She is a significantly more successful chart artist in Canada, where she scored three Top 40 hits on the national RPM chart in the early 1990s. Her biggest Canadian hit was "The Moment You Were Mine", which reached #23 in 1993.

Recent recordings

Chapman's album, '' Back to Love'', was released in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2010, and in the United States on May 25, 2010. The album contained 11 new compositions. The single "Even As It All Goes By" closed out 2009 as

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

'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. The album ''Liv On'' was released on October 7, 2016, for digital download and on CD the following week. It features

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

and Amy Sky in songs about loss and moving on from grief. Chapman, Newton-John and Sky toured across Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland in 2017 in support of the album, performing mainly in smaller, more intimate venues. Her most recent album, ''Hearts of Glass,'' was released in 2018 and is available on CD, as an MP3 download or as a digital download.

Personal life

Chapman's husband, Ernest Chapman, died of cancer in 1994. In 2000, she experienced her own battle with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. The song "Sand and Water" was written after Ernest's death;

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

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 ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

in October 1998. She has one son, Ernest (born 1981), who is also a musician and has performed with her. In 2008, she got engaged to be married to psychologist and photographer Bob Sherman while living in Nashville, Tennessee. This engagement was the inspiration for her album ''Back to Love''. In January 2011, Chapman married Sherman, after a decade-long courtship.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Contributions

*''Mother & Child'' (1995) – "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's s ...

" *'' Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro'' (1997) – " Stoney End" *''

Song of America MS ''Celestyal Olympia'' is a cruise ship owned by the Cyprus-based Celestyal Cruises, formerly Louis Cruise Lines. In April 2012 she was named ''Louis Olympia'' after operating as the Thomson Destiny for Thomson Cruises. She was built in 198 ...

'' (2007) – "

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", also "Motherless Child", is a traditional Spiritual. It dates back to the era of slavery in the United States. An early performance of the song was in the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. "Blue Gen ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Beth Nielsen 1958 births Living people American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American women country singers American pop pianists People from Harlingen, Texas Reprise Records artists Singer-songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American pianists Country musicians from Texas 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American women pianists 20th-century American women guitarists