Curtis Blaine Wright (born June 6, 1955) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist. He first recorded in the 1980s as a member of the

Super Grit Cowboy Band Super Grit Cowboy Band is an American country music band formed in North Carolina. It was founded by Clyde Mattocks, Libby Mattocks, Bill Lyerly, Danny Vinson, Dave Cavanaugh and Alfred Ward. Active since 1974, the band recorded first with Sound H ...

before becoming a solo artist in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wright charted three singles on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

between 1990 and 1993. He has also recorded as a member of

Orrall & Wright Orrall & Wright was an American country music duo composed of Robert Ellis Orrall and Curtis Wright. Both members had recorded solo albums and had charted singles of their own prior to Orrall & Wright's inception. As Orrall & Wright, they charted ...

, Shenandoah, and

Pure Prairie League Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band whose origins go back to 1965 and Waverly, Ohio, with singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail, guitarist and drummer Jim Caughlan and steel guitarist John David Call. Fuller s ...

. In addition to these, Wright holds several credits as a songwriter, including the number one singles "

A Woman in Love "A Woman in Love" is a popular song. It was written by Frank Loesser and published in 1955. It was introduced in Samuel Goldwyn's 1955 cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical ''Guys and Dolls'', for which Loesser contributed three new song ...

" by

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

, "

Next to You, Next to Me "Next to You, Next to Me" is a song written by Robert Ellis Orrall and Curtis Wright, and recorded by American country music group Shenandoah. It was released in June 1990 as the lead-off single from their album '' Extra Mile''. It was a Number ...

" by Shenandoah, and " What's It to You" by

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

Biography

Curtis Blaine Wright was born June 6, 1955 in

Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Huntingdon is a borough in (and the county seat of) Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Juniata River, approximately east of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Altoona and west of Harris ...

. Initially a member of a band known as the Country Generation, succeeded by the

, Wright later performed as a backup vocalist and guitarist for

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: " I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

. In December 1989, he quit Gosdin's band and wrote

's number one single "

". Wright signed with Airborne Records in 1989 and released "She's Got a Man on Her Mind", which charted at number 38 on

. (A version of the same song by

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

charted one year later.) Wright was also slated to release an album titled ''Slick Hick'' in March 1990, which would have been produced by himself and Jeff Carlton. However, the album went unreleased due to financial issues with the label. Later in the same year, he co-wrote Shenandoah's "

" with

Robert Ellis Orrall Robert Ellis Orrall (born May 4, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Signed to RCA Records in 1980, Orrall debuted that year with the album "Fixation". His first Top 40 single was "I Couldn't Say No", a duet with Carlene ...

, and

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1 ...

's top 20 hit " There for Awhile". In 1992, Wright signed to

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States 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 revival ...

, where he released his self-titled debut album that year. This album produced two more low-charting singles. It also included the song " What's It to You", which Wright also co-wrote with Orrall. Although Wright's version was never released as a single,

later recorded this song on his 1993 debut album, and his version was a number one hit that year. He also co-wrote Shenandoah's 1992 single "

Rock My Baby "Rock My Baby" is a song written by Curtis Wright, Billy Spencer and Phil Whitley, and recorded by American country music group Shenandoah (band), Shenandoah. It was released in March 1992 as the first single from their album ''Long Time Comin. ...

". Also in 1992, Wright co-wrote a song with fellow country singer

Dennis Robbins Dennis Anthony Robbins (born August 23, 1949) is an American musician who first made himself known as a guitarist in the band Rockets. After his departure from The Rockets, he began a career in country music, recording three major-label albums an ...

and musician

Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a ...

which would become the title track of Robbins first

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

album called "Man With A Plan", for which Wright also provided backing vocals. By 1994, Wright joined Orrall to form

, a duo which charted two singles, recorded one album for

and received a Duo of the Year nomination from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

before disbanding. Wright later wrote

Daryle Singletary Daryle Bruce Singletary (March 10, 1971 – February 12, 2018) was an American country music singer. Between 1995 and 1998, he recorded for Giant Records, for which he released three studio albums: '' Daryle Singletary'' in 1995, '' All Because ...

's 1996 single " Too Much Fun". After the departure of their former lead singer Brent Lamb (who, in turn, replaced

Marty Raybon Marty Raybon (born December 8, 1959) is an American country music artist. He is known primarily for his role as the lead singer of the country band Shenandoah, a role which he held from 1985 to 1997, until he rejoined the band in 2014. He reco ...

) in the late 1990s, Shenandoah chose Wright as their third lead singer. Wright left Shenandoah in 2007 to join

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

's band and Jimmy Yeary succeeded him. He also toured as a member of

in the beginning of the 21st century.

Discography

''Curtis Wright'' (1992)

Track listing

;Personnel Compiled from liner notes. *Mike Baker – acoustic guitar *Bill Cook – bass guitar *Larry Franklin – fiddle *Sonny Garrish – steel guitar *Steve Gibson – electric guitar *

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 ...

– background vocals *Rob Hajacos – fiddle *Jana King – background vocals *Chris Leuzinger – electric guitar *Randy McCormick – piano *Roger McVay – bass guitar *Tony Piro – drums *Gary Prim – piano *

Brent Rowan Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956 in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produce ...

– electric guitar, acoustic guitar *Curt Ryle – acoustic guitar, steel guitar *

James Stroud James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in pop, rock, R&B, soul, disco, and country music. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for Malaco Records. In the 1990s, he was the president of Giant Records (a subsidiar ...

– drums *Curtis Wright – vocals, acoustic guitar *Curtis Young – background vocals ;Technical * Julian King – recording *Glenn Meadows – mastering *

Lynn Peterzell Lynn Meyer Peterzell (January 10, 1955 – September 8, 1994) was a country music audio engineer from Nashville, Tennessee. Lynn Peterzell was raised in Pascagoula, Mississippi by Frances and Milton Peterzell. He was the third of five children ...

– production, recording, mixing *James Stroud – production

Singles

Music videos

Chart Singles written by Curtis Wright

The following is a list of Curtis Wright compositions that were chart hits.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Curtis 1955 births Living people People from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Liberty Records artists Country musicians from Pennsylvania American country guitarists American male guitarists Shenandoah (band) members 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Guitarists from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Pure Prairie League members