Jeffery Wayne Bates (born September 19, 1963) 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. Signed to

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert * Niko Moon (RCA/River Ho ...

in late 2002, Bates released his debut album ''Rainbow Man'' in May 2003. In 2005 he released his second album, ''Leave the Light On'', on RCA. He left RCA in 2006. This album was followed by ''Jeff Bates'' in 2008 on the independent Black River Entertainment. Bates' two RCA albums accounted for seven chart singles on the ''

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 ...

'' country charts, of which three reached top 40: "The Love Song" (his highest, at No. 8), "I Wanna Make You Cry" at No. 23, and "Long, Slow Kisses" at No. 17.

Biography

Jeff Bates was born in Bunker Hill, Mississippi, a community in Marion County. He went to East Marion High School in Columbia.

Musical career

''Rainbow Man''

Before signing to a record contract, Bates co-wrote

Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in ...

's 2002 single "What a Memory". Bates signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

Nashville in 2003, releasing his debut single, " The Love Song" in December 2002. Peaking at No. 8 on the ''

'' country charts, it was the first of three singles from his debut album ''

Rainbow Man ''Rainbow Man'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Jeff Bates. It was released in 2003 (see 2003 in country music) on RCA Nashville. The album includes eleven songs, all co-written by Bates, of which three were singles: "T ...

'', which also produced a No. 47 in its title track and a No. 23 in "I Wanna Make You Cry". Bates co-produced the album with

David Malloy David Ernest Malloy is an American country music and pop songwriter, record producer and A&R executive with 41 number one hits. He had received multiple Grammy nominations, as writer and/or producer, and has worked with many artists and pro ...

Kenny Beard Kenny Beard (February 26, 1959 - October 1, 2017) was an American country music songwriter. He wrote songs for Trace Adkins, Tracy Lawrence, and Aaron Tippin. Biography Kenny Beard was born February 26, 1959, in Ringgold, Louisiana. He moved to ...

, and

Scott Hendricks Scott Hendricks (born July 26, 1956) is an American record producer who has produced over 30 country music artists. His productions have garnered 121 Top 10s, and 78 Number One hits. Between 1995 and 1997, he was President and Chief Executive Off ...

''Leave the Light On''

His fourth single, "

Long, Slow Kisses "Long, Slow Kisses" is a song recorded by American country music artist Jeff Bates. It was first included on his 2003 debut album ''Rainbow Man''. Bates re-recorded the song in 2004 and released it as the first single from his second album, '' Leav ...

", was a re-recording of a cut from his debut album. This re-recording was the third Top 40 hit of his career, peaking at No. 17 in 2005. It was also the first of four singles from his second album, '' Leave the Light On''. However, none of the other three singles from this album — "Good People", "No Shame" and "One Second Chance" — reached Top 40, (However, "No Shame" did reach top 40 at No. 40 for Mediabase, which is used by Bob Kingsley's "Country Top 40" show), and Bates was dropped from RCA's roster.

''Jeff Bates''

He signed to Black River Entertainment in 2008 and released his

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

third album. The album's first three singles were "Don't Hate Me for Lovin' You", "Riverbank", and "One Thing". In January 2009 he released his first Christmas single "That's What Christmas Is" with

Jimmy Fortune Jimmy Fortune (born March 11, 1955) is an American country music singer from Nelson County, Virginia. Fortune sang tenor for The Statler Brothers for 21 years, and wrote the song "Elizabeth" for the group. After The Statler Brothers retired, he c ...

The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening act and backup singers fo ...

fame singing background vocals.

''One Day Closer''

Jeff's second and first EP for Black River, "One Day Closer" was released February 15, 2011.

Personal life

After signing a contract with Warner-Chappell Publishing, Bates developed a methamphetamine addiction in late 1999. To feed the drug habit, he sold everything he owned and then resorted to stealing, including a guitar from his friend Kenny Beard. On March 14, 2001, he was arrested for drug possession and grand theft. After rehabilitation and jail time, he was given a second chance and signed to RCA. The song "One Second Chance" was inspired by this part of his life. In August 2006, a $3,500 guitar that was a gift to Bates from the Takamine guitar company and used in his video "One Second Chance" was stolen from Bates's garage. When Bates called the

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

police, Det. Rick Mavity was sent to investigate. Mavity was the same officer involved in Bates's arrest in 2001. Mavity located the stolen guitar in a pawn shop and returned it to Bates. In May 2007, Bates married his girlfriend, Kelly Vaughn, in an outdoor ceremony. A year later, he signed to

Black River Music Group Black River Entertainment is an independent record label in Nashville, Tennessee, specializing in country music. The company is a partially owned subsidiary of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which otherwise specializes primarily in professiona ...

and released his self-titled third album.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Jeff Bates Jeffery Wayne Bates (born September 19, 1963) is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Nashville in late 2002, Bates released his debut album ''Rainbow Man'' in May 2003. In 2005 he released his second album, ''Leave the Light On'', ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Official Jeff Bates website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Jeff 1963 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Marion County, Mississippi RCA Records Nashville artists Black River Entertainment artists Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Country musicians from Mississippi