Kelly Susan Moneymaker (born June 4, 1970) is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, and producer. She was born and raised in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...

Early career

As a teenager, Moneymaker moved to Seattle to co-found the band BoyToy with Michele Rundgren (formerly Michele Gray), which led to opening for

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early day ...

on their Love Bomb Tour. A few years later, she moved to California and worked with

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the nation from the mid-to-late 20th-century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas. He is known by the nicknam ...

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and many more.

Exposé

Moneymaker was invited to join

Exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

(recently named one of Billboard Magazine's Top 10 Girl-Groups) by

Jeanette Jurado Jeanette Livier Jurado (born November 14, 1965, East Los Angeles, California) is a member and a lead vocalist of the popular American girl group, Exposé, along with Ann Curless, Gioia Bruno and, in the group's later years, Kelly Moneymaker. ...

after being introduced to her by a mutual friend, precipitated by

Gioia Bruno Gioia Bruno (born Carmen Gioia Bruno June 11, 1963, sometimes professionally credited as just Gioia) is an Italian-born American popular music singing, singer, most noted as a member of the vocal group Exposé (band), Exposé. In September 2006, ...

's departure due to a medical condition. Moneymaker performed on the ''Exposé'' LP, which launched the hits "I Wish the Phone Would Ring," "I'll Never Get over You (Getting over Me)," "In Walked Love," and "As Long As I Can Dream," as well as the new tracks for their ''Greatest Hits'' album, one of which was "End of the World," featured on the ''Free Willy 2'' soundtrack. In 1996, when

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

dropped Exposé's contract, Moneymaker pursued solo projects. However, she is still an honorary member of the group, and appears with them on special occasions.

Post-Exposé career

Moneymaker has released several independent albums: ''Stone'' LP (2015); ''Race against the Sky'' (2013); ''Back Seat Taxi'' by Back Seat Taxi; ''Goddess Killer'' by Silvermoney (2009 with co-founder Dan Silver); ''Like a Blackbird (1996)'', and ''Through the Basement Walls'', (2003) from which "Angels in the Snow" broke a record in ''Billboard'' Single Sales as an independent release. "Can't Live without Your Love" reached #1 on the New Music Weekly AC40 singles chart, and became the theme song for NBC's ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

"supercouple" Bo and Hope. That song's success resulted in her co-writing and co-producing the ''Love Songs'' LP for ''Days of Our Lives''; she was a featured artist on the album, and has made appearances on the show as herself. Kelly has also released holiday singles for charity, including ''"''You Are a Snowball," "Jingle Bells," and "No Place Like Home for the Holidays," featuring Sean Holt on saxophone. The original music Kelly writes, performs, and produces has been featured on TV shows such as '' CSI'', ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'', '' Hawaii 5-0'', '' Parenthood'', and others. Movies to which she has contributed include ''

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

'', '' American Pie: The Naked Mile'', '' Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control'', ''Confessions of a Go-Go Girl'', and others. She also contributed to the video game ''

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs ...

''. Kelly's all-star band In the Black includes

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

drummer Herman Matthews, guitarist Gabriel Moses (Macy Gray), and bassist Michael Mennell (Tom Jones). Guest musicians on her latest album ''Stone'' include Tower of Power Horns performer/arranger Bill Churchville, saxophonist Sean Holt (Bruno Mars), keyboardist Scott Sheriff (Carrie Underwood), Michael Webb (Poco), and guitarist Kenny Vaughan (Lana Del Rey). Guest vocalists include Robbie Wyckoff (Roger Waters), Will Wheaton (Michael Jackson), and Michael Mishaw (Don Henley). Choir includes Bernadette Barlow (Melissa Etheridge), Gia Cambiotti (Lucinda Williams), Lynn Fanelli (Delaney Bramlett), Adam "Ae'jaye Jackson (Anita Whitaker), Connie Jackson (Joe Walsh), K.W. Miller (Wicked), Janelle Sadler (Natalie Cole), and Marina V. Moneymaker is currently a member of

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band ...

Personal life

Moneymaker was once married to Stuart Mathis, who worked on sound production during the 1993 Exposé tour. She is currently married to actor

Peter Reckell Peter Paul Reckell (born May 7, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Bo Brady, a role he originated in 1983 on the NBC drama ''Days of Our Lives''. Reckell has played Bo Brady on ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1983 to 1987, 19 ...

, who starred as Bo Brady on

. In 2007 she gave birth to a daughter weighing 6 lbs. 9ozs.Peter Reckell Amazed by Daughter's Signing
Celebrity Baby Blog, April 5, 2009

References

External links

Official web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moneymaker, Kelly People from Fairbanks, Alaska 1970 births Living people Exposé (group) members 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Singers from Alaska