Kenneth Edward Mellons (born July 10, 1965) 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 who released his
self-titled debut album in 1994. This album produced the single "
Jukebox Junkie", a Top Ten hit on the
Hot Country Songs charts. Mellons followed up his debut album with three more albums – 1995's ''
Where Forever Begins'', 2001's ''
The Best of Ken Mellons'' and 2004's ''
Sweet
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
'' — in addition to charting six more singles on the country charts.
Biography
Mellons was born in
Kingsport, Tennessee. He has been a native of
Nashville, Tennessee
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 ...
since the age of three. He entered in many talent shows in high school, and played at various clubs around Nashville to help perfect his skill, while working day jobs to pay the bills.
[ Biography )))">allmusic ((( Ken Mellons > Biography )))/ref> In 1989, Ken earned a spot at a show called Country Music USA at ]Opryland USA
Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially "Opryland") was a theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally (generally March to October) from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement eve ...
, a theme park in Nashville. Later, he was signed to Epic Records in 1993. His debut, self-titled album produced a Top 10 single in " Jukebox Junkie", a song which also received ASCAP and BMI awards for surpassing one million spins
The spins (as in having "the spins")Diane Marie Leiva. ''The Florida State University College of Education''Women's Voices on College Drinking: The First-Year College Experience"/ref> is an adverse reaction of intoxication that causes a state of ...
on radio. His second album, ''Where Forever Begins'', failed to produce any successful singles, and by 1997, Mellons left Epic Records.[Ken Mellons Biography: OLDIES.com](_blank)
/ref>
Shortly after leaving Epic, Mellons signed to Curb Records. He released two non-charting singles and one album (''The Best of Ken Mellons'') during his six-year tenure with Curb. He became frustrated with the label and asked out of his record deal with them in 2003. Mellons then moved to the independent Home Records, releasing the album ''Sweet'' in 2004. The album featured "Paint Me a Birmingham
"Paint Me a Birmingham" is a song written by Buck Moore and Gary Duffy. It was concurrently released by American country music artists Ken Mellons and Tracy Lawrence, whose versions entered the country charts within one week of each other. Lawrenc ...
", which became a Top 5 country hit for 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 ...
in the first half of 2004. Mellons also co-wrote the songs "Honk If You Honky Tonk" on George Strait's "Honkytonkville" album and "I Bought The Shoes" on Dierks Bentley
Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to Capitol Nashville and released his eponymous debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's '' Modern Day Drifter'', a ...
's self-titled debut album.
Mellons continues to perform throughout the US and recorded a bluegrass album titled ''Rural Route'' in 2009.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Music videos
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellons, Ken
1965 births
Living people
People from Kingsport, Tennessee
American male singer-songwriters
American country singer-songwriters
Curb Records artists
Epic Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Country musicians from Tennessee