Kevin Stephen Welch (August 17, 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 has charted five singles on the '' Billboard''

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 ...

charts and released eight studio albums. He is also one of the cofounders of the

Dead Reckoning Records Dead Reckoning Records is an American independent record label specializing in country music. The label was established in 1994 by musicians Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson produce their records withou ...

label, which he founded with fellow musicians

Kieran Kane Kieran Kane (born October 7, 1949) is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven si ...

Tammy Rogers Tammy may refer to: *Tam o' Shanter (cap), a Scottish hat * ''Tammy'' (film series), a series of four films **''Tammy and the Bachelor'', the first film in the series ** "Tammy" (song), a popular song from ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' ** ''Tammy'' (T ...

Mike Henderson Mike Henderson (born in Independence, Missouri) is an American singer-songwriter. Career Early career Henderson was an original member of blues group the Bel Airs when they formed in Missouri in 1981. They released an album, ''Need Me a Car'' ...

, and

Harry Stinson Harry Stinson (born June 3, 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian real estate developer from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is president of Stinson Properties, Inc. He has been called Toronto's "condo king". Biography Stinson's most significant ...

Biography

At the age of 7, Welch and his family moved to

Midwest City, Oklahoma Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The city was developed in r ...

. After graduating high school, he began touring with bands like New Rodeo and Blue Rose Cafe. Welch moved to

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 ...

in 1978 to work as a songwriter. Singers like

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

Moe Bandy Marion Franklin "Moe" Bandy Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is an American country music singer. He was most popular during the 1970s, when he had several hit songs, both alone and with his singing partner, Joe Stampley. Early life and recording ...

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 ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

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 ...

and

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...

were using his material. At the same time he was very active in local clubs, performing with

John Scott Sherrill John Scott Sherrill is an American songwriter whose work is primarily in the field of country music. His brother, Donn Sherrill, was a Vanderbilt student. He introduced John Scott to his fraternity brother, Scott Siman who recorded demos of his ...

and the Wolves in Cheap Clothing, The Roosters, and finally his own band – The Overtones. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. In 1990 the album ''Kevin Welch'' was recorded and 2 years later ''Western Beat''. The former produced four charting singles on

, including "Til I See You Again," which reached No. 39. In 1994 he co-founded

along with

and

. The following year ''Life Down Here on Earth'' was published and in 1999 ''Beneath My Wheels''. The majority of songs are Welch's originals. In 2002 the album ''Millionaire'' was recorded partially in Nashville and mostly in Denmark with a stellar line-up of Scandinavian players. In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and

Fats Kaplin Fats Kaplin is an American musician, born in New York City. He is best known as a fiddler. He also plays guitar, button accordion, banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, an Arab oud, and a Turkish cümbüş, among others. He has worked with artists such a ...

to produce ''You Can't Save Everybody''. The trio followed this up with ''Lost John Dean'' in 2006, to general acclaim. ''Lost John Dean'' reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. The following eponymous Kane Welch Kaplin, with the addition of Lucas Kane, was also nominated for Duo/Group. The group traveled to Australia 10 times, as well as Europe and the UK, Canada, and all over the United States. Throughout the 2000s, Welch has teamed up with Australian band The Flood. They have recorded albums and DVDs together, and toured the country twice. Welch moved to Wimberley, Texas, on April 1, 2008. In 2009, he recorded ''A Patch Of Blue Sky'', his first solo project in 8 years. The recording features Texas musicians as well as his son Dustin, who played banjo and slide guitar, and his daughter Savannah, who appeared with her band the Trishas.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest singles

Music videos

References

External links

Official siteDead Reckoning Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Kevin 1955 births Living people American country singer-songwriters Reprise Records artists Musicians from Long Beach, California Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma People from Midwest City, Oklahoma Singer-songwriters from California Country musicians from California Country musicians from Oklahoma