Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright (October 9, 1939 – November 16, 1980) was an American singer who is generally regarded as a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of

Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...

's most authoritative and individual artists. His best known songs include "

That's How Strong My Love Is "That's How Strong My Love Is" is a song written by Roosevelt Jamison and first recorded in 1964 by deep soul singer O. V. Wright. The song is a soulful love ballad and has been covered many times, most notably in 1965 by Otis Redding, with Re ...

" (1964), "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (1965), "Nucleus of Soul" (1968), "A Nickel and a Nail" (1971), "I Can't Take It" (1971) and "Ace of Spades" (1971).

Biography

Born in Lenow,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Wright began singing in the church as a youngster. In 1956, while still in high school, he joined The Sunset Travelers as one of the lead singers of the gospel group. He later fronted a

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

group, the Harmony Echoes. It was during this time that he was discovered (along with James Carr) by

Roosevelt Jamison Roosevelt Jamison (July 15, 1936 – March 27, 2013) was an American music manager, publicist and songwriter who worked in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1960s. His most notable composition was "That's How Strong My Love Is", first recorded b ...

, a songwriter and manager. Their first pop

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

in 1964 was "

," a ballad later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. It was issued on

Goldwax Goldwax Records was an American record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, in 1964 by Quinton Claunch and Rudolph V. "Doc" Russell. History Claunch was a hardware store owner who had previously worked as a country music guitarist, a ...

, the label Wright signed to after leaving his gospel career. It was later determined that

Don Robey Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the caree ...

still had him under a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

, due to his gospel group having recorded for Peacock. After his contract was shifted to

's Back Beat label, further R&B

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

followed. Working with record producer Willie Mitchell, success continued on songs including "Ace of Spades" and "A Nickel and a Nail". Wright's hits were much more popular in the deep South. His biggest hits were "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (R&B #6, 1965), "Eight Men, Four Women" (R&B #4, 1967) "Ace of Spades" (R&B #11, 1970), "A Nickel and a Nail" (R&B #19, 1971). The remainder of his 17 hits charted no higher than #20 on the R&B chart. Wright was imprisoned for narcotics offenses during the mid-1970s, and, despite a new recording contract with

Hi Records Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent partn ...

that led to a series of new album releases, commercial success did not follow his release from incarceration. Wright continued to battle drug addiction in the last years of his life, and in 1980, he died from a heart attack in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, at the age of 41.

Legacy

Wright is among the most remembered voices of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

, perhaps mostly for being

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

frequently in hip hop music. In 1996, his song "

Motherless Child "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", also "Motherless Child", is a traditional Spiritual. It dates back to the era of slavery in the United States. An early performance of the song was in the 1870s by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. "Blue Ge ...

" was sampled on the

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

album ''

Ironman Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician *Mick Murphy ...

'' and on the ''Sunset Park'' movie soundtrack on a song also called "Motherless Child". That and another Wright recording, "

Let's Straighten It Out "Let's Straighten It Out" is the name of a hit song by blues singer Latimore. The first version of the song appeared on his second album ''More, More, More'', the single spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in November, 1974 ...

", have been published on '' Shaolin Soul'', a compilation of tracks that have been sampled by the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

and its members. "Let's Straighten It Out" was sampled in a Wu-Tang Clan song called "America" from the charity

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

America Is Dying Slowly ''America Is Dying Slowly'' (a backronym for AIDS) is a compilation album that is the eighth in the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series recorded by the Red Hot Organization. It featured collaborations from several hip hop acts, including Mobb Deep, De La ...

''. "Ace of Spades" was sampled by

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

and the Boss Hogg Outlawz on a song named "Recognize A Playa". Wright has been a big influence on many soul and blues singers, including

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Miss ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

as well as young soul singer Reggie Sears, among many others. Johnny Rawls joined Wright's backing band in the mid-1970s, and played together with Wright until the latter's death in 1980. The band then continued billed as the O.V. Wright Band for another 13 years, and toured and performed with other musicians over this time span. These included

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include "Baby, I Love ...

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

Little Johnny Taylor Little Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17, 2002) was an American blues and soul singer. He made recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances through the 1980s and 1990s. Bi ...

, and

Blues Boy Willie Blues Boy Willie (born William Daniel McFall, November 28, 1946) is an American electric blues, electric and soul blues singer, musician, and songwriter. Influenced jointly by his grounding in gospel music, gospel and Junior Parker's recordings, ...

Discography

Albums

*1965: ''(If It Is) Only For Tonight'' ( Back Beat Records) *1967: ''8 Men And 4 Women'' (Back Beat Records) *1968: ''Nucleus of Soul'' (Back Beat Records) *1971: ''A Nickel and a Nail And Ace of Spades'' (Back Beat Records) *1973: ''Memphis Unlimited'' (Back Beat Records) *1977: ''Into Something I Can't Shake Loose'' (

) *1977: ''The Wright Stuff'' (Hi Records) *1978: ''The Bottom Line'' (Hi Records) *1979: ''O.V. Wright Live'' (Hi Records) *1979: ''We're Still Together'' (Hi Records)

Chart singles

References

External links

O.V. Wright
at

in Memphis
MySpace tribute pageO.V. Wright Memorial Fund
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, O.V. 1939 births 1980 deaths American soul singers American gospel singers Singers from Tennessee ABC Records artists Hi Records artists P-Vine Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers