Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969)
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
Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album ''
Old Enough to Know Better''. Its title track, which served as his debut single, reached Number One on the ''
Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) charts, and three more singles from it all reached Top Ten as well.
Hayes' second album, 1996's ''
On a Good Night'', was also certified gold, although its No. 2-peaking title track was the only Top 40 hit from it. ''
When the Wrong One Loves You Right'', his third album, produced two more singles, including the No. 5 "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)", although he left the label by 1999. A year later, he signed to the
Monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
roster, where he released ''
Highways & Heartaches.'' This album produced no Top 40 country hits, however.
In 2003, he founded the duo
McHayes
McHayes was an American country music duo established in 2003 by Wade Hayes (guitar, vocals) and Mark McClurg (fiddle, vocals). Prior to the duo's foundation, Hayes was a solo artist, and McClurg was a member of Alan Jackson's road band, The Strayh ...
with
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...
's
fiddle player Mark McClurg. The duo charted one single on the country charts and recorded one unreleased album for the
Universal South label, ''Lessons in Lonely''. He joined the backing band for former
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
lead singer
Randy Owen
Randy Yeuell Owen (born December 13, 1949) is an American country music artist. He is best known for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band that saw tremendous mainstream success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Alabama became ...
in the late 2000s, and self-released ''Place to Turn Around'' in 2009.
In December 2011, Hayes was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. Shortly after learning of his illness, he wrote the song "Is It Already Time," a ballad about his battle with the disease. He has been in remission since June 2012.
Biography
Wade Hayes was born and raised in
Bethel Acres, Oklahoma. His father, Don Hayes, also a professional country musician, inspired him to begin playing music as well. Initially, Hayes had learned to play mandolin, but later switched to guitar after his father bought him one.
When he was 11 years old, his family moved to
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 ...
, where his father signed with an independent record label. The label soon declared bankruptcy.
The family returned to Oklahoma, where Wade later found work as a musician in his father's band.
Although he attended three different colleges, Hayes dropped out of college in 1991 in pursuit of a career in country music, after seeing bluegrass musician
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, ...
perform on the 1991
Country Music Association awards show.
Wade returned to Nashville, where he began recording demo tapes and writing his own material. Eventually, Hayes partnered with a songwriter named Chick Rains, who recommended him to Don Cook, a record producer who has produced albums for several country music artists, including
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...
.
Musical career
1994–1996: ''Old Enough to Know Better''
With Cook's help, Hayes was signed to a record deal with
Columbia Records in late 1994. The same year, Hayes' debut single, "
Old Enough to Know Better", was released, and by early 1995, it peaked at Number One on the ''
Billboard''
Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts.
The single was followed by the release of Hayes' debut album, also titled ''
Old Enough to Know Better'', which produced three additional Top Ten singles on the country music charts: "
I'm Still Dancin' with You", "Don't Stop" and "What I Meant to Say", at No. 4, No. 10 and No. 5 respectively. It was also certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies.
Also in 1995, Hayes was nominated for Top New Male Vocalist of the Year by the
Country Music Association.
1996–1997: ''On a Good Night''
''
On a Good Night'', Hayes' second album, was released via Columbia in 1996.
Although the album's lead-off single (which was the title track) peaked at No. 2 on the country charts, the second and third singles — "Where Do I Go to Start All Over" and "It's over My Head" — both failed to make Top 40. Nonetheless, the album was certified gold as well. Also included on this album was a cover of "Undo the Right", a song originally recorded by
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...
.
1997–1999: ''When the Wrong One Loves You Right''
In 1997, Hayes also issued a cover of
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...
's song "
Wichita Lineman
"Wichita Lineman" is a song written by the American songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1968. It was first recorded by the American country music artist Glen Campbell with backing from members of The Wrecking Crew and was widely covered by other artists.
...
" as the first single for a third album which was to have been titled ''Tore Up from the Floor Up''. This cover failed to reach Top 40, however, and the album was delayed. It was followed with "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)", which reached No. 5 on the country charts. After this song's release, Hayes's third album – by then re-titled ''
When the Wrong One Loves You Right'' — was issued, with the Glen Campbell cover omitted. "The Day That She Left Tulsa" was followed by "When the Wrong One Loves You Right", "How Do You Sleep at Night" (his final Top 40 hit at No. 13), and finally, "Tore Up from the Floor Up". Hayes considered ''When the Wrong One Loves You Right'' as a more mature effort than his first two albums, with more of an emphasis on ballads than his previous two albums.
2000–2001: ''Highways and Heartaches''
By 2000, Hayes had switched from Columbia Records to
Monument Records
Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...
. His fourth and final album before his nine-year hiatus, titled ''
Highways & Heartaches'', was released in 2000.
Three singles were released from the album before Hayes left Monument.
2001–2004: Duo formation and hiatus
In 2003, Hayes joined fiddler Mark McClurg to form the duo
McHayes
McHayes was an American country music duo established in 2003 by Wade Hayes (guitar, vocals) and Mark McClurg (fiddle, vocals). Prior to the duo's foundation, Hayes was a solo artist, and McClurg was a member of Alan Jackson's road band, The Strayh ...
, which charted one single ("It Doesn't Mean I Don't Love You", which reached No. 41 on the country charts) and recorded one unreleased album for
Universal South Records
Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
. After McHayes disbanded in July 2004, McClurg rejoined Jackson's road band, and Hayes went on hiatus.
2008–2009: Return to music and ''Place to Turn Around''
He rejoined the music business in 2008, taking a role as lead guitarist and singer in former
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
lead singer
Randy Owen
Randy Yeuell Owen (born December 13, 1949) is an American country music artist. He is best known for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band that saw tremendous mainstream success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Alabama became ...
's road band. Hayes also returned to touring on his own. Hayes released a fifth album, ''Place to Turn Around'', in July 2009, on an independent label. The album features eleven songs, with ten being penned by Hayes.
In 2012, Hayes released the single "Is It Already Time" through RPM Entertainment.
2016–2017: Old Country Song
On June 9, 2017, Hayes released ''Old Country Song''. The 11-cut collection of old and new songs was produced by Dave Mcfee and Hayes. It was released on Conabor Records.
Personal life
On April 4, 1999, Hayes married
Danni Boatwright
Danni Boatwright Wiegmann (born Danielle E. Boatwright; July 13, 1975) is an American actress, TV host, sports journalist, model and beauty queen who won $1,000,000 on '' Survivor: Guatemala'', the eleventh season of the reality television show ' ...
. The couple divorced in 2003. Boatwright later was a contestant on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
reality television series ''
Survivor''.
In December 2011, Hayes was diagnosed with Stage 4
colon cancer, which was successfully operated on that same month. The last tumors were removed in March 2012.
On September 25, 2018, Hayes became engaged to Lea Bayer, a realtor. The two were introduced by her first cousin, country singer
John Rich. On December 4, 2018, Billboard Magazine published an article announcing their engagement and Hayes’ new song. They were married on January 25, 2019.
www.nashville.com/wadehayestiestheknot
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Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Music videos
;Notes
References
External links
Official Wade Hayes website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Wade
1969 births
Living people
People from Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
American country guitarists
American male guitarists
American country singer-songwriters
Columbia Records artists
Monument Records artists
Country musicians from Oklahoma
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma
Guitarists from Oklahoma
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
American male singer-songwriters