Yankee Grey was 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, ...

group originally composed of six members: David Buchanan (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

), Matthew Basford (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

), Joe Caverlee (

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

), Kevin Griffin (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), Jerry Hughes (

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

), and Tim Hunt (

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

s), all of whom met in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Founded in 1986, the band toured throughout the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

before being signed to a record deal with

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 ...

in 1999. The same year, they made their debut on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country music charts with the Top Ten single "All Things Considered," followed by the release of their debut album ''Untamed'', which produced two more hit singles on the country charts. After exiting Monument, the band signed to the independent Stonewall label in 2002.

Biography

Yankee Grey was founded in Cincinnati in 1986 by drummer Kevin Griffin and guitarist Matthew Basford, steel guitarist David Carter, lead vocals and guitarist Coy Lee Jackson, and Bass Guitarist Dwayne Blankenship. Bass guitarist David Buchanan and lead vocalist Tim Hunt were added soon afterward, and the group began to perform in various bars and clubs around Cincinnati. Eventually, keyboardist Jerry Hughes and fiddle player Joe Caverlee were added as well, completing the band's lineup. After several years of playing local venues in Ohio, Yankee Grey was eventually spotted by an engineer who had connections to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

record producers. He then asked the band to record a demo tape; Cliff Audretch, Senior Director of Sony Music Nashville, heard the demo tape and traveled to Ohio to see them perform. By 1997, the group was signed to Sony's

division. Their debut album ''Untamed'' was issued in late 1999, with

Robert Ellis Orrall Robert Ellis Orrall (born May 4, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Signed to RCA Records in 1980, Orrall debuted that year with the album "Fixation". His first Top 40 single was "I Couldn't Say No", a duet with Carlene ...

Josh Leo Josh Leo (born 1953 in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee. Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1976, he moved to Chicago, Illinois ...

, and Ronnie Thomas serving as producers. "All Things Considered," the first release from the album, reached a peak of No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

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. In addition, Yankee Grey received a nomination for Best New Group or Duo at the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

awards that year. roken link as of June 6, 2013/ref> The second single from ''Untamed'', "Another Nine Minutes," peaked at No. 15 on the country charts in 2000; it was followed by "This Time Around," which failed to enter the Top 40. By the end of 2000, Yankee Grey had exited Monument's roster, and Tim Hunt had left the group's lineup due to vocal problems. After Hunt's departure, the band began a search for a replacement lead singer. The group signed to an independent label known as Stonewall Records. Their second album, ''Yankee Grey 2'', was issued in 2002, with keyboardist Jerry Hughes taking over as lead vocalist on the album. Later on, Lyle Gudmunsen was briefly signed on as lead singer. The band broke up shortly after Gudmunsen joined, and he began a solo career.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control American country music groups Musical groups established in 1986 Monument Records artists Musical groups from Cincinnati Musical groups disestablished in 2002 1986 establishments in Ohio