Curtis Wright

For the aircraft parts manufacturer, see Curtiss-Wright.

Curtis Wright
Birth name	Curtis Blaine Wright
Born	June 6, 1955 (1955-06-06) (age 56)
Origin	Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1989-present
Labels	MCA/Airborne, Liberty (solo) Giant (in Orrall & Wright) Free Falls, Cumberland Road (in Shenandoah)
Associated acts	Vern Gosdin Robert Ellis Orrall Shenandoah

Curtis Blaine Wright (born June 6, 1955 in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1989 with the single "She's Got a Man on her Mind" on a branch of MCA Records, before recording a solo album in 1992 on Liberty Records. By 1994, he and frequent songwriting partner Robert Ellis Orrall had formed a duo known as Orrall & Wright, which also recorded one major-label album. Wright later succeeded Brent Lamb in 2002 as the lead vocalist for the band Shenandoah, until being replaced by Jimmy Yeary in 2007. He has toured as a member of Pure Prairie League as well.^[1]

Biography

Initially a member of a band known as the Super Grit Cowboy Band, Wright later performed as a backup vocalist for Vern Gosdin before venturing out on his own.^[2] In late 1989-early 1990, he entered the country music charts with his first single, "She's Got a Man on Her Mind". The same year, Shenadoah reached Number One on the same charts with "Next to You, Next to Me", which Wright co-wrote with his frequent songwriting partner, Robert Ellis Orrall. Wright also co-wrote Steve Wariner's 1990 single "There for Awhile" and Ronnie Milsap's Number One hit "A Woman in Love".

In 1992, Wright signed to Liberty Records, where he released his self-titled debut album that year. This album produced two more low-charting singles. It also included the song "What's It to You", which Wright also co-wrote with Orrall. Although Wright's version was never released as a single, Clay Walker later recorded this song on his 1993 debut album, and his version was a Number One hit that year. He also co-wrote Shenandoah's 1992 single "Rock My Baby".^[3]

By 1994, Wright joined Orrall to form Orrall & Wright, a duo which charted two singles and recorded one album for Giant Records before disbanding.^[2] After the departure of their former lead singer Brent Lamb (who, in turn, replaced Marty Raybon) in the late 1990s, Shenandoah chose Wright as their third lead singer.^[4] Wright left Shenandoah in 2007 to join Pure Prairie League, and Jimmy Yeary succeeded him.

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details
Curtis Wright	Release date: July 14, 1992 Label: Liberty Records

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions		Album
		US Country	CAN Country
1990	"She's Got a Man on Her Mind"	38	—	Single only
1992	"Hometown Radio"	59	66	Curtis Wright
1993	"If I Could Stop Lovin' You"	53	79
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

1. ^ Smith, Stephen (2007-05-24). "Raise the Roof 5: Pure Prairie League Ready for Show". The Pilot. http://archives.thepilot.com/September2004/09-24-04/092404RaiseRoof.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Mansfield, Brian. "Curtis Wright Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p31126. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
3. ^ "Shenandoah". Patterson & Associates. http://www.pattersonandassociates.com/bios/Shenandoah/index.html. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
4. ^ Bennett, Mark (2007-05-24). "Shenandoah to perform at Fairbanks Park festival". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. http://www.tribstar.com/features/local_story_144192938.html. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 

Persondata
Name	Wright, Curtis
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1955-06-06
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death