Kathy Kelly (musician)

Last updated

Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly 2707 adj.JPG
Kelly in 2010
Background information
Birth nameKathleen Anne Kelly
Born (1963-03-06) 6 March 1963 (age 61)
Genres
Occupations
  • singer-songwriter
  • producer
Website www.kathyannekelly.com

Kathleen Ann Kelly (born March 6, 1963) [1] is a singer, songwriter, and producer. Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, she is the third child of The Kelly Family, a multi-generational pop group that achieved success in Europe in the 1990s. She's currently the oldest member of the group, the "Grandmother" of the family.

Contents

In 1999, Kelly released her first solo album, The Best of Kathy Kelly, which included her best songs from The Kelly Family albums as well as five new songs. While continuing to record and tour with the group throughout the 2000s, Kelly pursued her solo projects, resulting in three additional LPs and several singles to date. Some of these works featured new versions of traditional songs from around the world, previously performed by the group since the 1970s; notable songs include "Amazing Grace," "Motherless Child," "Old Black Joe," and "The Rose of Tralee".

Early years

Kathy was born in the United States in 1961. She is the third of five children born to Daniel Kelly Sr. and Joanne.

Kathy was homeschooled, as were her older and younger siblings. She also learned ballet and began playing the violin. Later, she became a teacher to her younger siblings. Kathy can also play the guitar, accordion, keyboards, and piano, among other instruments.

The Kelly Family

In 1974, Kathy, Caroline, Paul, John, and Patricia formed The Kelly Kids to perform at children's parties and on the streets. The band later became known as The Kelly Family when Dan and Barbara joined, followed by other siblings.

The Kelly Family gained popularity in their early years as a street band. Kathy typically played the violin alongside Paul, but after Caroline left, she began playing the accordion more frequently. Kathy was also the primary arranger of most of the group's songs and was the first of her siblings to write an original song. She is credited with writing Lonely, a song recorded in 1981 featuring lead vocals by John, the then-main vocalist, and Papa Dan. Kathy was also one of the main producers, recording most of the family’s albums from the 1980s through the late 1990s.

The year 1994 marked a major breakthrough for the Kelly Family, as they began selling CDs in stores. Their album Over the Hump sold 5 million copies. This success was followed by albums such as Christmas for All , Almost Heaven , Growin' Up , and From Their Hearts . In From Their Hearts, Kathy’s son Sean is featured on vocals in the track "Dance to the Rock 'n Roll."

In 2000, Kathy left the band to pursue a solo career. Her last song with the group was By Myself but Not Alone, sung with her brother John in 1999.

Kathy later returned to tour with the band from 2007 to 2008.

She also participated in Paddy Kelly's Stille Nacht Tour in 2011, performing alongside Paul, Patricia, Joey Kelly, Michael Patrick Kelly, and guest Caroline Kelly. Recordings from this tour were released as a live album titled Stille Nacht Live-CD 2011.

Kathy joined the 2012 tour, Stille Nacht 2012, and a live CD from this tour was released in September 2013.

In 2017, the Kelly Family reunited with seven members, and Kathy once again rejoined the band. The Kelly Family released an album titled We Got Love, on which Kathy performs six songs.

Throughout her career with the Kelly Family, Kathy contributed to 32 of their 35 albums and provided vocals on 106 songs, including live CDs, a total exceeded only by Paddy and John.

Solo career

Kathy Kelly began her solo career by releasing a single titled You're Losing Me, which reached number 94 on the German charts. She followed this with a compilation album, The Best of Kathy Kelly, which included some Kelly Family songs along with five new tracks. This album peaked at number 32 on the German chart and number 44 on the Dutch chart.

After leaving the Kelly Family in 2000, Kathy released another album, Morning of My Life, featuring entirely new material. It reached number 22 on the German charts.

In 2002, Kathy released her third studio album, Straight from My Heart. In 2005, she released her fourth album, Godspel, which includes several songs featuring Jimmy Kelly.

Kathy also embarked on the Godspel Tour from 2009 to mid-2012, performing primarily in Germany, as well as in Romania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland.

In September 2012, she launched another European tour, performing in Germany and Romania.

In 2014, Kathy released a holiday album, My Christmas Songs, followed in 2015 by The First. During this period, she performed mainly at festivals and occasional concerts. That same year, she toured with her siblings Paul and Patricia.

On December 31, 2015, and January 2, 2016, Kathy gave her first concerts in Bethlehem.

Toward the end of 2016, she began the Celtic Scottish Christmas Tour with her younger brother Paul.

In 2017, in addition to the Kelly Family comeback, Kathy continued her European tour throughout the year, with one show featuring her brother John Kelly.

Discography

For the recordings together with The Kelly Family, see The Kelly Family discography.

Albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silent Night</span> 1818 Christmas song

"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song was first recorded in 1905 and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is the world's most recorded Christmas song, with more than 137,000 known recordings.

Sister Sledge are an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consists of sisters Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. In 1979, they released their breakthrough album We Are Family, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and included the 1979 US top-10 singles "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family". "We Are Family" earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moya Brennan</span> Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist

Moya Brennan, also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing professionally in 1970 when her family formed the band Clannad. Brennan released her first solo album in 1992 called Máire, a successful venture. She has received a Grammy Award from five nominations and has won an Emmy Award. She has recorded music for several soundtracks, including Titanic, To End All Wars and King Arthur.

Rosanna Bella Victoria Eriksdotter Munter is an actress and recording artist from Sweden. She is best known as a member of the Swedish girl group Play, and she was in a collaborative project with White Lies bassist Charles Cave titled K.I.D.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Corrs</span> Irish musical group

The Corrs are an Irish family band consisting of siblings Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim. Their music combines pop rock with traditional Irish themes. They are from Dundalk in County Louth, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Corr</span> Irish musician

Andrea Jane Corr is an Irish musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon and Jim. Aside from singing lead vocals, Corr plays the tin whistle, the mandolin, the ukulele and the piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Connor (singer)</span> German singer (born 1980)

Sarah Connor is a German pop singer. She rose to prominence after she signed with X-Cell Records in 2000 and released her debut album Green Eyed Soul (2001) the following year. She followed it with a series of successful albums, including Unbelievable (2002), Key to My Soul (2003), Naughty but Nice (2005), Christmas in My Heart (2005), Soulicious (2007), Sexy as Hell (2008) and Real Love (2010). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop record charts, including the number-one hits "From Sarah with Love", "Music is the Key", "Just One Last Dance", "Living to Love You" and "From Zero to Hero". In 2015, Connor's first German language project Muttersprache became her second chart-topper after a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice Newton</span> American pop and country singer (born 1952)

Juice Newton is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categories – winning once in 1983 – as well as an ACM Award for Top New Female Artist and two consecutive Billboard Female Album Artist of the Year awards. Newton's other awards include a People's Choice Award for "Best Female Vocalist" and the Australian Music Media's "Number One International Country Artist".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shakin' Stevens</span> British rock and roll singer and songwriter (born 1948)

Michael Barratt, known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Heppner</span> Musical artist

Peter Heppner is the former lead singer of the German electronica/synth pop band Wolfsheim, and has collaborated with many other electronic music acts, such as Paul van Dyk, Schiller, and Goethes Erben.

The Braxtons are an American musical quintet consisting of singer Toni Braxton and her younger sisters, Traci Braxton, Towanda Braxton, Trina Braxton, and Tamar Braxton. Despite being commercially unsuccessful, the group's first single, "Good Life", led to oldest sister Toni's solo career. All five members reunited in 2011 to star in the WE tv reality television series Braxton Family Values alongside their mother, Evelyn Braxton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Sledge</span> American singer–songwriter and producer (born 1959)

Kathy Sledge is an American singer–songwriter and producer. Sledge is best known as the youngest and founding member of Sister Sledge, an American vocal group which is made up of her sisters that formed in 1971. As a member of the group, Sledge sang lead on their biggest hits "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family"; the latter of which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1980.

Bubbles was a Swedish Eurodance group, also known as Bless. The group's original lineup consisted of Caroline Ljungström, twin sisters Patricia and Sandra Joxelius, Jenny (Yenny) Andersén, and Hannah Steffenburg.

Paulette Tenae Carlson is an American country music singer-songwriter, who rose to fame in the 1980s as the founder and lead vocalist for the country band Highway 101. With Highway 101, she charted four No. 1 hit singles, seven Top 10 hits and won two Country Music Association Awards. As a solo artist, she has charted five times on Hot Country Songs and recorded three studio albums. Her most successful solo single is "I'll Start with You", which peaked at number 21 in 1991. Carlson continues to tour and record new music as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dia Frampton</span> American musician

Dia Frampton is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Frampton is the lead singer of the band Meg & Dia, was the runner-up in the inaugural season of The Voice, and is perhaps most known for her presence and collaborations in the EDM world, having worked with DJs such as Illenium and Kaskade among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Cowsill</span> American musician, singer and songwriter (born 1959)

Susan Claire Cowsill is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the family band The Cowsills. After touring with Dwight Twilley for quite some time in the 1980s, she co-formed the band Continental Drifters. Since 1990, she has been with the Cowsills, along with brothers Bob and Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kelly Family</span> American-European music group

The Kelly Family is a European-American music group consisting of a multi-generational family, usually nine siblings who were joined occasionally on stage in their earlier years by their parents. They play a repertoire of rock, pop, and folk music, and sing in English, Spanish, German, and Basque. The group had chart and concert success around the world, predominantly in continental Europe - mainly in Germany, the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Portugal - and some in Ireland. They have sold over 20 million albums since the early 1980s and were ranked as the 6th most popular music act in Germany in the 1990s. Despite their American origins, the group is virtually unknown in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Stone</span> Australian singer-songwriter

Julia Stone is an Australian folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is the sister of Angus Stone, with whom she has collaborated in professional music, and is also a solo musician. Her debut solo album, The Memory Machine, was released in September 2010. Her second solo album, By the Horns, was released in May 2012, and peaked at No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

<i>Wonderful World!</i> (The Kelly Family album) 1981 studio album by The Kelly Family

Wonderful World! is a 1981 album by The Kelly Family. The album includes traditional Virginia melodies such as the "New Britain" melody to "Amazing Grace", published in the 1831 collection Virginia Harmony.

<i>The Kelly Family</i> (album) 1979 studio album by The Kelly Family

The Kelly Family is the third studio album by Euro-American folk band The Kelly Family, released on March 5, 1979 through Polydor.

References

  1. "Bio Kelly Family".