Kevin Welch

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Kevin Welch
Kevin Welch Cactus Cafe 2005 Ron Baker.jpg
Kevin Welch at Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas. Photo by Ron Baker (2005).
Background information
Birth nameKevin Stephen Welch
Born (1955-08-17) August 17, 1955 (age 69)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Origin Midwest City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genres Country
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active1989–present
Labels Reprise
Dead Reckoning
Compass
Website http://www.kevinwelch.com/

Kevin Stephen Welch (August 17, 1955) is an American country music artist. He has charted five singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and released eight studio albums. He is also one of the cofounders of the Dead Reckoning Records label, which he founded with fellow musicians Kieran Kane, Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson, and Harry Stinson.

Contents

Biography

At the age of 7, Welch and his family moved to Midwest City, Oklahoma. After graduating high school, he began touring with bands like New Rodeo and Blue Rose Cafe.

Welch moved to Nashville in 1978 to work as a songwriter. [1] Singers like Ricky Skaggs, Moe Bandy, Waylon Jennings, Patty Loveless, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and Don Williams were using his material. At the same time he was very active in local clubs, performing with John Scott Sherrill and the Wolves in Cheap Clothing, The Roosters, and finally his own band – The Overtones. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with Reprise Records. [1]

In 1990 the album Kevin Welch was recorded and 2 years later Western Beat. [1] The former produced four charting singles on Hot Country Songs, including "Til I See You Again," which reached No. 39. [2]

In 1994 he co-founded Dead Reckoning Records along with Kieran Kane, Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson and Harry Stinson. [1] The following year Life Down Here on Earth was published and in 1999 Beneath My Wheels. The majority of songs are Welch's originals. In 2002 the album Millionaire was recorded partially in Nashville and mostly in Denmark with a line-up of Scandinavian players.

In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin to produce You Can't Save Everybody. The trio followed this up with Lost John Dean in 2006, to general acclaim. Lost John Dean reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. The following eponymous Kane Welch Kaplin, with the addition of Lucas Kane, was also nominated for Duo/Group. The group traveled to Australia 10 times, as well as Europe and the UK, Canada, and all over the United States.

Throughout the 2000s, Welch has teamed up with Australian band The Flood. They have recorded albums and DVDs together, and toured the country twice.

Welch moved to Wimberley, Texas, on April 1, 2008. In 2009, he recorded A Patch Of Blue Sky , his first solo project in 8 years. He now lives in Australia with his wife, Sarah, and their family.

Discography

Albums

YearTitle US Country Label
1990 Kevin Welch 69Reprise
1992 Western Beat
1995 Life Down Here on Earth Dead Reckoning
1999 Beneath My Wheels
2000 11/12/13: Live in Melbourne (with Kieran Kane)
2002 Millionaire
2004 You Can't Save Everybody (with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin)Compass
2006 Lost John Dean (with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin)
2007Kane Welch Kaplin(with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin)
2010 A Patch of Blue Sky Music Road
2017The Dead Reckoning YearsDead Reckoning
2018Dust Devil

Singles

YearTitleChart PositionsAlbum
US Country CAN Country
1989"Stay November"41—Single only
"I Came Straight to You"64—Kevin Welch
1990"Till I See You Again"3918
"Praying for Rain"4966
1991"True Love Never Dies"5437
"Somethin' 'Bout You"—80Western Beat
1995"Life Down Here on Earth"——Life Down Here on Earth
"I Feel Fine Today"——
1997"Anna Lise Please"——Beneath My Wheels
2002"Killing Myself"——Millionaire

Guest singles

YearTitleArtist US Country Album
1990"Tomorrow's World"Various artists74Single only

Music videos

YearVideoDirector
1990"Tomorrow's World" (Various Artists) Gustavo Garzon
"Till I See You Again"Charley Randazzo
1991"True Love Never Dies"
1992"Somethin' 'Bout You"Planet Pictures
1995"I Feel Fine Today"Michael McNamara
1996"Life Down Here on Earth"
1999"Anna Lise Please"
2002"Killing Myself" [3] Chris Cates, Harry Stinson

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kieran Kane</span> American country music artist (born 1949)

Kieran Kane is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number One single "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You". In addition, Kieran charted a string of solo singles on Asylum Records in 1982. After The O'Kanes disbanded in 1990, both O'Hara and Kane recorded solo albums of their own. Kane was also responsible for writing the song "I'll Go On Loving You" which was a top 5 country hit for Alan Jackson in 1998.

Tammy Rogers is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. In addition to releasing three albums on the Dead Reckoning Records label, she is also a founding member of the Grammy Award winning bluegrass group The SteelDrivers and works as a studio musician, primarily on fiddle, violin and viola. She also wrote "A Little Gasoline", a single released by Terri Clark from her album Fearless.

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<i>Dead Rekoning</i> 1995 studio album by Kieran Kane

Dead Rekoning is the third studio album by Kieran Kane. It was released in 1995 on Dead Reckoning Records. The first track, "This Dirty Little Town" features Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams.

<i>You Cant Save Everybody</i> 2004 studio album by Kieran Kane & Kevin Welch with Fats Kaplin

You Can't Save Everybody is an album by Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch with Fats Kaplin. Claudia Scott is listed as a special guest vocalist. Rick Anderson of AllMusic stated in his review that this album was "Highly recommended overall."

<i>Find My Way Home</i> 1993 studio album by Kieran Kane

Find My Way Home is the second album by Kieran Kane and his last one for Atlantic Records before starting his own label, Dead Reckoning Records, with fellow musicians, Kevin Welch, Harry Stinson, Tammy Rogers and Mike Henderson.

<i>Six Months, No Sun</i> 1998 studio album by Kieran Kane

Six Months, No Sun is the fourth studio album by Kieran Kane. It's the second album on Dead Reckoning Records, which is the label he established in 1994 with musicians Kevin Welch, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson. He wrote all the songs in the album apart from two songs, which are his covers of "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" and "What a Wonderful World".

<i>Western Beat</i> 1992 studio album by Kevin Welch

Western Beat is the second studio album by Kevin Welch, as Kevin Welch @nd The Overtones, released in 1992 on Reprise Records. This was Welch's last album for Reprise, before he went on to co-found Dead Reckoning Records in 1994 with fellow musicians Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson.

<i>Beneath My Wheels</i> 1999 studio album by Kevin Welch

Beneath My Wheels is Kevin Welch's fourth solo album. This was Welch's second album for Dead Reckoning Records, which he co-founded in 1994 with fellow musicians Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson.

<i>Millionaire</i> (Kevin Welch album) 2002 studio album by Kevin Welch

Millionaire is the fifth studio album by Kevin Welch. Welch was backed by The Danes, a Copenhagen-based band, on this album. The album was Welch's fourth album for Dead Reckoning Records, the label founded by Welch in 1994 along with fellow musicians Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers and Harry Stinson.

<i>The Blue Chair</i> 2000 studio album by Kieran Kane

The Blue Chair is the fifth solo album by Kieran Kane, his third for Dead Reckoning Records, the label founded by Kane in 1994 along with fellow musicians Kevin Welch, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson. Robert Wooldridge reviewed The Blue Chair on Country Standard Time website favorably, stating "Though unlikely to bring Kane the commercial success he enjoyed with The O'Kanes, this release reinforces Kane's reputation as one of today's best alt.-country singer-songwriters."

<i>Shadows on the Ground</i> 2002 studio album by Kieran Kane

Shadows on the Ground is the sixth solo studio album by Kieran Kane. The album was Kane's fourth solo album for Dead Reckoning Records, the label which he founded in 1994 along with fellow musicians Kevin Welch, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson. This album was recorded live at Moraine Studio in Nashville, TN on July 5 & 6, 2002. Charlene Blevins of Paste magazine writes, "With Shadows on the Ground, Kane doesn’t exactly come full circle so much as he colors in the sphere of his career with a harmonious rainbow."

<i>Lost John Dean</i> 2006 studio album by Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin

Lost John Dean is the second album by the trio, Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin. Hal Horowitz of AllMusic writes "The recording is clean, clear and crisp, with each instrument defined under the vocals making a good album even better."

<i>The Speed of Love</i> 1999 studio album by Tammy Rogers

The Speed of Love is the third solo album by Tammy Rogers, released April 6, 1999. Jason Ankeny's biography of Tammy Rogers on AllMusic mentions that she was a member of Patty Loveless' backing band, which she followed with a stint backing Trisha Yearwood before becoming one of the first members of Kieran Kane's Dead Reckoning label.

<i>Life Down Here on Earth</i> 1995 studio album by Kevin Welch

Life Down Here on Earth is the third studio album by Kevin Welch. This album marks his debut on the artist-owned-and-operated Dead Reckoning Records, which he co-founded in 1994 with fellow musicians Kieran Kane, Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson.

<i>Tammy Rogers</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Tammy Rogers

Tammy Rogers is the eponymous solo debut album by Grammy winning member of The SteelDrivers, Tammy Rogers. The album was released by Rogers' own label, Dead Reckoning Records, which was formed with fellow musicians Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch, Mike Henderson and Harry Stinson, all of which appear on this album.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ankeny, Jason. "Kevin Welch biography". Allmusic . Retrieved August 7, 2010.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 451. ISBN   0-89820-177-2.
  3. ↑ "CMT : Videos : Kevin Welch : Killing Myself". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
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