Representative Albums: "Beth Nielsen Chapman," "Greatest Hits," "You Hold the Key"
Representative Songs: "Sand and Water," "Happy Girl," "All I Have"
Biography
A talented artist in her own right, scoring a number of adult contemporary radio hits, Beth Nielsen Chapman rose to prominence as a successful songwriter, penning a string of songs that would earn their performers hits on both pop and country radio. Born in Harlington, TX, Chapman spent her youth moving frequently due to her father's Air Force career. Teaching herself to play guitar on an instrument that was intended as a gift for her father, Chapman wrote her first song at age 11. While singing in clubs in Mobile, AL, she met Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, who encouraged her to move to Nashville to pursue her career. The move proved to be a wise decision as Chapman became an in-demand songwriter and session vocalist. Among the hits to her credit were number ones by Willie Nelson ("Nothing I Can Do About It Now") and Lorrie Morgan ("Five Minutes"). Her numerous writing credits also included tracks by Alabama, Kathy Mattea, Trisha Yearwood, and Pam Tillis. Chapman's own recording career began in earnest with the release of an eponymous album in 1990, although she had recorded an earlier effort, Hearing It First, a decade before. Beth Nielsen Chapman and 1993's You Hold the Key were warmly received by critics and she garnered radio play with songs like "All I Have" and "You Hold the Key." It was with the release of Sand and Water in 1997 that Chapman gained the most attention as an artist when Elton John, moved by the title song inspired by her husband's death from cancer, began performing the song in concert. In 1998, Chapman saw Faith Hill's "This Kiss," which she had co-written, become one of her biggest successes yet, dominating the airwaves by reaching number one on the country charts and the Top Five on the pop charts. Her continued efforts in the latter half of the decade included contributions to films (Prince of Egypt, Message in a Bottle), session work, and the release of Deeper Still in 2002, which Chapman also produced. In 2004, Chapman revealed that she had been gathering songs from a variety of religious traditions and was interested in releasing a series of albums, each based on a different faith. Hymns was the first release in the proposed series and found Chapman singing almost entirely in Latin. Look from 2005 was a return to more pop material and featured Michael McDonald and Emily Saliers from the Indigo Girls on backing vocals. Prism, the sequel to Hymns followed in 2007, featuring Jewish, Buddhist, Sufi, Muslim, Shaker, Hindu, and Catholic songs of devotion, along with a second CD of original material. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
In 1976, Chapman played with a Rock & Pop group called "Harmony" in Montgomery, AL, effectively replacing Tommy Shaw who had just left to join Styx. She played acoustic guitar and piano as well as providing vocals for the group in a locally-popular bowling alley bar called Kegler's Kove and she has returned to play in the area on an infrequent basis ever since.[1]
Career success as songwriter
Chapman has had several popular songs on the Adult Contemporary charts in the 1990s, such as "I Keep Coming Back to You", "Walk My Way", "The Moment You Were Mine" and "All I Have". In 1993, she sang a popular duet with Paul Carrack, "In the Time it Takes".
Several artists have performed with Beth on her albums: Bonnie Raitt on "Heads Up for the Wrecking Ball" and "Shake My Soul"; Vince Gill on "Deeper Still"; John Prine on "Every December Sky"; Michael McDonald on "Right Back Into the Feeling" & "Will and Liz"; Emmylou Harris & Kimmie Rhodes on "There's a Light"; Paul Carrack on "In the Time it Takes"; and her son Ernest Chapman III on "Your Love Stays".
Some of Chapman's songwriting collaborators have been Annie Roboff, Bill Lloyd and Eric Kaz.
Charting singles
Chapman has charted eight singles on the Billboard Top Adult Contemporary Singles charts. She is tied for first place (with Marilyn Maye) as the artist with the most charted Adult Contemporary Hits without ever reaching the Billboard Hot 100, according to the Billboard Top Adult Contemporary Hits book. Her charting singles:
Chapman also charted one song on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Chart. Sand & Water reached #2 on the Bubbling Under chart, a position often listed as #102 on the Hot 100 in various Billboard singles books.
Personal tragedy
Chapman's husband, Ernest Chapman, died of cancer in 1994. In 2000, Beth experienced her own battle with breast cancer. The song "Sand & Water" was written after Ernest's death; Elton John performed this song during his 1997 World Tour. The song was featured on the episode "Sand and Water" in Season 7 of ER (2000), as well as in the season 1 episode "Dead Man Dating" of hit TV series Charmed in October 1998.
