Buddy Jewell Jr. (born April 2, 1961 in Lepanto, Arkansas) is an American country music artist who was the first winner on the USA Network talent show Nashville Star. Signed to Columbia Records in 2003, Jewell made his debut on the American country music scene with the release of his self-titled album, which produced back-to-back Top 5 singles in "Help Pour out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" and "Sweet Southern Comfort". Another album, Times Like These, followed in 2005.
Biography
Buddy Jewell was born in Lepanto, Arkansas on April 2, 1961.[1] He began playing guitar after buying one from a schoolmate during childhood, and saved the money that he earned bagging groceries to buy guitar lesson books. Jewell also listened to the music that his father, also named Buddy, played for him, and was taught by his uncle Clyde how to play "What a Friend We Have in Jesus".[2] By age fifteen, Jewell had also taught himself how to play Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone."[2] Jewell also majored in television and radio in college, although he left in his junior year to marry, despite the marriage only lasting two-and-a-half years.[2]
Jewell later moved to Camden, Arkansas at age 21 in pursuit of a musical career. There, he discovered a band called White Oak, which was seeking a new lead singer.[1] This band was sponsored by a booking agency whose roster also included Canyon and a band founded by a then-unknown Trace Adkins.[2] After touring with White Oak for four years, he moved to Dallas, Texas, where he took a role in a gunfighing show at Six Flags over Texas. He later entered a singing competition that was sponsored by the band Alabama, whose music was also an inspiration to him.[2] He won the competition's top prize, which was an opening slot for the band.[1]
After winning the competition, he competed on Star Search, where he won Male Vocalist on several episodes.[2] He later decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee in 1993, and found work two years later as a demo singer. As a demo singer, he recorded more than 5000 demos. Among the songs that Jewell recorded demos for were "Write This Down" for George Strait, "A Little Past Little Rock" for Lee Ann Womack, "The One" for Gary Allan and "You're Beginning to Get to Me" for Clay Walker.[2] Jewell also self-released albums entitled One in a Row and Far Enough Away in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Having been rejected by several record labels at this point, he supported himself with the money that his second wife made at her nail salon.[2]
Nashville Star and major-label music career
In 2003, Jewell competed in the first season of the television singing competition Nashville Star. He became the show's first winner that season, and was soon signed to a recording contract with Columbia Records Nashville.[1] On May 5, 2003, two days after his win, Jewell's debut single "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" was shipped to radio. It became the highest-debuting single by a new country artist since the singles charts were first tabulated via Nielsen SoundScan in 1990.[3] This song reached #3 on the country charts and #29 on the pop charts. It was the first single from his self-titled debut album, which was produced by former RCA Records artist Clint Black and was recorded in ten days.[1][4] Buddy Jewell sold 500,000 copies and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in addition to producing a second #3 country hit in "Sweet Southern Comfort", which also reached #40 on the pop charts. This song was followed by the #38 country single "One Step at a Time".
Jewell's second album for Columbia, Times Like These, was released in 2005. This album did not perform as well at radio, with its first single ("If She Were Any Other Woman") reaching #27 on the charts, and the second single ("So Gone") failing to chart entirely. By the end of the year, Jewell was dropped from Columbia's roster. He did not release another single until "This Ain't Mexico" in 2008, a self-released single. This was included on an album entitled Country Enough, which was released on Diamond Dust Records in the Summer of 2008.
In August 2009, Jewell signed with O'Reilly International for management. Brad Allen, president of the newly-formed ALL Entertainment, will co-manage Jewell with O'Reilly. On August 10, 2009, Allen announced the launch of the new multi-dimensional entertainment company ALL Entertainment today and revealed Jewell as the label's first signed artist. Additionally, ALL Entertainment has partnered with New Revolution Entertainment to handle radio promotion of Jewell's first single, "Somebody Who Would Die For You." "Somebody Who Would Die for You" writers Mark Narmore and Adam Wheeler first played the heart-tugging song for Buddy several years ago. When ALL Entertainment president Brad Allen initially heard the song, he made getting Jewell's version to radio the label's top priority.
"I knew 'Somebody Who Would Die For You' was a hit the first time I heard it," said Jewell. It literally moved me to tears and seems to have the same emotional impact on virtually everyone who hears it. It is without question one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard, much less recorded. I'm thrilled that my new label, ALL Entertainment, has as much faith in this song as its writers and I do.
"Truly great songs that rise above mediocrity are an extremely rare find," said New Revolution's Rob Dalton, who has driven over 100 singles into the Top 10 or better in his 21 years of promotion.
"'Somebody Who Would Die For You' will generate a passionate listener response and do what music is intended to do. This song powerfully relates on so many levels to so many lives. We admire Buddy for his integrity and making sure that what he delivers musically is worth anybody's time. This song will make an important contribution to any radio station playlist."
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Music videos
| Year |
Video |
Director |
| 2003 |
"Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" |
Jon Small |
| "Sweet Southern Comfort" |
Eric Welch |
| 2005 |
"If She Were Any Other Woman" |
David McClister |
References
External links
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