Jeff Bates

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Jeffery Wayne "Jeff" Bates (born September 19, 1963 in Bunker Hill, Mississippi) is an American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records in 2003, Bates released his debut album Rainbow Man that year. A second album, Leave the Light On, was released in 2005 on RCA, but he left the label in 2006. This album was followed by Jeff Bates in 2008 on the independent Black River Music Group. Bates' two RCA albums accounted for seven chart singles on the Billboard country charts, of which three reached top 40: "The Love Song" (his highest, at #8), "I Wanna Make You Cry" at #23, and "Long, Slow Kisses" at #17.

Biography

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Jeff Bates was born in Bunker Hill, Mississippi. When Bates was three months old, he was given up by his biological mother and adopted by a sharecropping family.^{[citation needed]} In the early 2000s, he spent time in jail for grand larceny.^{[citation needed]} He had started stealing from friends to pay for an 18-month addiction to methamphetamine.^[1] He went through withdrawal in a jail cell and credits prayer and a 12-step program for staying clean. He has co-written a number of songs with Kenny Beard. While in jail, Bates called Beard to let him know where he had pawned Beard's favorite guitar for drug money.^{[citation needed]}

Musical career

Rainbow Man

Before signing to a record contract, Bates co-wrote Tracy Lawrence's 2002 single "What a Memory". Bates signed to RCA Records Nashville in 2003, releasing his debut single, "The Love Song" that year. Peaking at #8 on the Billboard country charts, it was the first of three singles from his debut album Rainbow Man,^[1] which also produced a #47 in its title track and a #23 in "I Wanna Make You Cry". Bates co-produced the album with David Malloy, Kenny Beard, and Scott Hendricks.

Leave the Light On

His fourth single, "Long, Slow Kisses", was a re-recording of a cut from his debut album. This re-recording was the third Top 40 hit of his career, peaking at #17 in 2005. It was also the first of four singles from his second album, Leave the Light On.^[1] However, none of the other three singles from this album — "Good People", "No Shame" and "One Second Chance" — reached Top 40, and Bates was dropped from RCA's roster.

Jeff Bates

He signed to Black River Music Group in 2008 and released his self-titled third album. The album's first three singles were "Don't Hate Me for Lovin' You", "Riverbank", and "One Thing". The video for "Don't Hate Me For Loving You" reached #1 on CMT Pure Country's 12 Pack Countdown and GAC Top 20 Countdown. The "One Thing" video also reached number one on CMT Pure Country's 12 Pack Countdown.

Personal life and charitable efforts

In August 2006, a $3,500 guitar that was a gift to Bates from the Takamine guitar company and used in his video "One Second Chance" was stolen from Bates' garage. When Bates called the Nashville police, Det. Rick Mavity was sent to investigate. Mavity was the same officer involved in Bates' arrest. Mavity located the stolen guitar in a pawn shop and returned it to Bates.

Bates has been active in his works of compassion, collecting for organizations such as Toys for Tots and others. In 2005, a concert in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, raised $25,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief in his home area.

In May 2007, Bates married his wife, Kelly, in an outdoor ceremony. They are now expecting their first child. A year later, he signed to Black River Music Group and released his self-titled third album.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

• Jeff Bates at Allmusic
• Official Jeff Bates website
• Operation Circle Of Love