John Berry

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John Berry
Background information
Birth name	John Edward Berry
Born	September 14, 1959 (1959-09-14) (age 49)[1]
Origin	Aiken, South Carolina, USA
Genre(s)	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals Acoustic guitar
Years active	1979-present
Label(s)	Liberty/Patriot Capitol Nashville Lyric Street Clear Sky
Associated acts	Wynonna Judd
Website	John Berry official web site

John Edward Berry (born September 14, 1959 in Aiken, South Carolina) is an American country music artist. Active as a recording artist since 1979, he has recorded more than fifteen studio albums, including one platinum album and two gold albums. In his career, Berry has also charted nineteen songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One single "Your Love Amazes Me" from 1994 and six additional Top Ten hits: "What's In It for Me", "You and Only You", "Standing on the Edge of Goodbye", "I Think About It All the Time", "Change My Mind, and "She's Taken a Shine".

Biography

This section requires expansion with: more biographical info, critical acclaim, etc..

John Edward Berry was born on September 14, 1959 in Aiken, South Carolina, to James and Marie Berry, and raised in the Atlanta, Georgia area. His father listened to concert pianist Van Cliburn, his mother had a strong taste for gospel, and his brother became an opera singer. Berry gravitated to both soul and country music and began recording his own albums at home in 1979.

Two years later, John started performing solo acoustic shows in northeast Georgia,including performing in the parking lot of Sanford Stadium after Georgia Bulldogs home football games, then expanded around the southeast, building a strong name and following. He eventually made six self-produced albums, with the last one selling over 10,000 copies. He was finally signed to Liberty Records in 1992.

1992—1998: Liberty/Patriot Records and Capitol Records

Berry released his self-titled major-label debut 1993 on Liberty Records. This album produced five chart singles for Berry. First was "A Mind of Her Own" at #55 on the Billboard country charts, followed by the #22 "Kiss Me in the Car". After this song came "Your Love Amazes Me", which in 1994 became his only Number One hit on the Billboard charts. Following it were the #5 "What's in It for Me" and #4 "You and Only You", the latter of which was also a Number One on the RPM country charts in Canada. John Berry was certified platinum by both the RIAA and CRIA.

By 1994, he was moved to Liberty's sister label, Patriot Records. That same year, Patriot re-issued two of Berry's independent albums, Saddle the Wind and Things Are Not the Same. A Christmas album entitled O Holy Night was also released in 1995, also on Patriot.

In 1995, he released Standing on the Edge for Patriot. Its lead-off single, "Standing on the Edge of Goodbye", was a #2 hit for him that year, and was followed by the #4 "I Think About It All the Time". The other two singles — "If I Had Any Pride Left at All" and "Every Time My Heart Calls Your Name" — did not reach Top 20 in the US, but did in Canada. This album was certified gold in both countries.

After the closure of Patriot Records in 1995, Berry was transferred to Capitol Records Nashville (the parent company of Liberty) for his third major-label album, 1996's Faces. Lead-off single "Change My Mind" peaked at #10 in 1996. Following it was his final Top Ten hit, the #2 "She's Taken a Shine", and finally his last Top 40 hit, "I Will, If You Will". The album was his final album to receive a gold certification from the RIAA.

After "I Will, If You Will" came a single entitled "The Stone" which was never included on an album. His final album for Capitol, 1998's Better Than a Biscuit, produced no Top 40 hits, and he exited Capitol's roster soon afterward.

1999—present

Berry signed to Lyric Street Records in 1999 to release his next album, Wildest Dreams. This album once again produced no Top 40 chart entries. After exiting Lyric Street, his first Greatest Hits package was issued on Capitol.

Berry's next album, 2001's All the Way to Here, was issued on the independent Ark 21 label. After this album failed to produce a single, he founded his own label, Clear Sky, on which his next two albums — 2004's I Give My Heart and 2008's Those Were the Days — were issued.

In 2008, Berry self published his music through indie digital distributor Speakerheart.^{[citation needed]}

Charity work

Berry has contributed to children's charities, and lent his name to such causes as adult literacy and Cystic Fibrosis.

Discography

References

External links

• John Berry Official Website