Best known as co-lead vocalist for the platinum-selling country-pop group Lady A, Charles Kelley has stockpiled accolades throughout his two-decade career in Nashville. In addition to co-writing the trio’s Grammy-winning breakout single “I Run to You” and the crossover smash “Need You Now”, Kelley has also penned top five hits for Luke Bryan (“Do I”) and Darius Rucker (“Homegrown Honey”).
Winning six Grammy Awards with Lady A, he has also enjoyed success on his own. Kelley has released two solo albums, including 2016’s The Driver, which peaked at number two on the Billboard country albums chart. Last year, he dropped his first solo effort in nearly a decade with Songs for a New Moon. This project sees Kelley embracing the glittering influences of ’80s pop while reckoning with his newfound sobriety.
Today we’re taking a look at the life and career of Charles Burgess Kelley, born in Augusta, Georgia, on this day (September 11) in 1981.
Music Runs in Charles Kelley’s Family
Encouraged by their parents from an early age, Charles spent his teenage years performing with older brothers John and Josh in a band called Inside Blue. (And he isn’t the only successful musician in his family — Josh Kelley is a pop-rock artist with two Top 40 hits under his belt.)
Charles Kelley met future Lady A bandmate David Haywood in middle school, and the two wrote their first song together at age 14.
After graduating from Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia, Kelley attended the University of Georgia in Athens.
Earning his bachelor’s degree in finance, he worked as an accountant for John’s construction business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before making the move to Music City.
The Move to Nashville and the Formation of Lady A
At Josh’s urging, Charles Kelley moved to Nashville in the early 2000s so that the brothers could write songs together.
He soon reconnected with Haywood, and they founded Lady Antebellum with co-lead vocalist Hillary Scott in 2006. (The trio officially changed their name to Lady A in 2020.)
After debuting on singer Jim Brickman’s 2007 re-recording of “Never Alone”, Lady A signed to Capitol Records. Their self-titled 2008 debut album yielded three charting singles, including their first number-one hit, “I Run to You”.
Lady A continued that momentum with 2010’s Need You Now, which debuted atop the Billboard country albums chart and reached number three on the pop chart.
The album went quadruple platinum largely thanks to the crossover success of its title track. Kelley’s soulful, husky vocals perfectly complemented Scott’s anguished alto in “Need You Now”, which won Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards.
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
The post Born 45 Years Ago Today in Georgia, One-Third of This Grammy-Winning Country-Pop Trio Who Has Written Hits for Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker appeared first on American Songwriter.
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