Donna Lyons Interviews Country Artist Chely Wright

Chely Wright rose to fame as a commercial country singer in the 90’s, having released eight studio albums selling more than 1,000,000 copies in the U.S. and charted more than 15 singles on the Billboard charts.  On the strength of her debut album in 1994, the Academy of Country Music named Chely Top New Female Vocalist of 1995.  Her first hit came in 1997 with “Shut Up and Drive” followed two years later by her first number one single, “Single White Female” and in 2005, the zeitgeist – capturing hit “The Bumper of My S.U.V.” 

Chely just completed a new studio album titled I Am The Rain, with guest performance by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and the Milk Carton Kids.

 In 2010, Chely Wright released her eighth album, “Lifted Off the Ground” revealing a dramatic artistic transformation and emerging as a singer songwriter of the first order.  The album would never have come to be were it not for an equally dramatic personal transformation which she candidly and painstakingly documented in a memoir entitled “Like Me” Chely made history by being the first country music star to come out publicly as gay.

Chely also came out with an award-winning documentary “Wish Me Away”. The critically acclaimed film chronicles Chely Wright’s journey growing up, moving to Nashville to become a country singer.  It portrays her preparing for the day she comes out publically and then depicts the aftermath of her decision. 

Chely is a huge advocate of our military. Her grandfather, father and brother have all served our great nation and Chely has traveled thousands of miles brining music and entertainment to our troops around the world.