Charles Kelley

Charles Kelley
Background information
Birth name	Charles Burgess Kelley
Born	(1981-09-11) September 11, 1981
Origin	Augusta, Georgia
Genres	Country, Country Pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Drums, Guitar, Ukelele
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Capitol Nashville
Associated acts	Lady Antebellum, Josh Kelley
Website	LadyAntebellum.com

Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American country music singer-songwriter and founding member of Lady Antebellum, a country rock trio formed in 2006 and signed to Capitol Nashville.^[1]

Early life and career

Kelley was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of Gayle and John W. Kelley, a cardiologist. He began his musical career at the age of 11. His older brother, Josh Kelley, is also a musician and singer. As teenagers, Charles, Josh and oldest brother John formed a band called Inside Blue; the band released a five-song CD that garnered the attention of a major label.^[2] In middle school, Kelley met Dave Haywood^[3] and, at the age of 14, they wrote their first song. They both graduated from Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia.

Kelley attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where he was a member of the Nu Zeta chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.^[4] He graduated in 2004 with a degree in finance.^[5]

Before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in mid-2005 to pursue a musical career, Kelley worked in his brother John's construction business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as an accountant for an affiliated waste management company.^[6] Kelley made the move after his brother Josh, who was a pop musician at the time, bought a house in Nashville and convinced him to come live there so they could write songs together.^[7]

Musical career

Part of Lady Antebellum

Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood founded the country music group Lady Antebellum in 2006 and released their self-titled debut album in April 2008. The trio either wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs on the album, which featured production by Paul Worley and Victoria Shaw. The album included the trio's debut hit, "Love Don't Live Here", along with the singles, "Lookin' for a Good Time" and "I Run to You", the latter of which became their first Number One hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in July 2009. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in October 2009. In 2008, they returned to Charles' and Dave's former high school alma mater, Lakeside High School, and performed a short concert in the gymnasium.

In January 2010, Lady Antebellum released their second album, Need You Now, which was led off by the five-week No. 1 and crossover hit, "Need You Now". All three members of the band co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on the album and produced alongside Worley. The album generated the No. 1 hits, "American Honey" and "Our Kind of Love", and the Top 10 single, "Hello World", and was certified triple platinum in October 2010.

In May 2011, Lady Antebellum released "Just a Kiss" as the first single from their third studio album, Own the Night, which was released on September 13, 2011.

Other Projects

Kelley's other works consist of co-writing songs for other artists, mainly with Lady Antebellum bandmate, Dave Haywood. One of those songs was "Do I" on labelmate Luke Bryan's 2009 album, Doin' My Thing.^[8] Written in late 2008, the song was released to radio in April 2009 and peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in December of that year.^[9] The song also featured Lady Antebellum's HIllary Scott on background vocals.^[8]

In 2006, prior to forming the band, Kelley released a solo album called "2 to 9's". The record met with little mainstream success, but was well-rated by listeners.^[10]

In 2009, Kelley and Haywood penned a song called "It's Only" for Danny Gokey's debut album, My Best Days, with "I Run to You" cowriter, Tom Douglas.^[11] That same year, the two also wrote "Love Song" with Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, which Lambert would later record for her third studio album, Revolution, and Kelley would sing background on.^[12]

In 2010, Kelley and Haywood wrote "Kiss Me Slowly" with Will Anderson, lead singer of the pop rock band, Parachute. The song made it on to Parachute's second studio album, The Way It Was, and was released to iTunes in the weeks leading up to the release of the album.^[13] That same year, Kelley, along with Scott and Haywood, recorded a duet with Maroon 5 called "Out of Goodbyes" as Lady Antebellum. The song was included on Maroon 5's third studio album, Hands All Over, but was never released as a single.^[14]

In addition, Kelley has co-written numerous songs for his brother, Josh Kelley. Those songs are "Just Say the Word" and "Pop Game" on Josh's 2006 album, Just Say the Word, which were written by the brothers with Haywood;^[15] "Lift Me Up" and "Stay Awake" on 2008's Special Company;^[16] and "Georgia Clay" and "Ain't Lettin' Go" on his 2011 country debut, Georgia Clay.^[17]

Kelley and Haywood co-wrote the semi-autobiographical track "Better Than This" on (Encore), the 2013 re-issue of rising country star Hunter Hayes' self-titled debut album.^[18]

Personal life

Kelley is married to longtime girlfriend Cassie McConnell. The couple wed in a Nashville courthouse in late June 2009 as a legal formality before having a destination wedding in the Bahamas. After the wedding, Lady Antebellum tweeted a photo of Kelley showing off his wedding band, saying, "What is that you see on Charles' hand... yep a wedding ring!!!" McConnell represents several country musicians, including his brother, Josh Kelley.^[19]

As a result of his brother Josh Kelley's marriage, Charles Kelley is the brother in-law of actress Katherine Heigl.

Kelley had the lyrics, "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," from the Beatles song, "Blackbird", tattooed on his right forearm in early 2009.^[20] In 2010, Kelley got a second tattoo, a design of the flower of life, on his upper left arm.

In addition to being an avid golfer,^[21] Kelley is a motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2006 Harley Softail Custom.^[22]

Awards and Nominations

References

External links

• MediaRhyme Inc. 2011 Awards and Nominations