Country music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, starting with Barbara Mandrell and The Oak Ridge Boys recordings. I love country music and as I've gotten older I've had a chance to meet many country artists and work with a few. The thing that has always struck me is how friendly and appreciative they are and Chely Wright was no exception.
Between 2000 and 2004, I met her two or three times and when I heard she came out this week as a lesbian I was surprised, I'm not going to lie, but when I watched her interviews on TODAY and Access Hollywood I felt sad. Sad because someone felt that they needed to hide a piece of themselves because an industry they wanted to be a part of so much and had given so much to (both musically and through charity work) would not except them for who they were.
I know my views on many topics are liberal and maybe I simplify things, but at the end of the day I guess I just want people to be happy- whether they've been friends for years or someone I've spent just a fraction of time with.
I pulled a photo I shot of Wright from an old photography portfolio and couldn't believe how much she seemed to have aged in the last eight years. When compared to her appearance on TODAY, the presumable stress of her secret life can be seen in her face.
The country music world trends conservative and many can still remember the country music backlash the Dixie Chicks experienced in 2003 from comments made about the war and President Bush. I realize that Wright's situation is different than the Chicks, but it does beg the question - will the country music family and Wright's fans continue to support her?
Wright sure hopes so telling EW.com, "I want my country fans to stay with me. I'm not giving the finger to country fans. By all measure, they already like me. They voted me 'most philanthropic,' 'country star with the biggest heart,' People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful, Kansan of the Year. I'm still all those things."
It will be interesting to see what happens with Wright's career, but this blog is titled Its All About The Music and for me that's still what it's about with Wright. So if you heard the name Chely Wright for the first time this week and haven't checked out her music, I've always been a fan of "While I Was Waiting," "Jezebel," "Never Love You Enough," and of course her big hit "Single White Female."
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