Hit songwriter to perform at music fest
When she takes the stage at the Dottie West Music Fest this October, headliner Karen Staley will no doubt wow the crowd with her radiant natural beauty, her charisma and her considerable vocal skills as she regales them with some of the hit songs she has penned over the years for a list of artists that reads like a who’s who of country music royalty.
Staley has sung backup and played guitar on the road with no less than country music superstars Reba McEntire and Faith Hill, written a Grammy-nominated No. 1 hit single for Michael Martin Murphy and Holly Dunn, and has had her songs recorded by Dolly Parton, George Jones and Conway Twitty, among many others.
She has also recorded a string of critically acclaimed albums on her own, so it’s no wonder this talented singer, songwriter and musician has been teetering on the brink of country music stardom ever since she packed up her used Ford Escort station wagon and made the move to Nashville in 1984 with only $400 in her pocket.
But, unlike so many other country music hopefuls, once there, her obvious talent shone through and good things began to happen in a hurry.
Staley was born in Weirton, W.Va., and raised on Hookstown, Pa., a rural community where most people worked in one of the many steel mills in the region. Staley’s family was no different.
Her first love was sports but, but when a back injury derailed that career choice, her high school choir director lent her a guitar and taught her the chords to John Denver’s ‘Annie’s Song.’ Staley soon forgot about sports and concentrated on honing her guitar skills and began writing songs. Being voted ‘Most Musical’ in her senior yearbook turned out to be prophetic in ways the teenager never imagined.
Though she didn’t know a soul when she breezed into Music City, she did have the right instincts, with one of her first stops being at ASCAP, where she met with a guy named Bob Doyle, who was quick to see her star potential. Doyle eventually went on to manage another young singer/songwriter named Garth. Doyle hooked Staley up with veteran publisher Karen Conrad, who was just starting a new company, and Staley became her first signing.
To this day Staley credits Conrad with showing her the ropes in the notoriously competitive Nashville music business, and to good effect. Staley soon had a No. 1 hit with Murphy and Dunn’s recording of her song, ‘A Face In The Crowd.’
Within a year, Staley had several more songs recorded, and was getting steady work as a background singer, appearing on a number of albums produced in Nashville. And though her songs were beginning to make a name for her in Music City, it was her vocal and guitar skills that took her to the next level of her burgeoning music career. After pitching a couple of new songs live for Reba at MCA, McEntire asked Karen if she would like to go on the road with her and sing back up and play guitar.
It didn’t take long for the relative newcomer to decide to jump at the chance, and soon she was warbling on stage with one of the female icons of country music. During the next 10 years Staley continued her success as a demo singer, background vocalist and a sought-after live performer, all the while cementing her reputation as a respected and critically acclaimed hit song writer.
But though several recording deals with various labels, including Warner Bros., were signed during her years in the Nashville music industry, one problem or another prevented Staley from attaining star status.
But despite all the near misses, Staley, a devout Christian, remains positive, though pragmatic, about her career choice, and says the Lord has blessed her.
‘If God hadn’t given me such a precious gift the only experience I would ever have had behind a microphone would be to say, ‘Would you like fries with that’? Staley said. ‘George Jones actually recorded one of my songs on his last album. I can die happy now.’
For more information on the Dottie West Music Fest, including the talent contest entry form, visit www.dottiewestmusicfest.com or call the McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce at 473-6611.
To join the growing list of valued Dottie West Music Fest sponsors, please contact Bill Myers at 473-5134, or by e-mail at [email protected], or Thomas B. Vaughn at 473-5188, or e-mail at [email protected]. Vaughn and Myers would also like to send out a special invitation to local musicians to enter the talent contest.