Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright (October 9, 1939 – November 16, 1980)[1] was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African-American fans in the Deep South; he is also regarded as one of Southern soul's most authoritative and individual artists.[2] His best known songs include "That's How Strong My Love Is" (1964), "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (1965), "Nucleus of Soul" (1968), "A Nickel and a Nail" (1971), "I Can't Take It" (1971) and "Ace of Spades" (1971).
Born in Lenow, Tennessee, Wright began singing in the church as a youngster. In 1956, while still in high school, he joined The Sunset Travelers as one of the lead singers of the gospel group.[3] He later fronted a gospel music group, the Harmony Echoes.[4] It was during this time that he was discovered (along with James Carr) by Roosevelt Jamison, a songwriter and manager.[4] Their first pop recording in 1964 was "That's How Strong My Love Is," a ballad later covered by Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones.[4] It was issued on Goldwax, the label Wright signed to after leaving his gospel career. It was later determined that Don Robey still had him under a recording contract, due to his gospel group having recorded for Peacock. After his contract was shifted to Don Robey's Back Beat label, further R&Bhits followed.[4] Working with record producer Willie Mitchell, success continued on songs including "Ace of Spades" and "A Nickel and a Nail".[4]
Wright's hits were much more popular in the deep South. His biggest hits were "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" (R&B #6, 1965), "Eight Men, Four Women" (R&B #4, 1967) "Ace of Spades" (R&B #11, 1970), "A Nickel and a Nail" (R&B #19, 1971).[4] The remainder of his 17 hits charted no higher than #20 on the R&B chart.
Wright was imprisoned for narcotics offenses during the mid-1970s, and, despite a new recording contract with Hi Records that led to a series of new album releases, commercial success did not follow his release from incarceration.[4] Wright continued to battle drug addiction in the last years of his life, and in 1980, he died from a heart attack in Mobile, Alabama, at the age of 41.[1]
Johnny Rawls joined Wright's backing band in the mid-1970s, and played together with Wright until the latter's death in 1980. The band then continued billed as the O.V. Wright Band for another 13 years, and toured and performed with other musicians over this time span. These included B.B. King, Little Milton, Bobby Bland, Little Johnny Taylor, and Blues Boy Willie.[9]
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Overton Vertis O V Wright October 9 1939 November 16 1980 1 was an American singer who is generally regarded as a blues artist by African American fans in the Deep South he is also regarded as one of Southern soul s most authoritative and individual artists 2 His best known songs include That s How Strong My Love Is 1964 You re Gonna Make Me Cry 1965 Nucleus of Soul 1968 A Nickel and a Nail 1971 I Can t Take It 1971 and Ace of Spades 1971 O V WrightBirth nameOverton Vertis WrightBorn 1939 10 09 October 9 1939Lenow Shelby County Tennessee United StatesDiedNovember 16 1980 1980 11 16 aged 41 Mobile Alabama United StatesGenresR amp B soul funk deep soul soul bluesOccupation s Singer songwriter musician producer instrumentalist sidemanInstrument s Vocals guitar drums piano keyboardsYears active1964 1980LabelsBack Beat Records HiWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 Discography 3 1 Albums 3 2 Chart singles 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditBorn in Lenow Tennessee Wright began singing in the church as a youngster In 1956 while still in high school he joined The Sunset Travelers as one of the lead singers of the gospel group 3 He later fronted a gospel music group the Harmony Echoes 4 It was during this time that he was discovered along with James Carr by Roosevelt Jamison a songwriter and manager 4 Their first pop recording in 1964 was That s How Strong My Love Is a ballad later covered by Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones 4 It was issued on Goldwax the label Wright signed to after leaving his gospel career It was later determined that Don Robey still had him under a recording contract due to his gospel group having recorded for Peacock After his contract was shifted to Don Robey s Back Beat label further R amp B hits followed 4 Working with record producer Willie Mitchell success continued on songs including Ace of Spades and A Nickel and a Nail 4 Wright s hits were much more popular in the deep South His biggest hits were You re Gonna Make Me Cry R amp B 6 1965 Eight Men Four Women R amp B 4 1967 Ace of Spades R amp B 11 1970 A Nickel and a Nail R amp B 19 1971 4 The remainder of his 17 hits charted no higher than 20 on the R amp B chart Wright was imprisoned for narcotics offenses during the mid 1970s and despite a new recording contract with Hi Records that led to a series of new album releases commercial success did not follow his release from incarceration 4 Wright continued to battle drug addiction in the last years of his life and in 1980 he died from a heart attack in Mobile Alabama at the age of 41 1 Legacy EditWright is among the most remembered voices of soul music perhaps mostly for being sampled frequently in hip hop music In 1996 his song Motherless Child was sampled on the Ghostface Killah album Ironman and on the Sunset Park movie soundtrack on a song also called Motherless Child That and another Wright recording Let s Straighten It Out have been published on Shaolin Soul a compilation of tracks that have been sampled by the Wu Tang Clan and its members Let s Straighten It Out was sampled in a Wu Tang Clan song called America from the charity compilation album America Is Dying Slowly Ace of Spades was sampled by Slim Thug and the Boss Hogg Outlawz on a song named Recognize A Playa Wright has been a big influence on many soul and blues singers including Robert Cray 5 Otis Clay 6 Taj Mahal 7 as well as young soul singer Reggie Sears 8 among many others Johnny Rawls joined Wright s backing band in the mid 1970s and played together with Wright until the latter s death in 1980 The band then continued billed as the O V Wright Band for another 13 years and toured and performed with other musicians over this time span These included B B King Little Milton Bobby Bland Little Johnny Taylor and Blues Boy Willie 9 Discography EditAlbums Edit 1965 If It Is Only For Tonight Back Beat Records 1967 8 Men and 4 Women Back Beat Records 1968 Nucleus of Soul Back Beat Records 1972 A Nickel and a Nail and Ace of Spades Back Beat Records 1973 Memphis Unlimited Back Beat Records 1977 Into Something Can t Shake Loose Hi Records 1978 The Bottom Line Hi Records 1979 We re Still Together Hi Records 4 1980 O V Wright Live Hi Records recorded 1979Chart singles Edit Year Single Chart PositionsUS Pop 10 USR amp B 11 1965 You re Gonna Make Me Cry 86 61967 Eight Men Four Women 80 4 Heartaches Heartaches 25 What About You 461968 Oh Baby Mine 361969 I ll Take Care of You 431970 Love The Way You Love 48 Ace of Spades 54 111971 When You Took Your Love From Me 21 A Nickel and a Nail 191973 I d Rather Be Blind Cripple amp Crazy 331974 I ve Been Searching 621975 What More Can I Do To Prove My Love For You 821976 Rhymes 871977 Into Something Can t Shake Loose 431978 Precious Precious 50 I Don t Do Windows 91References Edit a b The Dead Rock Stars Club The 1980s Thedeadrockstarsclub com Retrieved November 5 2019 O V Wright Biography amp History AllMusic Retrieved November 5 2019 Giant Of Southern Soul Part One Ovwright org Retrieved July 31 2014 a b c d e f g h Colin Larkin ed 1997 The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music First ed Virgin Books p 478 ISBN 0 7535 0149 X Robert Cray related artists AllMusic Retrieved February 1 2014 Pollak Billy Otis Clay MusicHound R amp B The Essential Album Guide Visible Ink Press Retrieved February 2 2014 Taj Mahal related artists AllMusic Retrieved February 1 2014 Reggie Sears AllMusic Retrieved February 2 2014 Richard Shelly Johnny Rawls AllMusic Retrieved December 22 2011 Whitburn Joel 2003 Top Pop Singles 1955 2002 1st ed Menomonee Falls Wisconsin Record Research Inc p 778 ISBN 0 89820 155 1 Whitburn Joel 1996 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 1995 Record Research p 495 External links EditO V Wright at Hi Records in Memphis MySpace tribute page O V Wright Memorial Fund O V Wright at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title O V Wright amp oldid 1167942909, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
