Kimberly Kay Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in East Nashville, Tennessee.

Early life

Kimberly Kay Richey was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on December 1, 1956. She grew up in Kettering, Ohio, graduating from Fairmont East High school in 1973.

Career

Richey entered music in the 1990s, and secured her first recording contract with Mercury Nashville at the age of 37. She spent the next few years promoting her albums and touring with Wynonna Judd, John Prine, and others.

Compositions

Her songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood ("Believe Me Baby (I Lied)"), Radney Foster ("Nobody Wins"), and Brooks & Dunn ("Every River").

Recordings

Her May 1995 self-titled debut album was produced by Richard Bennett. It contained the singles "Just My Luck" and "Those Words We Said". Her follow-up album, Bitter Sweet, was produced by Angelo and released in 1997. It contained the single "I Know". Glimmer was released in 1999. Produced by Hugh Padgham (XTC), the album also features guitarist Dominic Miller (Sting). Rise was released in 2002 and was produced by Bill Bottrell. Her 2007 album Chinese Boxes was recorded in London and produced by Giles Martin. Wreck Your Wheels was released in 2010. It was produced by Neilson Hubbard in his studio. Released in 2013, Thorn in My Heart was again produced by Neilson Hubbard and features guest vocals from Trisha Yearwood. A limited-edition version of the album was released in 2014 as Thorn in My Heart: The Work Tapes with only Richey on guitar and vocals. Edgeland was released March 30, 2018, and produced by Brad Jones. Edgeland includes three different tracking bands of Nashville's roots players. Like Thorn in My Heart, Edgeland was released on Yep Roc Records.

Discography

Albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US CountryUS HeatUS Folk
Kim RicheyRelease date: May 9, 1995 Label: Mercury Nashville72
Bitter SweetRelease date: March 4, 1997 Label: Mercury Nashville53
GlimmerRelease date: August 3, 1999 Label: Mercury Nashville
RiseRelease date: October 1, 2002 Label: Lost Highway Records
The CollectionRelease date: May 18, 2004 Label: Lost Highway Records
Chinese BoxesRelease date: July 10, 2007 Label: Vanguard Records
Wreck Your WheelsRelease date: September 14, 2010 Label: Thirty Tigers US, Lojinx (Europe)
Thorn in My HeartRelease date: April 16, 2013 Label: Yep Roc Records (US), Lojinx (Europe)552620
EdgelandRelease date: March 30, 2018 Label: Yep Roc Records
A Long Way Back: The Songs of GlimmerRelease date: March 27, 2020 Label: Yep Roc Records
Every New BeginningRelease date: May 24, 2024 Label: Yep Roc Records
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

EPs

  • 2007: Little Record (Vanguard) - promo EP containing non-album acoustic versions of "Chinese Boxes", "Drift", "Straight as the Crow Flies", "Mexico" and "A Place Called Home"[citation needed]

Singles

YearSinglePeak positionsAlbum
US CountryUS AAACAN CountryCAN AC
1995"Just My Luck"4736Kim Richey
"Those Words We Said"5950
1996"From Where I Stand"66
1997"I Know"7271Bitter Sweet
1999"Come Around"1364Glimmer
2000"The Way It Never Was"
2002"The Circus Song (Can't Let Go)"Rise
2007"Jack and Jill"Chinese Boxes
2013"Come On"Thorn in My Heart
2017"The Get Together" (featuring Mando Saenz)Edgeland
2018"Whistle on Occasion" (featuring Chuck Prophet)
"Not for Money or Love"
"Chase Wild Horses"
2019"Hello Old Friend"A Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer
2020"Come Around"
"Keep Me"
2024"Floating on the Surface"Every New Beginning
"Joy Rider"
"Chapel Avenue"
"A Way Around"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

YearVideoDirector
1995"Just My Luck"Dani Jacobs
"Those Words We Said"Pamela Springsteen
1997"I Know"Luke Scott
2000"The Way It Never Was"Jude Weng
2007"Jack and Jill"Stephanie B. Keane

Contributed vocals

Songwriting collaborations

YearArtistSongAlbumCollaborator
1992Radney Foster"Nobody Wins"Del Rio, TX 1959Radney Foster
1993Dixie Chicks"Desire"Shouldn't a Told You ThatSteve Kolander
1994Steve Kolander"Can't Undo What's Been Done"Steve Kolander
1995George Ducas"In No Time at All"George DucasGeorge Ducas
Radney Foster"If It Were Me"Labor of LoveRadney Foster
Trisha Yearwood"Those Words We Said"Thinkin' About YouAngelo
"Believe Me Baby (I Lied)"Everybody KnowsAngelo & Larry Gottlieb
1997Patty Loveless"That's Exactly What I Mean"Long Stretch of LonesomeTia Sillers
Mindy McCready"You'll Never Know"If I Don't Stay the NightAngelo
1998Suzy Bogguss"From Where I Stand"Nobody Love, Nobody Gets HurtTia Sillers
Terri Clark"I'm Alright"How I FeelAngelo & Larry Gottlieb
1999Jim Lauderdale"It's Just Like You"Onward Through It AllJim Lauderdale
Mindy McCready"Lucky Me"I'm Not So ToughTommy Lee James & Jennifer Kimball
Lorrie Morgan"Here I Go Again"My Heart(sole writer)
2000Terri Clark"Last Thing I Wanted"FearlessMary Chapin Carpenter
Trisha Yearwood"Where Are You Now"Real Live Woman
2001Brooks & Dunn"Every River"Steers & StripesAngelo & Tom Littlefield
Cyndi Thomson"I'm Gone"My WorldChuck Prophet
2007The Greencards"I Don't Want to Lose You"ViridianMike Henderson
"Travel On"

External links