Karen Staley

Karen Staley
BornWeirton, West Virginia[1]
OriginNashville, Tennessee
GenresCountry
OccupationSinger-songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active1984–present
LabelsMCA
Warner Bros.

Karen Staley (born in Weirton, West Virginia) is an American country music singer-songwriter.

Staley was raised in Georgetown, Beaver County, Pennsylvania,[2] and was inspired to write songs after reading through the hymnals at her local church. She continued to do so while at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she joined the women's fraternity Alpha Gamma Delta.[3] She took a job at a children's home, before moving to Los Angeles, California to sign with a contemporary Christian music label which went out of business before she could release anything.[4]

After winning a talent competition put on by the Wheeling Jamboree, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she wrote three songs on Patty Loveless's self-titled debut album. She signed to MCA Records in the late 1980's, and released the album Wildest Dreams in 1989, which produced two low-charting singles.[4]

In the mid-late 1990s, Staley wrote "The Keeper of the Stars" for Tracy Byrd, and "Take Me as I Am" and "Let's Go to Vegas" for Faith Hill. She released Fearless in 1998 for Warner Bros. Records.[4]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ "Staley to perform at arts festival". Beaver County Times. June 11, 1979. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  3. ^ "Alpha Gamma Delta – Accomplished Alpha Gams". Alpha Gamma Delta. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c "Karen Staley biography". Allmusic. Retrieved May 24, 2013.