John Robert "Bobby" Wright (born March 30, 1942) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer. He is the middle child and the only son of country singers

Johnnie Wright Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011) was an American country music singer-songwriter, who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of country music ...

and

Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording " It Wasn't God ...

Biography

He was born in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, United States. Most of his boyhood years were spent in Louisiana, since his parents were regular performers on the country music television program ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

''. At age eight, Wright appeared with his parents on the show, and became part of their recordings three years later. The family went back to Nashville in 1958, because his parents became headliners at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

. Although Wright was an able guitarist and vocalist, he had little interest in a music career. He became interested in acting when he learned that

Peter Tewksbury Henry Peter Tewksbury (March 21, 1923 – February 20, 2003) was an American film and television director. Biography Born in Cleveland, he attended Dartmouth College but left to serve as a U.S. Army captain in the Pacific during World War ...

, a television and film director, had a role for a young Southern boy who could play the guitar. Wright made the trip to Hollywood to test for Tewksbury. While he did not get the role he went to California for, his screen test was seen by the producer of ''

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...

'', who cast him in the new television comedy as Willy Moss, the PT-73 radio operator, a role he played through the entire series. While ''McHale's Navy'' was still in production, Wright decided to give music a try, beginning by working with his mother on one of her 1965 albums. Unhappy with the Hollywood scene after ''McHale's Navy'' ended, he moved back to Nashville to start a music career. Bobby Wright recorded for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

between 1967 and 1979, charting 21 singles on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts. "Here I Go Again", which reached number 13 in 1971, was his highest-charting release. Wright appeared with his parents and sisters,

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

and Carol Sue, on the Kitty Wells Family Show a syndicated television show in the early 1960s. He also toured with his parents from the 1960s until Johnnie and Kitty retired from the road in 2007. Bobby performed with his parents at the International Festival of Country Music at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

in 1974, and returned to the United Kingdom with them for the

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Country Music Festival in 1988. He was married to the former Brenda Kay Davis; the couple has two daughters, Theresa LeAnn and Kamela Lynn. , Wright is the last surviving cast member from the ''McHale's Navy'' television series.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Bobby 1942 births ABC Records artists American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Decca Records artists Country musicians from West Virginia Musicians from Charleston, West Virginia United Artists Records artists Living people Singer-songwriters from West Virginia