Ricky Lynn Gregg (born August 22, 1959) is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artist of Native American descent. Active between the years of 1992 and 2001, he has recorded three studio albums: two on

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals ...

(1992's ''Ricky Lynn Gregg'' and 1994's ''Get a Little Closer'') and one on Rowe Music Group (2001's ''Careful What You Wish For''). His first two albums produced three hit singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country music charts, including the No. 36-peaking "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart".

Musical career

Ricky Lynn Gregg was raised in

Longview Longview or Long view may refer to: Places Canada *Longview, Alberta, a village *Longview, British Columbia, a former cannery town *Longview Range, British Columbia; a mountain range United Kingdom England *Longview Psychiatric Unit, a hospital ...

, Texas, and began singing in the church at a very early age. His earliest influences were gospel and country. As a teenager in school Gregg was influenced by rock & roll and formed the "Ricky Lynn Gregg Project" playing in local venues around his hometown. In 1978 Gregg moved to

Ft Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accor ...

, Texas and began performing as guitarist and singer for a band known as "Savvy" with their debut album "Made In Texas" being released in 1982. Gregg was also a member of

Head East Head East is an American rock band, originally from East Central Illinois. The band was formed by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the ban ...

between 1984 and 1987. By 1992, Gregg was performing as a solo singer; the same year, he signed to

and released his self titled debut album. The album produced a No. 34 single in "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart", a cover of a

Mel Street King Malachi "Mel" Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978) was an American country music singer who had 13 top-20 hits on the Billboard country charts. Biography Street was born near Grundy, Virginia, United States.Nelson, Dick (August ...

song. Following it were "Can You Feel It" and "Three Nickels and a Dime". In 1993, ''

'' ranked him at No. 4 on their list of Top New Country Artists of the Year. A second album, titled ''Get a Little Closer'', was released on Liberty in 1994, with its title track being the only single. One year later, Gregg's manager,

Jimmy Bowen James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former rockabilly singer. Bowen brought Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood together, and introduced Sinatra to Mel Tillis for their album, ''Mel & Nancy.'' Early l ...

, retired due to thyroid cancer. In 1997, Gregg found another manager, named Eddie Rhines, who helped the singer rebuild his fan base. By 2001, his third album, titled ''Careful What You Wish For'', was released on the then-newly established independent label Rowe Music Group (RMG). Gregg has also begun a charity called Trail of Hope, which provides clothing for underprivileged

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

, Choctaw and

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

Indians.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Ricky Lynn 1959 births American country bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American country singer-songwriters Living people Singer-songwriters from Texas American country harmonica players Liberty Records artists Guitarists from Texas People from Henderson, Texas 20th-century American bass guitarists Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters