Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright (October 9, 1939 – November 16, 1980) was an … Read Full Bio ↴Overton Vertis "O. V." Wright (October 9, 1939 – November 16, 1980) was an American rhythm & blues and soul singer.
Born in Leno, Tennessee, Wright, as a youngster, began singing in the church. In 1956, while still in high school, he joined The Sunset Travelers as one of the lead singers for the gospel group. He later fronted a gospel music group, the Harmony Echoes. It was during this time that he was discovered (along with James Carr) by Roosevelt Jamison a songwriter and manager. 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. 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&B hits followed. Working with record producer Willie Mitchell, success continued on songs including "Ace of Spades" and "A Nickel and a Nail".
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). The remainder of his 17 hits charted higher than #20 on the R&B charts.
However, Wright was imprisoned for narcotics offenses during the mid-1970s, and, despite signing for Hi Records and releasing a series of recordings, his commercial success failed to recover after his release. A continuing drug problem weakened his health and he died from a heart attack, in Mobile, Alabama at age 41.
Wright 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 on a song also called "Motherless Child." It 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".
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.
Born in Leno, Tennessee, Wright, as a youngster, began singing in the church. In 1956, while still in high school, he joined The Sunset Travelers as one of the lead singers for the gospel group. He later fronted a gospel music group, the Harmony Echoes. It was during this time that he was discovered (along with James Carr) by Roosevelt Jamison a songwriter and manager. 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. 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&B hits followed. Working with record producer Willie Mitchell, success continued on songs including "Ace of Spades" and "A Nickel and a Nail".
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). The remainder of his 17 hits charted higher than #20 on the R&B charts.
However, Wright was imprisoned for narcotics offenses during the mid-1970s, and, despite signing for Hi Records and releasing a series of recordings, his commercial success failed to recover after his release. A continuing drug problem weakened his health and he died from a heart attack, in Mobile, Alabama at age 41.
Wright 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 on a song also called "Motherless Child." It 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".
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.
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The Complete Back Beat / ABC Singles 1965-1975
O.V. Wright Lyrics
A Nickel and a Nail Oh, I once had love And plenty of money, hmmm But some…
Ace Of Spades If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your…
Blowing In the Wind Got a long way to go, but now I know What…
Born All Over {Ohhh yeaaa All Over And Over Same little Stuff Ohh Woah} W…
Can't Find True Love I don't know why I'm searching There's nothing to be found M…
Don't Let My Baby Ride When I came home last night You wouldn't make love to…
Drowning On Dry Land I'm going down. My nose is in the sand I'm…
Eight Men And Four Women (Eight men, four women Lord, that's the jury of love) I…
Gone For Good Time Has been so painful and cruel to me Our love was…
Gonna Forget About You Oh no, here we go Hear your voice on the radio Like…
How Long Baby I no longer need this I no longer want that Go away I'm…
I Want Everyone To Know I want U to know, but U never know~~~ I want…
I'll Take Care Of You Honey you're as sweet as syrup Wanna feel your lips on…
I've Been Searching Lately I feel like everywhere I go People are like Midas,…
love the way you love 你炫耀新男友送的LV包 哼~~YEAH 配合虚伪的外表 你想我怎么满足你的爱好 喔喔喔~~~别当我是那些泡泡 GIRL …
Missing You 인스타로 몰래 보는 너의 하루들 누가 봐도 헤어진 티를 내 팔로우 다…
Nobody But You [Chorus] Nobody but a fool would love you After the way…
Oh Baby Mine Baby, I think about you all the time Now all I…
Please Forgive Me I never wished for this existence But Mom and Dad went…
Pledging My Love 胸に残る何気ない言葉だけが 迷い道を抜ける場所 知っていた あなたに出会った日から 何かが変わり始めて いつしかここに立…
This Hurt Is Real I see you painting pictures Telling stories on the wall I se…
What About You Woo Hey (Uh huh huh) Hey (Uh huh huh) Hey That's what I lik…
Working For Game I got game for a lame I got game for a…
You're Gonna Make Me Cry Lord, that's the jury of love) I d reamed…