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 O.V .Wright on Hi Records Volume 1: In The Studio
O.V. Wright Lyrics
A Fool Can't See the Light Estimada adolescente se que sientes que la gente no Te entie…
A Little More Time One more time One more time 遊ぶgood girl 夢中にlook baby only on…
A Long Road 末末へつづく遥かな道を 走り続けよう ああ吹きつける風に瞳をこらして ひとくちの水欲しがる胸に 涙をそそげば ああ 鼓動…
Baby Baby Baby Baby, baby, baby, baby (Baby) This is just to say Just how…
I Don't Do Windows Yo, Futuristic spit that flow that niggas never heard before…
I Don't Know Why I don't know why I need a reason to try I've…
I Feel Love Growin' Verse 1: Well summertimes here and it's uch a good feeling…
I Found Peace 매일 아침 눈을 뜨면 생각나는 그런 사람 눈빛만 보아도 모두 알 수…
Let's Straighten It Out Sit yourself down, girl and talk to me Tell me what's…
Mirror Of My Soul All this shit, it hurt my soul ooh I got ice…
Precious Precious If you would allow me a second to deal with…
Rhymes Gotta get this bread Gotta, Gotta get this bread Too many rh…
That's The Way I Feel About Cha' Huh, you know life is funny when you look at…
The Bottom Line Bottom line there's a huge difference We ain't got to rap We…
The Time We Have The years still grinning back at you In the neon lights…
Trying To Live My Life Without You Last night as we sat reminiscing Of the days and the…
We're Still Together Midnight, good vibes, city lights, Yeah, we're takin' life,…
Without You 네가 없는 밤 GRAY 나 외로웠지만 덕분에 버텼던 tonight 그 말은 하기…
You Gotta Have Love Have I told you lately that I love you Could I…