Buddy Jewell Jr. (born April 2, 1961 in Lepanto, Arkansas) is an American country music artist who was the first winner on the USA Network talent show Nashville Star . Signed to Columbia Records in 2003, Jewell made his debut on the American country music scene with the release of his self-titled album, which produced back-to-back Top 5 singles in "Help Pour out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" and "Sweet Southern Comfort". Another album, Times Like These , followed in 2005.

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Biography

Buddy Jewell was born in Lepanto, Arkansas on April 2, 1961. ^[1] He began playing guitar after buying one from a schoolmate during childhood, and saved the money that he earned bagging groceries to buy guitar lesson books. Jewell also listened to the music that his father, also named Buddy, played for him, and was taught by his uncle Clyde how to play "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". ^[2] By age fifteen, Jewell had also taught himself how to play Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone." Jewell also majored in television and radio in college, although he left in his junior year to marry, despite the marriage only lasting two-and-a-half years.

Jewell later moved to Camden, Arkansas at age 21 in pursuit of a musical career. There, he discovered a band called White Oak, which was seeking a new lead singer. This band was sponsored by a booking agency whose roster also included Canyon and a band founded by a then-unknown Trace Adkins. After touring with White Oak for four years, he moved to Dallas, Texas, where he took a role in a gunfighing show at Six Flags over Texas. He later entered a singing competition that was sponsored by the band Alabama, whose music was also an inspiration to him. He won the competition's top prize, which was an opening slot for the band.

After winning the competition, he competed on Star Search , where he won Male Vocalist on several episodes. He later decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee in 1993, and found work two years later as a demo singer. As a demo singer, he recorded more than 5000 demos. Among the songs that Jewell recorded demos for were "Write This Down" for George Strait, "A Little Past Little Rock" for Lee Ann Womack, "The One" for Gary Allan and "You're Beginning to Get to Me" for Clay Walker. Jewell also self-released albums entitled One in a Row and Far Enough Away in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Having been rejected by several record labels at this point, he supported himself with the money that his second wife made at her nail salon.

Nashville Star and major-label music career

In 2003, Jewell competed in the first season of the television singing competition Nashville Star . He became the show's first winner that season, and was soon signed to a recording contract with Columbia Records Nashville. On May 5, 2003, two days after his win, Jewell's debut single "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" was shipped to radio. It became the highest-debuting single by a new country artist since the singles charts were first tabulated via Nielsen SoundScan in 1990. ^[3] This song reached #3 on the country charts and #29 on the pop charts. It was the first single from his self-titled debut album, which was produced by former RCA Records artist Clint Black and was recorded in ten days. ^[4] Buddy Jewell sold 500,000 copies and earned a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in addition to producing a second #3 country hit in "Sweet Southern Comfort", which also reached #40 on the pop charts. This song was followed by the #38 country single "One Step at a Time".

Jewell's second album for Columbia, Times Like These , was released in 2005. This album did not perform as well at radio, with its first single ("If She Were Any Other Woman") reaching #27 on the charts, and the second single ("So Gone") failing to chart entirely. By the end of the year, Jewell was dropped from Columbia's roster. He did not release another single until "This Ain't Mexico" in 2008, a self-released single. This was to have been included on an album entitled Country Enough , which never saw release.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Chart positions		Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US Country	US
2001	One in a Row Released: 2001 Label: self-released	—	—
2002	Far Enough Away Released: 2002 Label: self-released	—	—
2003	Buddy Jewell Released: July 1, 2003 Label: Columbia Records	1	13	US: Gold
2005	Times Like These Released: April 26, 2005 Label: Columbia Records	5	31
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions		Album
		US Country	US
2003	"Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)"	3	29	Buddy Jewell
	"Sweet Southern Comfort"	3	40
2004	"One Step at a Time"	38	—
	"If She Were Any Other Woman"	27	—	Times Like These
2005	"So Gone"	—	—
2008	"This Ain't Mexico"	—	—	Country Enough (unreleased)
	"Dance with My Father"	—	—
2009	"Somebody Who Would Die for You"A			TBD
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

• ^A Current single.

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2003	"Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)"	Jon Small
	"Sweet Southern Comfort"	Eric Welch
2005	"If She Were Any Other Woman"	David McClister

References

1. Buddy Jewell biography
2. Buddy Jewell biography
3. Nashville Star Winner Buddy Jewell Breaks Record With Debut Single; 'Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)' Highest Debut Single By Solo Artist.
4. Buddy Jewell Polishes His Star