Cheryl Wheeler
(born July 10, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter of contemporary folk music, based in New England. To date, she has recorded several folk albums, and has toured extensively throughout the United States. [1]
Wheeler was born in Timonium, Maryland. She performed at clubs in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area. She moved to Rhode Island in 1976, where she played at various clubs in the New England area. Jonathan Edwards asked her to tour with him when his bass player became unavailable. He has since produced a number of her albums. Since she lives in Massachusetts, she and her partner Cathleen were able to be married in 2004. [2]
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CHERYL WHEELER TICKETS
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Performances
Wheeler tours extensively,
[3] and her live concerts include comic routines and serious discussions in addition to the songs themselves. About half of the songs she performs in concerts are not available on any of her albums. Many never get recorded, and eventually fade from her set list.
Although she mostly tours alone, she has also toured with
Kenny White (who produced a number of her albums).
White generally opens for her, and then plays and sings harmony during Wheeler's set.
[4]
Wheeler has also toured with the
Christine Lavin-inspired tour "On a Winter's Night", and occasionally as part of Lavin's consortium
Four Bitchin' Babes.
She has released albums on several major labels, the most recent being
Rounder Records. She also approved the production of a double disc album
No Previous Record
[5] that contains songs that never made it onto a commercial recording. Distribution of this album is free, but restricted to members of her e-mail list. In 2009, she released the album
Pointing at the Sun
on her own recording label, Dias.
In 1988, Wheeler participated in a "trio" concert with fellow folk singer/songwriters
Shawn Colvin and
Mary Chapin Carpenter. This concert took place the year before Colvin released her debut album. The three performed on two consecutive nights to critical acclaim, at
The Birchmere in
Alexandria, VA. The two performances were recorded at the soundboard and although never released officially, have been favorites among fans of the three artists.
Following
Although primarily classified as a folk singer/songwriter, Wheeler has been covered by a number of country music artists, such as
Dan Seals,
Suzy Bogguss,
Kathy Mattea,
Sylvia, and
Garth Brooks, as well as artists as diverse as
Peter, Paul, and Mary,
Bette Midler,
Kenny Loggins,
Melanie,
Holly Near and
cabaret singer
D.C. Anderson.
Her song
"If It Were Up to Me"
(which was written shortly after the
Jonesboro Massacre), with the closing line "If it were up to me, I'd take away the guns" got nationwide attention shortly after the
Columbine High School massacre. Wheeler released that recording into the public domain to exempt radio stations from paying royalties (it was being played every hour near the high school), and Rounder Records ran a promotional campaign to donate money to the
Brady Campaign each time the song was played on
AAA radio stations.
Discography
The following albums are still in print:
- Cheryl Wheeler
(1986)
- Half a Book
(1987)
- Circle and Arrows
(1990)
- Driving Home
(1993)
- Mrs. Pinocci's Guitar
(1995)
- Sylvia Hotel
(1999)
- Different Stripe
(2003)
- No Previous Record
(2003)
- Defying Gravity
(2005)
- Pointing at the Sun
(2009)
Other contributions
- Live at the World Café - Volume 9
(1999) - "If it Were Up to Me"
Notes
- AllMusic Guide
- CherylWheeler.com, ''Cheryl is now Married'', 27 May 2004. Retrieved 9 Sept 2007.
- Her touring schedule can be found on her booking agent's web site [1]
- Performance configurations at http://cherylwheeler.com/home/promoconfig.html
- CherylWheeler.com, ''No Previous Record'', retrieved Sept. 9, 2007.