KEVIN WELCH

Americana singer/songwriter Kevin Welch departed his Oklahoma roots at 17 in search of a musical career, arriving in Nashville in 1978 following an extended period on the road. A staff-writer position at Sony/Tree soon followed, and throughout the ensuing decade he supplied material to Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Trisha Yearwood, Ricky Skaggs, and the Highwaymen. His self-titled solo debut surfaced on Reprise in 1990; two years afterward came the well-received Western Beat. Persistent reluctance from country radio toward his downbeat, acoustic approach prompted Welch, in 1995, to join fellow Nashville renegades Kieran Kane, Tammy Rogers, and Harry Stinson in launching the independent imprint Dead Reckoning. Life Down Here on Earth, his initial release for the label, appeared shortly thereafter, while Beneath My Wheels reached listeners in 1999. From 1999 to 2001 he cut the Millionaire album alongside Danish friends known as the Danes, issuing the project stateside through Dead Reckoning.