Buddy Jewell Jr. (born April 2, 1961) is an American country music singer 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 the singles "Help Pour Out the Rain" and "Sweet Southern Comfort". Another album, Times Like These, followed in 2005.

Biography

Buddy Jewell was born in Lepanto, Arkansas, on April 2, 1961. 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". By age 15, Jewell had also taught himself how to play Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone."

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. This song reached number three 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. 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 number three country hit in "Sweet Southern Comfort", which also reached number 40 on the pop charts. This song was followed by the number 38 country single "One Step at a Time".

2004–2005: Times Like These

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 number 27 on the charts, and the second single ("So Gone") failing to chart entirely. He released two songs from this album "Jesus, Elvis, And Me" which was a country dance hit and "Somebody Who Would Die For You" which went up to No. 1 on the Christian Charts.

2015: My Father's Country

In 2015, Jewell signed with Lamon Records in Nashville and recorded an album produced with Grammy nominated artist-producer Dave Moody. The album My Father's Country featured a collection of classic country songs, including Abilene, Behind Closed Doors, Galveston and other songs Jewell grew up listening to his father sing. Buddy Jewell was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame on Tuesday, September 29, 2015, at the Noah's Event Center in Little Rock, AR.

2017–2019

In 2017 Jewell recorded an EP album "Reloaded". His single from the album is "I'm There" and it went to number one on the Power Source Christian Country charts.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title

! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details

! colspan="2"| Peak chart<br>positions

! rowspan="2" style="width:8em;"| Certifications<br /><small>(sales thresholds)</small>

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="45"| US Country<br>

! width="45"| US<br>

|-

! scope="row"| One in a Row

|

  • Release date: 2001
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: CD

| —

| —

|

|-

! scope="row"| Far Enough Away

|

  • Release date: 2002
  • Label: self-released
  • Formats: CD

| —

| —

|

|-

! scope="row"| Buddy Jewell

|

  • Release date: July 1, 2003
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Formats: CD, music download

| 1

| 13

| align="left"|

  • US: Gold

|-

! scope="row"| Times Like These

|

  • Release date: April 26, 2005
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Formats: CD, music download

| 5

| 31

|

|-

! scope="row"| Country Enough

|

  • Release date: July 1, 2008
  • Label: Diamond Dust Records
  • Formats: CD, music download

| —

| —

|

|-

! scope="row"| I Surrender All

|

  • Release date: July 12, 2011
  • Label: Diamond Dust Records
  • Formats: CD, music download

| —

| —

|

|-

! scope="row"| My Father's Country

|

  • Release date: June 12, 2015
  • Label: Lamon Records, Nashville
  • Formats: CD, music download

| —

| —

|

|-

! scope="row"| Reloaded

|

  • Release date: April 2, 2017
  • Label: Better Music, Nashville
  • Formats: CD, music download

| —

| —

|

|-

! scope="row"| Shine On

|

  • Release date: February 20, 2019
  • Label: Better Music, Nashville
  • Formats: CD, music download

| –

| –

|

|-

!Bluebonnet Highway

|Release date: April 2020

Label: Diamond Dust Records

Producer: Mitchell Brown

Formats: CD, music downloads

| -

|25

|

|-

| colspan="5" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

|-

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Single

! colspan="2"| Peak chart<br>positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="40"| US Country<br>

! width="40"| US<br>

|-

| rowspan="2"| 2003

! scope="row"| "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)"

| 3

| 29

| align="left" rowspan="3"| Buddy Jewell

|-

! scope="row"| "Sweet Southern Comfort"

| 3

| 40

|-

| rowspan="2"| 2004

! scope="row"| "One Step at a Time"

| 38

| —

|-

! scope="row"| "If She Were Any Other Woman"

| 27

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Times Like These

|-

| 2005

! scope="row"| "So Gone"

| —

| —

|-

| rowspan="2"| 2008

! scope="row"| "This Ain't Mexico"

| —

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Country Enough

|-

! scope="row"| "Dance with My Father"

| —

| —

|-

| 2009

! scope="row"| "Somebody Who Would Die for You"

| —

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| I Surrender All

|-

| 2011

! scope="row"| "Jesus, Elvis and Me"

| —

| —

|-

| 2015

! scope="row"| "Behind Closed Doors"

| —

| —

| align="left"| My Father's Country

|-

|2020

! scope="row"| "Bluebonnet Highway"

| —

| —

| align="left"| Bluebonnet Highway

|-

| colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

|-

|}

Music videos

{| class="wikitable" border="1"

|-

! Year

! Video

! Director

|-

| rowspan="2"| 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

  • Official website