Kimberly Kay Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in East Nashville, Tennessee.
Early life
Kimberly Kay Richey was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on December 1, 1956. She grew up in Kettering, Ohio, graduating from Fairmont East High school in 1973.
Career
Richey entered music in the 1990s, and secured her first recording contract with Mercury Nashville at the age of 37.
Recordings
Her May 1995 self-titled debut album was produced by Richard Bennett. It contained the singles "Just My Luck" and "Those Words We Said". Her follow-up album, Bitter Sweet, was produced by Angelo and released in 1997. It contained the single "I Know". Glimmer was released in 1999. Produced by Hugh Padgham (XTC), the album also features guitarist Dominic Miller (Sting). Rise was released in 2002 and was produced by Bill Bottrell. Her 2007 album Chinese Boxes was recorded in London and produced by Giles Martin. Wreck Your Wheels was released in 2010. It was produced by Neilson Hubbard in his studio. Released in 2013, Thorn in My Heart was again produced by Neilson Hubbard and features guest vocals from Trisha Yearwood. A limited-edition version of the album was released in 2014 as Thorn in My Heart: The Work Tapes with only Richey on guitar and vocals. Edgeland was released March 30, 2018, and produced by Brad Jones. Edgeland includes three different tracking bands of Nashville's roots players. Like Thorn in My Heart, Edgeland was released on Yep Roc Records.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Album details
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Country
! width="45"| US Heat
! width="45"| US Folk
|-
! scope="row"| Kim Richey
|
- Release date: May 9, 1995
- Label: Mercury Nashville
| 72
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Bitter Sweet
|
- Release date: March 4, 1997
- Label: Mercury Nashville
| 53
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Glimmer
|
- Release date: August 3, 1999
- Label: Mercury Nashville
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Rise
|
- Release date: October 1, 2002
- Label: Lost Highway Records
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| The Collection
|
- Release date: May 18, 2004
- Label: Lost Highway Records
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Chinese Boxes
|
- Release date: July 10, 2007
- Label: Vanguard Records
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Wreck Your Wheels
|
- Release date: September 14, 2010
- Label: Thirty Tigers US, Lojinx (Europe)
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Thorn in My Heart
|
- Release date: April 16, 2013
- Label: Yep Roc Records (US), Lojinx (Europe)
| 55
| 26
| 20
|-
! scope="row"| Edgeland
|
- Release date: March 30, 2018
- Label: Yep Roc Records
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| A Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer
|
- Release date: March 27, 2020
- Label: Yep Roc Records
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| Every New Beginning
|
- Release date: May 24, 2024
- Label: Yep Roc Records
| —
| —
| —
|-
| colspan="5" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|-
|}
EPs
- 2007: Little Record (Vanguard) - promo EP containing non-album acoustic versions of "Chinese Boxes", "Drift", "Straight as the Crow Flies", "Mexico" and "A Place Called Home"
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Single
! colspan="4"| Peak positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="40"| US Country<br>
! width="40"| US AAA<br>
! width="40"| CAN Country<br>
! width="40"| CAN AC<br>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1995
! scope="row"| "Just My Luck"
| 47
| —
| 36
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| Kim Richey
|-
! scope="row"| "Those Words We Said"
| 59
| —
| 50
| —
|-
| 1996
! scope="row"| "From Where I Stand"
| 66
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1997
! scope="row"| "I Know"
| 72
| —
| 71
| —
| align="left"| Bitter Sweet
|-
| 1999
! scope="row"| "Come Around"
| —
| 13
| —
| 64
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Glimmer
|-
| 2000
! scope="row"| "The Way It Never Was"
| —
| —
| —
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|-
| 2002
! scope="row"| "The Circus Song (Can't Let Go)"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Rise
|-
| 2007
! scope="row"| "Jack and Jill"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Chinese Boxes
|-
| 2013
! scope="row"| "Come On"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Thorn in My Heart
|-
| 2017
! scope="row"| "The Get Together"<br>
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left" rowspan="4"| Edgeland
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2018
! scope="row"| "Whistle on Occasion"<br>
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| "Not for Money or Love"
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| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| "Chase Wild Horses"
| —
| —
| —
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|-
| 2019
! scope="row"| "Hello Old Friend"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left" rowspan="3"| A Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2020
! scope="row"| "Come Around"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| "Keep Me"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 2024
! scope="row"| "Floating on the Surface"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| align="left" rowspan="4"| Every New Beginning
|-
! scope="row"| "Joy Rider"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| "Chapel Avenue"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
! scope="row"| "A Way Around"
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| colspan="7" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}
Music videos
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Video
! Director
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1995
| "Just My Luck"
| Dani Jacobs
|-
| "Those Words We Said"
| Pamela Springsteen
|-
| 1997
| "I Know"
| Luke Scott
|-
| 2000
| "The Way It Never Was"
| Jude Weng
|-
| 2007
| "Jack and Jill"
| Stephanie B. Keane
|}
Contributed vocals
- 1987: Bill Lloyd - Feeling the Elephant (East Side Digital)
- 1992: Radney Foster - Del Rio, TX 1959 (Arista)
- 1994: Bill Lloyd - Set to Pop (East Side Digital)
- 1994: George Ducas - George Ducas (Liberty)
- 1995: Radney Foster - Labor of Love (Arista)
- 1995: Reba McEntire - Starting Over (MCA)
- 1995: Rodney Crowell - Jewel of the South (MCA)
- 1995: Trisha Yearwood - Thinkin' About You (MCA)
- 1996: Jolene - Hell's Half Acre (Ardent)
- 1996: Keith Stegall - Passages (Mercury)
- 1996: Mary Chapin Carpenter - A Place in the World (Columbia)
- 1996: Tammy Rogers - Tammy Rogers (Dead Reckoning)
- 1996: Trisha Yearwood - Everybody Knows (MCA Nashville)
- 1996: Various Artists - Rig Rock Deluxe (A Musical Salute To The American Truck Driver) (Upstart Sounds)
- 1999: Jon Randall - Willin' (Eminent)
- 2000: Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker (Bloodshot)
- 2001: Brooks & Dunn - Steers & Stripes (Arista Nashville)
- 2001: Will Kimbrough - This (Gravity)
- 2002: Darden Smith - Sunflower (Dualtone)
- 2007: Honeyroot - The Sun Will Come (Just Music)
- 2012: Gretchen Peters - Hello Cruel World (Proper)
- 2014: Jason Isbell - Southeastern (Southeastern)
- 2015: Gretchen Peters - Blackbirds (Scarlet Letter)
- 2015: Dean Owens - Into The Sea (Drumfire)
Songwriting collaborations
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Artist !! Song !! Album !! Collaborator
|-
| 1992 || Radney Foster || "Nobody Wins" || Del Rio, TX 1959 || Radney Foster
|-
| 1993 || Dixie Chicks || "Desire" || Shouldn't a Told You That ||rowspan="2"| Steve Kolander
|-
| 1994 || Steve Kolander || "Can't Undo What's Been Done" || Steve Kolander
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1995 || George Ducas || "In No Time at All" || George Ducas || George Ducas
|-
| Radney Foster || "If It Were Me" || Labor of Love || Radney Foster
|-
|rowspan="2"| Trisha Yearwood || "Those Words We Said" || Thinkin' About You || Angelo
|-
| "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)" || Everybody Knows || Angelo & Larry Gottlieb
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1997 || Patty Loveless || "That's Exactly What I Mean" || Long Stretch of Lonesome || Tia Sillers
|-
| Mindy McCready || "You'll Never Know" || If I Don't Stay the Night || Angelo
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1998 || Suzy Bogguss || "From Where I Stand" || Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt || Tia Sillers
|-
| Terri Clark || "I'm Alright" || How I Feel || Angelo & Larry Gottlieb
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1999 || Jim Lauderdale || "It's Just Like You" || Onward Through It All || Jim Lauderdale
|-
| Mindy McCready || "Lucky Me" || I'm Not So Tough || Tommy Lee James & Jennifer Kimball
|-
| Lorrie Morgan || "Here I Go Again" || My Heart || (sole writer)
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2000 || Terri Clark || "Last Thing I Wanted" || Fearless ||rowspan="2"| Mary Chapin Carpenter
|-
| Trisha Yearwood || "Where Are You Now" || Real Live Woman
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2001 || Brooks & Dunn || "Every River" || Steers & Stripes || Angelo & Tom Littlefield
|-
| Cyndi Thomson || "I'm Gone" || My World || Chuck Prophet
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2007 ||rowspan="2"| The Greencards || "I Don't Want to Lose You" ||rowspan="2"| Viridian ||rowspan="2"| Mike Henderson
|-
| "Travel On"
|}