Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album Old Enough to Know Better. Its title track "Old Enough to Know Better", which served as his debut single, reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. He released two more albums for Columbia Nashville: On a Good Night in 1996 and When the Wrong One Loves You Right in 1998. Later albums were released on Monument Records and independently. In addition to "Old Enough to Know Better", Hayes reached top ten on the Billboard charts with "I'm Still Dancin' with You", "Don't Stop", "What I Meant to Say", "On a Good Night", and "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)".
In 2003, he founded the duo McHayes with Mark McClurg. The duo charted one single on the country charts and recorded one unreleased album for the Universal South label, Lessons in Lonely. Hayes' career was briefly placed on hiatus due to a diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer, which went into remission in 2012. Hayes has continued to tour and record independently since.
Biography
Wade Hayes was born and raised in Bethel Acres, Oklahoma. His father, Don Hayes, also a professional country musician, inspired him to begin playing music as well. Initially, Hayes had learned to play mandolin, but later switched to guitar after his father bought him one. When he was 11 years old, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where his father signed with an independent record label. The label soon declared bankruptcy. It was followed with "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)", which reached No. 5 on the country charts. After this song's release, Hayes's third album – by then re-titled When the Wrong One Loves You Right — was issued, with the Glen Campbell cover omitted. "The Day That She Left Tulsa" was followed by "When the Wrong One Loves You Right", "How Do You Sleep at Night" (his final Top 40 hit at No. 13), and finally, "Tore Up from the Floor Up". Hayes considered When the Wrong One Loves You Right as a more mature effort than his first two albums, with more of an emphasis on ballads than his previous two albums.
2000–2001: Highways and Heartaches
By 2000, Hayes had switched from Columbia Records to Monument Records. His fourth and final album before his nine-year hiatus, titled Highways & Heartaches, was released in 2000. Hayes also returned to touring on his own. Hayes released a fifth album, Place to Turn Around, in July 2009, on an independent label. The album features eleven songs, with ten being penned by Hayes.
In 2012, Hayes released the single "Is It Already Time" through RPM Entertainment.
2016–2017: Old Country Song
On June 9, 2017, Hayes released Old Country Song. The 11-cut collection of old and new songs was produced by Dave Mcfee and Hayes. It was released on Conabor Records.
Personal life
On April 4, 1999, Hayes married Danni Boatwright. The couple divorced in 2003. Boatwright later was a contestant on the CBS reality television series Survivor.
In December 2011, Hayes was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, which was successfully operated on that same month. The last tumors were removed in March 2012.
On September 25, 2018, Hayes became engaged to Lea Bayer, a realtor. The two were introduced by her first cousin, country singer John Rich. On December 4, 2018, Billboard Magazine published an article announcing their engagement and Hayes’ new song. They were married on January 25, 2019.
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Album details
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Certifications<br /><small>(sales thresholds)</small>
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Country
! width="45"| US
! width="45"| CAN Country
|-
! scope="row"| Old Enough to Know Better
|
- Release date: January 3, 1995
- Label: Columbia Records
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 19
| 99
| —
| align="left"|
- US: Gold
- CAN: Gold
|-
! scope="row"| On a Good Night
|
- Release date: June 25, 1996
- Label: Columbia Records
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 11
| 91
| —
| align="left"|
- US: Gold
- CAN: Gold
|-
! scope="row"| When the Wrong One Loves You Right
|
- Release date: January 27, 1998
- Label: Columbia Records
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 9
| 92
| 22
|
|-
! scope="row"| Highways & Heartaches
|
- Release date: September 12, 2000
- Label: Monument Records
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 55
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Place to Turn Around
|
- Release date: July 15, 2009
- Label: self-released
- Formats: CD, music download
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Go Live Your Life
|
- Release date: February 27, 2015
- Label: Conabor Records
- Formats: CD, music download
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Old Country Song
|
- Release date: June 9, 2017
- Label: Conabor Records
- Formats: CD, music download
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| colspan="6" 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:24em;"| Single
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Country
! width="45"| US
! width="45"| CAN Country
| 6
|-
! scope="row"| "Don't Stop"
| 10
| —
| 12
|-
! scope="row"| "What I Meant to Say"
| 5
| —