Wade Hayes

Hayes worked across singer, singer-songwriter, musician, composer and lyricist and 1 further recorded occupations. The registers place that work in country music. This article rests on 1 catalogued composition, 18 issued recordings and 1 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Wade Hayes • Birth Name — Tony Wade Hayes • Born — 20 April 1969 • Origin — Bethel Acres, Oklahoma, United States • Instrument — Vocals, guitar • Genre — Country • Occupation — Singer • Years Active — 1994–2004 2008–present • Label — Columbia, Monument, RPM • Past Member Of — McHayes • Website — Website

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. The family returned to Oklahoma, where Wade later found work as a musician in his father's band. Although he attended three different colleges, Hayes dropped out of college in 1991 in pursuit of a career in country music, after seeing bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs perform on the 1991 Country Music Association awards show. Wade returned to Nashville, where he began recording demo tapes and writing his own material. Eventually, Hayes partnered with a songwriter named Chick Rains, who recommended him to Don Cook, a record producer who has produced albums for several country music artists, including Brooks & Dunn.

With Cook's help, Hayes was signed to a record deal with Columbia Records in late 1994. The same year, Hayes' debut single, "Old Enough to Know Better", was released, and by early 1995, it peaked at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The single was followed by the release of Hayes' debut album, also titled Old Enough to Know Better, which produced three additional Top Ten singles on the country music charts: "I'm Still Dancin' with You", "Don't Stop" and "What I Meant to Say", at No. 4, No. 10 and No. 5 respectively. It was also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 copies. Also in 1995, Hayes was nominated for Top New Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association.

On a Good Night, Hayes' second album, was released via Columbia in 1996. Although the album's lead-off single (which was the title track) peaked at No. 2 on the country charts, the second and third singles — "Where Do I Go to Start All Over" and "It's over My Head" — both failed to make Top 40. Nonetheless, the album was certified gold as well. Also included on this album was a cover of "Undo the Right", a song originally recorded by Willie Nelson.

In 1997, Hayes also issued a cover of Glen Campbell's song "Wichita Lineman" as the first single for a third album which was to have been titled Tore Up from the Floor Up. This cover failed to reach Top 40, however, and the album was delayed. 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.

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. Three singles were released from the album before Hayes left Monument.

In 2003, Hayes joined fiddler Mark McClurg to form the duo McHayes, which charted one single ("It Doesn't Mean I Don't Love You", which reached No. 41 on the country charts) and recorded one unreleased album for Universal South Records. After McHayes disbanded in July 2004, McClurg rejoined Jackson's road band, and Hayes went on hiatus.

He rejoined the music business in 2008, taking a role as lead guitarist and singer in former Alabama lead singer Randy Owen's road band. 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.

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.

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.

• Title — Album details — Peak chart positions — Certifications (sales thresholds) • US Country — US — CAN Country • Old Enough to Know Better — * Release date: January 3, 1995 * Label: Columbia Records * Formats: CD, cassette — 19 — 99 — — — * US: Gold * CAN: Gold • On a Good Night — * Release date: June 25, 1996 * Label: Columbia Records * Formats: CD, cassette — 11 — 91 — — — * US: Gold * CAN: Gold • When the Wrong One Loves You Right — * Release date: January 27, 1998 * Label: Columbia Records * Formats: CD, cassette — 9 — 92 — 22 • Highways & Heartaches — * Release date: September 12, 2000 * Label: Monument Records * Formats: CD, cassette — 55 — — — — • Place to Turn Around — * Release date: July 15, 2009 * Label: self-released * Formats: CD, music download — — — — — — • Go Live Your Life — * Release date: February 27, 2015 * Label: Conabor Records * Formats: CD, music download — — — — — — • Old Country Song — * Release date: June 9, 2017 * Label: Conabor Records * Formats: CD, music download — — — — — — • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

• Year — Single — Peak chart positions — Album • US Country — US — CAN Country • 1994 — "Old Enough to Know Better" — 1 — — — 1 — Old Enough to Know Better • 1995 — "I'm Still Dancin' with You" — 4 — — — 6 • "Don't Stop" — 10 — — — 12 • "What I Meant to Say" — 5 — — — 15 • 1996 — "On a Good Night" — 2 — — — 4 — On a Good Night • "Where Do I Go to Start All Over" — 42 — — — 59 • 1997 — "It's Over My Head" — 46 — — — 55 • "Wichita Lineman" — 55 — — — 48 • "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)" — 5 — 86 — 9 — When the Wrong One Loves You Right • 1998 — "When the Wrong One Loves You Right" — 50 — — — 41 • "How Do You Sleep at Night" — 13 — 67 — 30 • 1999 — "Tore Up from the Floor Up" — 57 — — — — • 2000 — "Up North (Down South, Back East, Out West)" — 48 — — — 73 — Highways & Heartaches • "Goodbye Is the Wrong Way to Go" — 45 — — — — • "What's It Gonna Take" — — — — — — • 2012 — "Is It Already Time?" — — — — — — • "—" denotes releases that did not chart

• Year — Video — Director • 1995 — "Old Enough to Know Better" — Gerry Wenner • "I'm Still Dancing with You" — Steven Goldmann • "Don't Stop" • 1996 — "What I Meant to Say" • "On a Good Night" • "Where Do I Go to Start All Over" • 1997 — "Wichita Lineman" • 1998 — "The Day She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)" • 1999 — "Tore Up from the Floor Up" • 2000 — "Up North (Down South, Back East, Out West)" — Jim Shea • 2013 — "Is It Already Time?" — David Shamban

Wade Hayes was born on 20 April 1969 in Bethel Acres. Hayes held the nationality of United States. Hayes worked as singer, singer-songwriter, musician and composer, and the authority record catalogues a further 2 occupations under the same name, among them lyricist and guitarist. Hayes was active from 1994. The fields Hayes worked in include country music. Hayes played the guitar and the voice. Hayes worked in English.