Stephanie Bentley

Infobox Musical artist


Img_size = 150 |
Name = Stephanie Bentley
Background = solo_singer
Born = birth date and age|1963|4|29
Origin = Thomasville, Georgia, USA
Instrument = Vocals
Genre = Country
Occupation = Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 1996-2003
Label = Liberty
Epic
Columbia
Associated_acts = Faith Hill
Ty Herndon
Martina McBride
URL =

Stephanie Bentley (born April 29, 1963 in Thomasville, Georgia) is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 1996 as a duet partner on Ty Herndon's single "Heart Half Empty", which peaked at #21 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. The single was included both on Herndon's 1995 debut album "What Mattered Most" and on Bentley's 1996 debut album "Hopechest". It produced three more singles for her on the country charts, although only one ("Who's That Girl") reached Top 40.

Bentley never recorded an album or charted a single after the release of "Hopechest". However, she did find success as a songwriter, having penned Faith Hill's 1999 crossover single "Breathe", as well as Martina McBride's 2002 Top 5 hit "Concrete Angel". She has also co-written album cuts for Céline Dion, Pam Tillis and Jo Dee Messina, [ [http://www.umusicpub.com/spotlight.aspx?id=708 The Songs of Stephanie Bentley] ] and recorded a song to the soundtrack for the film "Holes".

Biography

Bentley's musical interests began at age nine, when she, her sister, and a friend entered and won a talent contest. The three later toured briefly as a musical group, even singing for Jimmy Carter, who was President of the United States at the time. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:acfixqr5ldte allmusic ((( Stephanie Bentley > Overview )))] ] In 1984, she formed a band called Special Delivery. [http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/article.asp?xid=281 Stephanie Bentley hopes debut brings chestful of success] ]

She later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she worked as a demo singer. One of the songs for which she sang a demo was "Shake the Sugar Tree", which later became a Top 5 hit when Pam Tillis recorded it for her 1992 album "Homeward Looking Angel". Bentley's demo vocals were dubbed into Tillis' recording of the song.

After a failed deal with Liberty Records, Bentley signed to Epic Records in 1996. Her first chart entry in 1996 was as as a duet partner on then-labelmate Ty Herndon's single "Heart Half Empty", which peaked at #21 on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. "Heart Half Empty" was followed by Bentley's transfer from Epic to Columbia Records, where she released her first solo single, "Who's That Girl". Both songs were included on her debut album, 1996's "Hopechest", and the duet was also included on Herndon's 1995 debut album "What Mattered Most". "Hopechest" produced two more singles after "Who's That Girl", although neither reached Top 40.

Although Bentley never charted or recorded an album after 1997, she found success writing songs for others, nost notably "Breathe" by Faith Hill, which spent six weeks at the top of the "Billboard" country music charts and became the Number One song of 2000 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end countdown. [ [http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/233358 A Little Riff Brings Big Success to Stephanie Bentley] ] Bentley also co-wrote Martina McBride's 2002 Top 5 hit "Concrete Angel" with Rob Crosby.

In 2002, Bentley married Brian Prout, drummer for the band Diamond Rio. [ [http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1451674/20020105/bentley_stephanie.jhtml CMT.com : Stephanie Bentley : Diamond Rio's Prout Marries Hit Songwriter Bentley] ] Bentley also contributed the song "I Will Survive" to the soundtrack of the 2003 film "Holes".

Discography

Albums

ingles

*^A"Heart Half Empty" is also on Ty Herndon's album "What Mattered Most".
*^BFailed to chart.

References