Growing up in Moore, Oklahoma, a small town outside of Oklahoma City, Kellie Coffey must have wished upon a pretty powerful star. Tourists who visit Disneyland in southern California during the holidays can hear Kellie singing the evergreen classic ?White Christmas? as make-believe snow begins to fall for the spectacular grand finale. At Disney World in Orlando, park guests will hear Kellie providing the soaring vocals for Epcot?s nightly show extravaganza. And for the next several years, her voice will be the centerpiece of Disney?s extensive, worldwide marketing campaign, as she sings their new theme song ?Sharing A Dream Come True.?
The last several years have seen a succession of dreams come true for this striking young woman: a new and independent life in Los Angeles; noted achievements as a professional vocalist, among them, the Disney jobs, vocals for network television, and singing background for none other than the inimitable Barbra Streisand on her Millennium album and Las Vegas New Year?s 2000 show; the launching and development of her songwriting, and creative partnerships with acclaimed writers; love and marriage; a publishing contract with industry giant Warner Chappell; and most recently, a record deal with BNA Records Nashville.
With the release of her first album When You Lie Next To Me in May 2002, Kellie Coffey stands poised on the threshold of yet another dream come true.
?When I was a little girl, my dad always said to me, ?You are going to be a singer,?? remembers Kellie. She has been a singer for nearly as long as she can remember, though her family background was not particularly musical. There was an upright piano in the den, which her father, a dentist, played by ear. Her grandfather played the clarinet, and both of her brothers?she is the middle of three children--- are good singers. Like countless singers, she began singing in church. Her undeniable gifts were noted early on, and she enrolled in voice and piano instruction. ?My teacher Barbara Ramsey made me feel like I was special, like I had a talent, and that was so important to me as a young girl,? she says.
When she was nine years old, her parents took her to the Oklahoma Opry, where she made her big stage debut. ?I sang ?Pecos Promenade,? the Tanya Tucker song, and ?Dancing Your Memory Away,? that Charley McClain recorded. It was the first time I ever sang with a band. I was so excited. The band started playing and I started singing. When I got to the chorus the background singers came in. My mom said I kept singing but slowly turned my head to look at them and when I turned back toward the audience I broke into a huge smile. I didn?t know how to end the song either so I just kept repeating the chorus over and over. The band would try to end it but I?d come back in again!?
Kellie led a pretty typical, Midwestern, all-American teenage life, a mix of study, extracurricular activities, weekends at the lake, friends, steady boyfriend, school dances and cruising 12th Street, the main drag in Moore. The town has produced a number of notable artists: Toby Keith who attended the same high school as Kellie, though a few years earlier, and songwriter/Arista Nashville artist Brett James is a family friend. After graduation, she enrolled in Oklahoma University, about a half-hour from her home. Though she was majoring in Vocal Performance and had dreamed about it her entire life, it was not until her junior year that she knew she could have a career as an entertainer. ?We were putting on the annual revue, called The Sooner Scandals, and in between acts I sang ?Save The Best For Last,? a song Vanessa Williams had recorded. It was one of those electric, magic moments. I was pouring my heart out in this song and I felt a connection with the audience. It was amazing. I knew then that it was wha
t I wanted to do.?
?All through high school and college, I was pretty grounded. When I graduated, it felt like it was time to fly. My goal was to make a living as a singer. I had a friend from OU who had moved to L.A. the year before and had an extra room, so I packed up my car and headed west. Leaving Oklahoma was very difficult for me and my whole family, especially my mom. We are very close, but my parents were very supportive. They always believed in me.?
Getting established in L.A. wasn?t easy. To pay the bills, Kellie got a job as a singing waitress ------?I was a much better singer than waitress: those poor people I waited on!? She also began writing songs. ?When I first started writing, it was because of a break-up,? she explains. ?So all of my early songs were about lost love. Those songs helped me get through some tough times.? She also enrolled in a singing/performance class.
?That was the best experience for me,? she says. ?I made good friends there, which was important to me. I felt a real sense of community with people who were looking for the same things in life, who shared my dream. I learned so much, and it was a real growth experience. I had never been truly on my own before, so it was important to me.?
The ball really started rolling after she made a demo tape that she sent around, and began getting work as a demo singer. ?The bulk of my singing work at that time was as a singer for songwriters, and most of them were country songs.?
During a workshop of a musical, she met Geoff Koch who was playing one of the leads. He wrote songs for several television shows, among them Walker Texas Ranger. Kellie?s subtle twang helped her land a job singing and writing songs for the hit television show, a source of income that allowed her to realize her goal of making a living as a singer. As she became more in demand for TV and film session work, demos and jingles, she was able to leave her waitress days behind.
Kellie began to find her niche as a songwriter and, given her roots, it was not surprising that it was decidedly country. Nashville seemed like the logical next step. ?About four years after I moved to L.A., I started making trips to Nashville, checking out the scene and trying to get a deal. Once I became focused on what I really wanted to do, it all started to come together. Doors began to open for me.?
Her friendship with Geoff had turned romantic, and she said yes to his marriage proposal. While planning her wedding, she also doubled her efforts to get a deal. The unlikeliest location for a country music showcase would have to be a Kosher Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles, California, but following her invitation-only performance at Genghis Cohen, she was offered a development deal by Judy Stakee with Warner-Chappell.
?Judy has been so instrumental in my career, as a mentor and a friend. She had me co-write with J.D. Martin (a transplanted Nashville writer who?s had hits with Reba and Terri Clark) in L.A. Then she started sending me to Tennessee to write with Warner Chappell?s Nashville writers. My goal at that time was to write the songs I needed for a pitch CD.?
Before long, she had five strong songs?she co-wrote all but one?and with J.D. Martin producing, put together a demo CD, which was sent to all of the A&R people on Music Row. Soon after, she received a call from RCA Label Group?s Renee Bell, who invited her to come in for a meeting. Kellie did a very casual set of three songs in the conference room, a performance that prompted an encore for label group head Joe Galante. Before getting back on the plane to L.A., she was signed to a development deal with the label.
?Renee set up meetings with several top Nashville record producers, and I sang for all of them. The label asked me to choose who I felt most comfortable with, and for me, it was Dann Huff. I love what he does, the music that he makes and he is also such an incredible musician. We recorded three songs: ?When You Lie Next To Me,? ?I Just Knew,? and ?Whatever It Takes.? The label loved them, and we got the green light to go ahead and make an album. I have always loved the studio process. It was fun to interpret people?s songs when I was a demo singer, but these were my songs I was doing! It was an incredible experience. I had a blast.?
It all comes out on the record and is sung with a depth, maturity and richness that belies Kellie?s newcomer status. Huff assembled a skilled crew of Nashville?s most successful and contemporary studio musicians and vocalists. The result is an album that makes an unforgettable debut, and offers an irresistible calling card to country radio and fans. Most are love songs, a change in direction from ?lost love? songs that began after falling in love with Geoff. ?A break-up started my writing, but love and life have really developed it,? she says.
The first single, ?When You Lie Next To Me? for example, was a reaction to tragic news of the death of her co-writer?s friend; the call came in just as the songwriting session began. ?We all began talking about this person, and how much he loved his family and music. It made us all start thinking about our families and that we shouldn?t take one single minute for granted we?re given here on earth.?
With the release of When You Lie Next To Me, Kellie Coffey is taking that leap of faith, with her eyes fixed on the stars, living life fully in the moment, sharing her dreams come true.
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