Wade Hayes

Country music singer-songwriter Wade Hayes – born Tony Wade Hayes in Bethel Acres, Oklahoma on April 20, 1969 – is best known for the 1995 number 1 single “Old Enough to Know Better,” which was taken from the album of the same name. He began his musical journey at a young age when he was inspired by his father – a professional musician – and first started playing the mandolin before switching to guitar. After seeing country / bluegrass icon Ricky Skaggs in 1991, he quit college to pursue music as a career. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee and began recording demos and shopping his songs to various labels. He met record producer Don Cook, who helped him sign a deal with Columbia Records in 1994. Wade Hayes’ debut single, “Old Enough to Know Better,” was issued in early 1995 and was a hit, reaching number 1 on Billboard’s Country Singles & Tracks chart. A short time later, his album Old Enough to Know Better was released and included three singles that made the Top 10: “Don’t Stop,” “I’m Still Dancin’ with You,” and “What I Meant to Say.” Wade Hayes released his second album, On a Good Night, in 1996 and scored a number 2 hit with the title track, which had been released as the album’s first single. However, the next two singles were not Top 40 hits. In 1997, he won TNN / Music City News Country Awards’ Male Star of Tomorrow honor. Failing to reach the Top 40 with the non-album single “Wichita Lineman,” a cover of the classic Glen Campbell song, he returned to the Top 10 with the single “The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy),” taken from the 1998 album When the Wrong One Loves You Right. This album was his first to climb into the Top 10 and included the hit single “How Do You Sleep at Night.” Wade Hayes left Columbia Records and signed with Monument, releasing the album Highways & Heartaches in 2000. Wade Hayes left Monument Records and formed the country / bluegrass duo McHayes with fiddler Mark McClurg. Although their sole single, “It Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Love You,” almost entered the Top 40, the duo’s album was never released. After the duo split, Wade Hayes took a hiatus from the music business. He returned to his solo career in 2009 and released three albums over the next ten years including Place to Turn Around (2009), Go Live Your Life (2015), and Old Country Song (2017).

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