Being the first openly lesbian country music star was the last thing that Chely Wright ever wanted. Even at the young age of nine, she recognized that homosexuality and the conservative realm of country music didn’t mix.
Wright told herself repeatedly that she would have to hide the truth if she wanted to have a successful singing career in Nashville. She thought she could justify sacrificing one area of her life for the benefit of another and it would all balance out in the end.
But over the years, the lies began to take a toll on her personal life. In 2007, after much contemplation and prayer, Wright realized the only way she was going to be happy was to finally be true to herself.
“I became a woman, bitter, alone in a big beautiful home in Nashville with all of these career accolades and to some degree people might think, ‘Look at how great she’s got it. She’s got the perfect life,’” Wright explained. “But I had lost my partner. The hiding had ripped us apart and it became not worth it anymore.”
Wright decided if she was going to come out, she was going to do it right. She wanted to be able to help others with similar experiences and thought that sharing her story in an autobiography would be the best way to do so.
“I wrote it on blind faith that if I had to go to Kinko’s and bind this book myself and sell it out of my car, I would,” Wright said. “I thought it was important to write the nuances of my story because it has a lot of layers.
“I can’t tell you how thankful I am that not only have LGBT people of all ages approached me and said, ‘Thank you for telling your story. I felt like I was turning the pages of my life,’ but almost as important as that, that the parents of gay kids approached me and said, ‘My son came out 10 years ago and I read your book and I understand my son better,’” continued Wright.
Aside from confiding in a few close family members, no one knew that Wright was a lesbian until the publication of her book, Like Me, last May.
“I’m not happy to have been the first (openly gay country singer) necessarily, but I’m happy to be living my life honestly,” Wright said. “I’m proud that I know who I am and everyone else knows who I am.”
Wright rose to country music fame in 1997 with the release of “Let Me In,” featuring the single, “Shut Up and Drive.” Two years later, she hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country list with “Single White Female.”
Although Wright’s written many songs over her career, her latest album, “Lifted Off the Ground,” is the first to be almost entirely written by her. Written during the rough period before she decided to come out, this 2010 album contains songs that best represent her emotionally.
“My intellect was completely suspended when I wrote these songs,” Wright said. “It was all emotion and I was simply purging myself of the despair that I was feeling in my life.”
In addition to being a singer and songwriter, Wright is a spokesperson for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). She also actively participates in various conferences and charities in support of gay rights.
As a featured speaker at the 2011 Solutions to a Crisis: Supporting Students – Saving Lives conference in San Diego on Feb. 26, Wright plans to share her story. The conference gives educators and school counselors the information they need to help support the LGBTQIA youth in their schools.
After coming out last year, Wright founded “Like Me,” a non-profit that aims to provide support for the LGBT community and their families. The Lighthouse Project, the first LGBT education and community center in Wright’s hometown of Kansas City, will open later this year.
To cap off an already eventful year, Wright was nominated for a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) media award for outstanding musical artist.
“This particular nomination was extra special to me because before I came out, I embedded myself in a couple of organizations to educate me and GLAAD was one of those,” Wright said. “To be recognized for my record, it connects a lot of dots for me emotionally.”
Chely Wright is a featured speaker at the Solutions to a Crisis educator’s conference, Feb. 25-27 in San Diego. She speaks Feb. 26. For more information, log on to lgbtqia2011.org.
