She has a street, rose and book named after her. She has a syndicated radio show, hosts TV specials and travels the world supporting soldiers, sick and starving children.
And despite dominating country charts and award shows during the ’90s, guesting with Jay Leno and appearing on the cover of every magazine imaginable – including the coveted Sears catalogue – 48-year-old Michelle Wright still has a fond place in her good heart for small-town Canada, and the magic of Christmas.
In two more sleeps, Wright’s bus rolls into Mission for a concert at cosy Clarke Theatre. It will be the ninth stop on the I’m Dreaming of a Wright Christmas odyssey, having opened the tour on Nov. 24 playing five consecutive nights in Saskatchewan where she learned plenty about Rider Pride, a microphone malfunction and Moose Jaw’s tire-eating roads.
Despite all her fame and good fortune, and more than two million record sales, this gregarious farm girl from tiny Merlin, Ont., takes nothing for granted, especially the fans who have packed each venue on her feel-good tour.
“I remember being called an overnight sensation once,” Wright shares with this scribe before playing in Saskatoon on Friday. “That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I played six nights a week, 50 weeks a year in some of the toughest places for 10 years. Heck, I even played gigs in smoky strip joints. I was 29 before I got a break in the music business.”
She credits longtime manager Brian Ferriman for believing in her when waitressing or canning tomatoes back in Leamington, Ont., seemed like better career choices, or when there was a lot less ho-ho-ho in her upbeat show.
“Brian explained how the ebbs and flows work. How you can be on top one day and the bottom the next. That’s not easy for an artist to accept, but he always kept me going when my mind wanted me to stop.”
Without the benefit of iTunes, or YouTube or the Internet to launch her career, Wright combined her farm girl worth ethic, her athletic competitive spirit and her love for people, travel and music into an act that found radio play and star status, especially after the release of her 1992 album Now & Then, which featured huge hits Take It Like A Man, He Would Be Sixteen and Guitar Talk.
Her latest album, Everything and More, is a terrific stocking stuffer and features yet another clever musical makeover for the star who has changed her style more times than Madonna to remain relevant in her ever-changing industry.
Given her longtime love for sports, and a history of competing in track, basketball and volleyball, Wright says she’s extra excited about visiting B.C. as the province prepares to host the 2010 Olympics.
“I always wanted to be an Olympic athlete for Canada. I just loved running and jumping, but I blew my knee out while competing in long jump and that dream ended.”
Describing her current show as 65 per cent Christmas tunes and 35 per cent “the other stuff,” Wright can be excused for having an emotional attachment to the festive season.
She and hubby Marco Convertino were engaged on Christmas Day in 2001 and married the following year. Her Christmas tour is now in its seventh season and she describes the people who roll out the welcome mat for her annual arrival as “the best gift a person could ever wish for.”
There’s also her “reluctant” hit He Would Be Sixteen that tugs extra on the heartstrings during this “family time” of year.
The bring-your-hanky tune is about a young mother forced to give up her son, but not a day goes by when she doesn’t think about how he’s doing, how tall he is, if he owns a car or if he is in love and healthy.
“I didn’t want to do the song at first,” Wright admits. “I wasn’t ever married, or pregnant and just couldn’t relate. But Reba [McEntire] said sometimes you just have to be the messenger for a great song.
“I learned after the song became larger than life that I didn’t know everything about music! I can’t believe how many people have expressed their thanks and emotional stories – it really hit home.”
One more thing Wright wants you to know – this is not a Christmas shopping tour. Her bus is already tightly packed with clothes and shoes (mostly hers) and the crew has been “warned” to not add anything to slow down the vehicle as it still has 11 other cities to visit.
Sounds kinda Scrooge-like for a Christmas tour, doesn’t it?
“OK, we might bend the rules on that one,” she laughs. “Especially if we see something I like!”
Wright on.
No comments:
Post a Comment