Biography

After growing up on his family's potato farm in Smyrna, Delaware, future country star Chuck Wicks spent his college years discovering his musical talents. After graduation, he moved to Nashville in 2002 to pursue a songwriting career. He was soon penning close to 100 songs a year, one of which caught the ear of the RCA label. The story of a suitor asking for girlfriend's hand in marriage, "Stealing Cinderella" became Wicks' debut single when RCA serviced it to radio during the summer of 2007. That September, Wicks took part in the ill-fated reality television show Nashville, which only aired for two episodes before being axed by the Fox network. The cancellation may have actually helped Wicks, though, since he was now able to focus on promoting the single and making his debut at the Grand Ole Opry. By the late fall, the song was becoming a staple for the father/daughter dance at weddings, as well as a Top 10 hit on country radio. "Stealing Cinderella" also appeared on Starting Now, Wicks' debut album. Released in early 2008, the album debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two more country hits: "All I Ever Wanted" went to 14 and "Man of the House" topped out at 27. During 2010, Wicks released "Hold That Thought" and "Old School," singles that went no further than 42 and 43, respectively. These were the first tastes of what would've been a second album for RCA, but after the singles stiffed, the album was scrapped and Wicks went into a period of working behind the scenes. His biggest placement as a songwriter was "I Don't Do Lonely Well," which Jason Aldean recorded on 2012's Night Train. Wicks resurfaced as a recording artist with a self-released EP called Rough in the spring of 2013. By the end of the year, he'd signed with Blaster Records. Over the next two years, he put out five singles -- "Us Again," released in early 2014, fared best, peaking at 36 -- culminating in the release of the full-length Turning Point in the spring of 2016. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi