David Ball (country musician)
Encyclopedia
David Ball is an American country music
artist. Active since 1988, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums on several different labels, including his platinum certified debut Thinkin' Problem
. Fourteen of Ball's singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs
charts. His highest-peaking chart entries are 1994's "Thinkin' Problem
" and 2001's "Riding With Private Malone
", both of which peaked at #2.
where his father was heading Fernwood Baptist church. He eventually learned to play guitar
after persuading his parents to buy him one. Having written his first song in seventh grade, he played it in a school talent show with a band he had formed, the Strangers. Afterwards, he played upright bass in various local youth groups and also the school orchestra. Together with friends, he took part in various bluegrass
and country
festivals in the Carolinas.
By the time Ball had left high school, he had a gig playing bass in Uncle Walt's Band
, a trio headed by Walter Hyatt
, who relocated to Austin, Texas
, in the mid-1970s, in an attempt to make a mainstream breakthrough.
Ball subsequently focused on a solo career, moving to Nashville, Tennessee
, where he was signed to a publishing contract. Three singles for RCA Records
in the late 1980s failed to provide a solo breakthrough, however, and a projected album was shelved. The experience did at least serve to introduce him to producer Blake Chancey
, son of legendary country producer Ron Chancey. In the spring of 1993, Chancey called Warner Bros. Records
director Doug Grau on Ball's behalf.
A new recording contract followed. Thinkin' Problem, his debut album, was released on Warner Bros. Its title track served as the lead-off single, reaching #2 on the Billboard
country music charts and #40 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The album, which received a platinum certification in the U.S., also produced the singles "When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me
", "Look What Followed Me Home", "What Do You Want with His Love", and "Honky Tonk Healin'", although these latter two singles failed to make Top 40 on the country charts.
Ball recorded two more albums for the label – Starlite Lounge and Play – without much chart success. However, "Riding with Private Malone", from the 2001 album Amigo on the Dualtone label reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts (now Hot Country Songs) chart, and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. This album failed to produce any other hits, however, and Ball exited Dualtone in 2002. Freewheeler followed in 2004, and Heartaches by the Number in 2007.
^ David Ball was recorded in 1989 and remained unreleased until 1994.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist. Active since 1988, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums on several different labels, including his platinum certified debut Thinkin' Problem
Thinkin' Problem
Thinkin' Problem is the title of an album by American country music artist David Ball. It was released in 1994 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville...
. Fourteen of Ball's singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts. His highest-peaking chart entries are 1994's "Thinkin' Problem
Thinkin' Problem (song)
"Thinkin' Problem" is the title of a country music song co-written and recorded by American country music singer David Ball. Ball co-wrote the song with Allen Shamblin and Stuart Ziff...
" and 2001's "Riding With Private Malone
Riding with Private Malone
"Riding with Private Malone" is the title of a song written by Wood Newton and Thom Shepherd, and recorded by American country music artist David Ball. Released in August 2001 as the first single from his fifth studio album Amigo, the song reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles &...
", both of which peaked at #2.
Biography
David Ball was born into a large musical family headed by his father, a Baptist preacher, and his mother, Bessie Ball, a pianist. Later, he moved with his family to Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
where his father was heading Fernwood Baptist church. He eventually learned to play guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
after persuading his parents to buy him one. Having written his first song in seventh grade, he played it in a school talent show with a band he had formed, the Strangers. Afterwards, he played upright bass in various local youth groups and also the school orchestra. Together with friends, he took part in various bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
festivals in the Carolinas.
By the time Ball had left high school, he had a gig playing bass in Uncle Walt's Band
Uncle Walt's Band
Walter Hyatt, Champ Hood, and David Ball formed Uncle Walt's Band. They moved from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1972, where they caught the attention of Willis Alan Ramsey, a famous and revered Texas singer and songwriter...
, a trio headed by Walter Hyatt
Walter Hyatt
Walter Hyatt American singer and songwriter. His band, known as Uncle Walt's Band, was involved in the alternative music scene in Austin, Texas, from its inception and is credited by many with being the Godfather of Americana Music or the Original Americana Artist, never easily pegged into any one...
, who relocated to Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, in the mid-1970s, in an attempt to make a mainstream breakthrough.
Ball subsequently focused on a solo career, moving to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, where he was signed to a publishing contract. Three singles for RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in the late 1980s failed to provide a solo breakthrough, however, and a projected album was shelved. The experience did at least serve to introduce him to producer Blake Chancey
Blake Chancey
Blake Chancey is an American record producer and music business executive, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly an executive vice president and chief creative officer for Sony Music, he later formed a partnership with artist manager Scott Siman...
, son of legendary country producer Ron Chancey. In the spring of 1993, Chancey called Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
director Doug Grau on Ball's behalf.
A new recording contract followed. Thinkin' Problem, his debut album, was released on Warner Bros. Its title track served as the lead-off single, reaching #2 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country music charts and #40 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The album, which received a platinum certification in the U.S., also produced the singles "When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me
When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me
"When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me" is a country music song written and recorded by American country music singer David Ball. It was released in August 1994 from his 1994 album, Thinkin' Problem as the follow-up to the successful title track...
", "Look What Followed Me Home", "What Do You Want with His Love", and "Honky Tonk Healin'", although these latter two singles failed to make Top 40 on the country charts.
Ball recorded two more albums for the label – Starlite Lounge and Play – without much chart success. However, "Riding with Private Malone", from the 2001 album Amigo on the Dualtone label reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts (now Hot Country Songs) chart, and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. This album failed to produce any other hits, however, and Ball exited Dualtone in 2002. Freewheeler followed in 2004, and Heartaches by the Number in 2007.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
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| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
CAN RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
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| Thinkin' Problem Thinkin' Problem Thinkin' Problem is the title of an album by American country music artist David Ball. It was released in 1994 on Warner Bros. Records Nashville... |
|
6 | 53 | 3 | 55 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Platinum Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... : Platinum |
| David Ball David Ball (album) David Ball is the self-titled debut album from American country music artist David Ball. He recorded the album in 1989 for RCA Records. Three singles from it charted between 1988 and 1989: "Steppin' Out", "You Go, You're Gone" and "Gift of Love", which respectively reached #46, #55 and #64 on the... [A] |
RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... |
— | — | — | — | |
| Starlite Lounge Starlite Lounge Starlite Lounge is the title of the third studio album from American country music singer David Ball. It was his second album for Warner Bros. Records and was released in 1996. The album produced the singles "Circle of Friends" and "Hangin' In and Hangin' On", which respectively reached #49 and... |
|
44 | — | — | — | |
| Play Play (David Ball album) Play is the title of the fourth studio album by American country music singer David Ball. It was released in 1999 on Warner Bros. Records. The album produced the singles "Watching My Baby Not Come Back" and "I Want To with You", which respectively reached #47 and #67 on the Billboard country... |
|
60 | — | 21 | — | |
| Amigo |
Dualtone Records Dualtone Music Group, Inc. is an independent entertainment companybased in Nashville, TN. The staunchly independent label has beennominated for thirteen GRAMMY awards, garnering three wins... |
11 | 120 | * | — | |
| Freewheeler Freewheeler Freewheeler is the title of the sixth studio album released by American country music singer David Ball. It was released in 2004 on the independent Wildcatter label. The lead-off single, "Louisiana Melody", charted at #59 on the Billboard country charts in 2004. It was followed by "Happy With the... |
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— | — | * | — | |
| Heartaches by the Number Heartaches by the Number (David Ball album) Heartaches by the Number is the title of an album released in 2007 by American country music artist David Ball. It is his first release for the Shanachie Records label. Except for the track "Please Feed the Jukebox", which Ball wrote himself, all of the songs on this album are covers of classic... |
Shanachie Records Shanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic... |
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| Sparkle City |
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— | — | * | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart * denotes unknown peak positions |
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^ David Ball was recorded in 1989 and remained unreleased until 1994.
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Super Hits |
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Country RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
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| 1988 | "Steppin' Out'" | 46 | — | — | David Ball |
| "You Go, You're Gone" | 55 | — | 68 | ||
| 1989 | "Gift of Love" | 64 | — | 80 | |
| 1994 | "Thinkin' Problem Thinkin' Problem (song) "Thinkin' Problem" is the title of a country music song co-written and recorded by American country music singer David Ball. Ball co-wrote the song with Allen Shamblin and Stuart Ziff... " |
2 | 40 | 1 | Thinkin' Problem |
| "When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me "When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me" is a country music song written and recorded by American country music singer David Ball. It was released in August 1994 from his 1994 album, Thinkin' Problem as the follow-up to the successful title track... " |
7 | 107 | 6 | ||
| 1995 | "Look What Followed Me Home" | 11 | — | 14 | |
| "What Do You Want with His Love" | 48 | — | 56 | ||
| "Honky Tonk Healin'" | 50 | — | 50 | ||
| 1996 | "Circle of Friends" | 49 | — | 42 | Starlite Lounge |
| "Hangin' In and Hangin' On" | 67 | — | — | ||
| 1999 | "Watching My Baby Not Coming Back" | 47 | — | 76 | Play |
| "I Want to with You" | 67 | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "Riding with Private Malone Riding with Private Malone "Riding with Private Malone" is the title of a song written by Wood Newton and Thom Shepherd, and recorded by American country music artist David Ball. Released in August 2001 as the first single from his fifth studio album Amigo, the song reached a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles &... " |
2 | 36 | * | Amigo |
| 2002 | "She Always Talked About Mexico" | — | — | * | |
| "Whenever You Come Back to Me" | — | — | * | ||
| 2004 | "Louisiana Melody" | 60 | — | * | Freewheeler |
| 2005 | "Happy with the One I've Got" | — | — | * | |
| "Too Much Blood in My Alcohol Level" | — | — | * | ||
| 2010 | "Hot Water Pipe" | — | — | * | Sparkle City |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart * denotes unknown peak positions |
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Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Gift of Love" | |
| 1994 | "Thinkin' Problem" | O Pictures |
| "When the Thought of You Catches Up with Me" | chris rogers | |
| 1995 | "Look What Followed Me Home" | Martin Kahan |
| "What Do You Want with His Love" | Michael Salomon Michael Salomon Michael Salomon is a music video/film director, who has directed many music videos, including many of Toby Keith's music videos... |
|
| "Honky Tonk Healin'" | David Ball | |
| 1996 | "Circle of Friends" | Steven T. Miller |
| "Hangin' In and Hangin' On" | Suzanne Gordon | |
| 1999 | "Watching My Baby Not Coming Back" | |
| 2001 | "Riding with Private Malone" | Steve Schepman |
| 2005 | "Too Much Blood in My Alcohol Level" | David Kiern |
| 2010 | "Hot Water Pipe" |