Kelley Shepard

In Kelley Shepard's own words -

I have been singing since I was 6. I remember seeing Reba McEntire on aTV concert special, and I was just so in awe of the music, the lights,and the costumes.  But what really got me is how 20,000 people came out to see one person!  For 90 minutes any problems they had were gone, and any differences they had with the people around them didn't exist.  One person, one voice...music brought them together.  From that moment on...yes at 6 years old, I knew that's what I wanted to do forever.

When I was about 9, I started competing around my home town, and once I got a taste of the adrenaline that came from being on stage...there was definitely no turning back. Then when I was 15, I sent a tape to the Ellen DeGeneres Show.  Ellen was having a segment called "Ellen's Do It Best".  It was more so for people who made the best pie or the best quilt, but my mom encouraged me to send my tape in anyways.  Well, thank God she did, because a week later producer Hedda Muskat contacted me.  She actually thought I was lip synching on my audition tape - which of course, I wasn't.  I guess in a round about way it was a compliment.  She had me sing for her over the phone, and proved that I in fact, was not lip synching!  She told me that I was not right for the show, but she knew someone she wanted to show the tape to.  That person was Brian McKnight's manager Silas.  Brian had been on Ellen's show the week before and was telling her about a label he had started and how he was looking for new artists of every genre to sign.  Later that night I got a call from Silas, and 2 weeks later I flew to LA, and signed under Brian's production label McKnight Entertainment, and Silas became my manager as well.  And well, the rest is NOT history. . .

That July my parents and I moved to LA.  I started writing and recording songs for my record.  So far I have 14 songs, 10 of which I have written/co-written.  I have also had the opportunity to work with such artists as Cowboy Troy, Rascal Flatts, John Rich from country duo Big & Rich, and Brian McKnight.  Now, almost 4 years later we are shopping my record to different labels and you can probably expect it to be available in stores in the summer of 2307 at this rate!  Ha, juuuust kidding!  Things are looking up, and I may not know what the future holds for me, but I know no matter what - music will always be a part of it.

Kelley Shepard on MySpace

Photos by Jon Asher