Progressive singer shines with 'Glimmer'

Kim Richey

When Nashville veteran Kim Richey, BSRS '80, was at Ohio University, she never expected her name to be mentioned in the same breath as rockers like Carlos Santana. But all that changed last year when the country star's album "Glimmer" made Time magazine's top 10 albums of 1999 along with Santana, Fiona Apple and The Roots.

"Glimmer," the alumna's third album, follows her first, self-titled album and sophomore effort "Bitter Sweet," all released by Mercury Nashville Records. Her honest lyrics are accompanied to music that's a little bit country, a little bit rock - similar to such diverse artists as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, whom she lists among her musical influences.

Before hitting it big in Nashville, she tested her tunes up and down Court Street. She was inspired to take the stage after watching friend and musician Scott Minar play at local bars. Richey began with local gigs in the Frontier Room (when it was still a bar) and the Hobbit House, where she performed for tips and food.

She credits much of her success to two former band members she sang with at Western Kentucky University, where she attended her first two years of college. They encouraged her to head to Nashville, where Richey managed to get a job as a backup singer for country stars Trisha Yearwood and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Now she performs worldwide, but she still enjoys the intimacy and privacy of songwriting.

"Alone in the studio performing ... you go into your own world, immersed in exactly what you are doing."