KAREN STALEY

Songwriter of “Let's Go To Vegas,” "A Face in the Crowd," "Take Me As I Am," and "Keeper of the Stars"

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Karen Staley was born in Weirton, West Virginia, and raised in nearby, rural Hookstown, Pennsylvania, in the Tri-State area of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. She is a 30-year veteran of the Nashville music industry and has been involved in virtually every facet of the business from songwriting and performing to touring, recording and producing. ​As a recording artist, Staley released two, critically acclaimed, major label albums – “Wildest Dreams”​ on ​MCA​ and ​“Fearless”​ on ​Warner Bros​, as well as several indie country and gospel albums.

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Staley’s timeless hit songs ​“Take Me As I Am”​ and ​“Hey Baby, Let’s Go to Vegas”​ by ​Faith Hill, “Keeper of the Stars”​ by T​ racy Byrd, “On A Night Like This”​ by ​Trick Pony​ and more, have been played on the radio more than 12 million times and counting. Those songs have collectively sold more than 20 million albums, singles, and downloads.

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Many of Staley’s songs have been nominated for ​Dove, Grammy​ and​ International Bluegrass Awards​. Staley won the prestigious ​Academy of Country Music Song of The Year​ award with ​Tracy Byrd's​ classic number one hit, “Keeper of the Stars.” ​An international wedding favorite year after year, ​“Keeper of the Stars”​ is also among Country Music Television’s 100 Greatest Country Love Songs of All Time.

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As a guitar player and background singer, Staley toured with​ Faith Hill, Reba McEntire​, ​Patty Loveless, Terri Clark and ​Russ Taff​. She is also a sought-after studio session singer and demo producer. She is one of the original mainstays at the ​Bluebird Café​, the now iconic listening room popularized by the ​ABC TV​ show, ​Nashville​. Karen is one of four female pioneers ​(amidst ​Grammy winning artists Pam Tillis, Ashley Cleveland​ and ​Tricia Walker​)​ of the now very prominent, ​“In the Round”​ format for concerts, originating at the ​Bluebird Café​. Staley’s songs have not only been recorded by modern stars like ​Faith Hill, Reba McEntire, Trick Pony, Terri Clark and​ Tracy Byrd,​ but also by icons and legends including ​George Jones, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty​ and ​Brenda Lee​.

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The reason Karen was drawn to music in the first place was to reach people in some meaningful way. She continues to, quite naturally, endeavor for that intimate connection no matter the setting she presents in. Karen says she feels humbled and blessed to share her talents with so many diverse groups of people from all over the world and looks forward to every new opportunity to share the gift of music and human connection.

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“I jokingly call myself the Forest Gump of country music,”​ laughs Staley, ​“So often, it really IS just a matter of showing up, heart open, and being willing to say ‘yes’ to new things! One of my favorite mottos is, ‘you were born an original, don’t die a copy,’ and I love imparting examples of that wisdom from my very own life. The power of each person’s individuality, within the framework of humanity (a strong team of people!) cannot be underestimated when it comes to success. It must be embraced!”