Wade Hayes

Wade Hayes was born and raised in Bethel Acres, Oklahoma. His father, Don Hayes, also a professional country musician, inspired him to begin playing music as well. Initially, Hayes had learned to play mandolin, but later switched to guitar after his father bought him one. When he was 11 years old, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where his father signed with an independent record label. The label soon declared bankruptcy. The family returned to Oklahoma, where Wade later found work as a musician in his father's band. Although he attended three different colleges, Hayes dropped out of college in 1991 in pursuit of a career in country music, after seeing bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs perform on the 1991 Country Music Association awards show. Wade returned to Nashville, where he began recording demo tapes and writing his own material. Eventually, Hayes partnered with a songwriter named Chick Rains, who recommended him to Don Cook, a record producer who has produced albums for several country music artists, including Brooks & Dunn. ==Musical career==

1994–1996: Old Enough to Know Better With Cook's help, Hayes was signed to a record deal with Columbia Records in late 1994. The same year, Hayes' debut single, "Old Enough to Know Better", was released, and by early 1995, it peaked at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed with "The Day That She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)", which reached No. 5 on the country charts. After this song's release, Hayes's third album – by then re-titled When the Wrong One Loves You Right — was issued, with the Glen Campbell cover omitted. "The Day That She Left Tulsa" was followed by "When the Wrong One Loves You Right", "How Do You Sleep at Night" (his final Top 40 hit at No. 13), and finally, "Tore Up from the Floor Up". Hayes considered When the Wrong One Loves You Right as a more mature effort than his first two albums, with more of an emphasis on ballads than his previous two albums. 2000–2001: Highways and Heartaches By 2000, Hayes had switched from Columbia Records to Monument Records. His fourth and final album before his nine-year hiatus, titled Highways & Heartaches, was released in 2000. Hayes also returned to touring on his own. Hayes released a fifth album, Place to Turn Around, in July 2009, on an independent label. The album features eleven songs, with ten being penned by Hayes. In 2012, Hayes released the single "Is It Already Time" through RPM Entertainment. 2016–2017: Old Country Song On June 9, 2017, Hayes released Old Country Song. The 11-cut collection of old and new songs was produced by Dave Mcfee and Hayes. It was released on Conabor Records. ==Personal life==

On April 4, 1999, Hayes married Danni Boatwright. The couple divorced in 2003. Boatwright later was a contestant on the CBS reality television series Survivor. In December 2011, Hayes was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, which was successfully operated on that same month. The last tumors were removed in March 2012. On September 25, 2018, Hayes became engaged to Lea Bayer, a realtor. The two were introduced by her first cousin, country singer John Rich. On December 4, 2018, Billboard Magazine published an article announcing their engagement and Hayes’ new song. They were married on January 25, 2019. ==Discography==

Studio albums Singles Music videos == Awards and nominations ==