{{short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1964)}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians --> | name = Neal Coty | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|5|13}}<ref name="whitburn"/> | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Neal Lee Angleberger<ref name="whitburn"/> | origin = Thurmont, Maryland, U.S. | instrument = Vocals | genre = Country | occupation = Singer-songwriter | years_active = 1997–present | label = Mercury Nashville }} '''Neal Lee Angleberger''' (born May 13, 1964), known professionally as '''Neal Coty''', is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released two albums for Mercury Records Nashville, and has written several singles for other artists.
==Biography== Coty was born Neal Lee Angleberger on May 13, 1964, in Thurmont, Maryland.<ref name="whitburn">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2017|page=93|isbn=978-0-89820-229-8}}</ref> He was adopted at an early age, and never met his biological father.<ref name="hurst">{{cite web | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-07-04-9707040172-story.html | title=At the margins of country, Neal Coty may be the next big thing | publisher=The Chicago Tribune | date=July 4, 1997 | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Jack Hurst}}</ref> Coty drew musical inspiration from his uncles, who were fans of both country music and Southern rock. He began playing guitar as a child after his grandmother gave him one.<ref name="allmusic"/>
After graduating high school, Coty attended a cosmetology school, but dropped out after only two months.<ref name="hurst"/> He then attended a theater program at Towson University as a young adult, and would perform his own material during open-mic nights. He was booked as a touring act for Kathy Mattea after being discovered by a talent agent.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/neal-coty-mn0000380597/biography | title=Neal Coty biography | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Zac Johnson}}</ref> Next he spent time in New York City and Los Angeles in pursuit of an acting career; in the latter city, he found some small success writing commercial jingles.<ref name="stark"/> Encouraged by a friend, he then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a country music career, something which he was inspired to do by reading the names of the songwriters on album liner notes.<ref name="stark"/> Through the assistance of a music publisher, he then began writing songs with Randy VanWarmer and Roger Murrah; one of these songs, "Collect from Wichita", was cut by Ronna Reeves.<ref name="hurst"/> From this songwriting success came a contract with Mercury Records Nashville, which issued his debut album ''Chance and Circumstance'' in 1997. The album was produced by Keith Stegall, best known for his work with Alan Jackson.<ref name="hurst"/> "Tainted" was sent to country radio as the album's lead single that same year.<ref name="robert"/> Mike Joyce of ''The Washington Post'' reviewed the album favorably, calling him "a first-rate storyteller who puts most of the competition in country music to shame."<ref name="chance">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/09/19/neal-coty/18800afd-e8a2-4b75-86b3-8c622e3c6a08/ | title=''Chance and Circumstance'' review | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=September 19, 1997 | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Mike Joyce}}</ref>
Coty released his second Mercury album, ''Legacy'', in 2001. The album's title track served as lead single, spending eleven weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts and peaking at number 49.<ref name="whitburn"/> Coty wrote six of the album's eleven tracks, also covering Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "You Got Lucky" and Bruce Springsteen's "Sad Eyes". The title track was inspired by a line of dialogue from an episode of the television series ''Ally McBeal''.<ref name="stark">{{cite magazine | url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-02-10.pdf | title=Coty hopes to have 'Legacy' with Mercury set | author=Phyllis Stark | magazine=Billboard | pages=43 | date=February 10, 2001}}</ref> To promote the album, Coty drove to various radio stations in a truck with his picture painted on it, and the label partnered with Jones Radio Networks and the television channel Great American Country (GAC) to hold a sweepstakes in which said truck was the grand prize.<ref name="stark"/> Ray Waddell of ''Billboard'' reviewed ''Legacy'' favorably, stating that Coty was in "creative, confident mode" and calling him an "edgy yet melodic tunesmith".<ref name="legacy review">{{cite magazine | url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-03-10.pdf | title=Reviews & Previews: Albums | magazine=Billboard | pages=30 | date=March 10, 2001}}</ref> Kevin Oliver of Country Standard Time was more mixed, stating that Coty was "more focused on mainstream country sounds than his debut" but "sounds too much like others and not himself".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=2043 | title=''Legacy'' review | publisher=Country Standard Time | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Kevin Oliver}}</ref>
Coty has not recorded an album since ''Legacy'', although he has continued to write songs since the album's release. Six songs that he co-wrote have been Hot Country Songs entries for other artists: "She Was" by Mark Chesnutt, "Every Friday Afternoon" by Craig Morgan, "I'm One of You" by Hank Williams Jr., "Playboys of the Southwestern World" by Blake Shelton, "Last Good Time" by Flynnville Train, and "Real" by James Wesley.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.musicvf.com/songs.php?page=artist&artist=Neal+Coty&tab=songaswriterchartstab | title=Songs written by Neal Coty | publisher=MusicVF | accessdate=July 25, 2020}}</ref> Coty has been signed to Roger Murrah's publishing company Murrah Music Group since 1994, and between 2006 and 2007 he was also part of a joint venture with Bicycle Music.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/1316977/coty-murrah-music-ink-exclusive-deal | title=Coty, Murrah Music Ink Exclusive Deal | publisher=Billboard | date=November 9, 2007 | accessdate=July 25, 2020}}</ref> Murrah Music Group was acquired by Bug Music in 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/1274259/bug-music-pub-murrah-music-sign-catalog-deal | title=Bug Music Pub, Murrah Music Sign Catalog Deal | publisher=Billboard | date=February 19, 2009 | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Ed Christman}}</ref>
==Musical style== Phyllis Stark of ''Billboard'' wrote that Coty "plays the hillbilly card to mask a sharp intelligence that, nevertheless, reveals itself in his songwriting."<ref name="stark"/> The same publication's Ray Waddell compared Coty's storytelling songs favorably to those of Steve Earle,<ref name="legacy review"/> a comparison also made by Mike Joyce of ''The Washington Post''.<ref name="chance"/>
==Personal life== At the time that ''Legacy'' was released, Coty had been on his second marriage. He had one son and one daughter with his then-wife, Kelly, who also had two children from her previous marriage.<ref name="stark"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.fredericknewspost.com/archives/thurmont-native-a-hit-with-country-crowd/article_7cf09051-1bb5-5ba4-8d18-1fdbaf9bca88.html | title=Thurmont native a hit with country crowd | work=The Frederick News Post | date=December 9, 2000 | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Barbara Brown}}</ref>
==Discography==
===Albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! style="width:14em;"| Title ! style="width:18em;"| Album details |- ! scope="row"| ''Chance and Circumstance'' | * Release date: August 5, 1997 * Label: Mercury Nashville |- ! scope="row"| ''Legacy'' | * Release date: March 6, 2001 * Label: Mercury Nashville |}
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2" style="width:19em;"| Single ! colspan="1"| Peak positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="60"| US Country<br /><ref name="whitburn"/> |- | 1997 ! scope="row"| "Tainted"<ref name="robert">{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/113420567/ | title=Not exactly what's expected: Neal Coty's original lyrics and style define his debut album | work=The Tennessean | date=September 26, 1997 | accessdate=July 25, 2020 | author=Robert K. Oermann | author-link=Robert K. Oermann | pages=4F}}</ref> | — | align="left"| ''Chance and Circumstance'' |- | 2000 ! scope="row"| "Legacy" | 49 | align="left" rowspan=2| ''Legacy'' |- | 2001 ! scope="row"| "Right Down Through the Middle of Us"<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2001/RR-2001-07-06.pdf | title=New & Active | journal=Radio & Records | pages=60 | date=July 6, 2001}}</ref> | — |- | colspan="4" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |- |}
===Music videos=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! Year ! style="width:10em;"| Video ! Director |- | 1997 ! scope="row"| "Tainted"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ynEJho2fdk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/5ynEJho2fdk |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live| title='Tainted' video |date=7 October 2009 | publisher=Vevo | accessdate=July 25, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | |- | 2000 ! scope="row"| "Legacy"<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5RAEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Brad+Murano%22+%22legacy%22&pg=PA99 | title=Production notes | magazine=Billboard | pages=99 | date=November 11, 2000}}</ref> | rowspan="2"| Steven T. Miller/Brad Murano |- | 2001 ! scope="row"| "Breathin'"<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MhQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22neal+coty%22+%22Breathin%22&pg=PA93 | title=Production notes | magazine=Billboard | pages=93 | date=July 14, 2001}}</ref> |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coty, Neal}} Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Singer-songwriters from Maryland Category:Country musicians from Maryland Category:People from Frederick, Maryland Category:1964 births Category:American adoptees Category:People from Thurmont, Maryland