Julia Kelly Biography

I came from a very musical family. My parents met in the church choir. My mother sang alto, played piano and had done some song writing in her 20’s. My dad was a baritone and played several instruments by ear - guitar, piano, violin, harmonica. When I was little and we traveled, we used to sing to pass the hours. Early on my parents feared that I was tone deaf. But then they figured out that I just needed to sing an octave lower than everyone else. Before long I was learning how to hear harmonies and could sing melody, alto or tenor. With my sister we had quite a chorus!

I remember sitting on my front porch when I was about 10 years old trying to write my first song. My dad had taught me a few chords on my Woolworth guitar. I think I was 12 before I wrote a complete song that I would sing for anybody. It was a song about race relations, welfare and social justice. You can tell I was a teenager in the 60’s. Anyway, it was always my dad’s favorite. My sister and I sang a lot of the popular tunes together…”Today”, “Jet Plane”, “Blowing in the Wind”…and I continued to write. I never had any formal training - to this day I can’t write music - but there were songs in my soul, so I kept writing. For the longest time I never titled my songs - I just remembered them. As time went on, people would ask for them by number!

I grew up in Nashville with this passion for music inside of me. I dreamed of hearing myself on the radio and having my own album. Wouldn’t that be cool?! I started sending tapes to recording companies when I was about 15. I really believed that somebody listened to what you sent in! So when all I had received by the time I was 18 were rejection letters - well you get the picture.

My life moved on -- college, job, marriage, kids, divorce, but I kept writing songs and dreaming of an album. Then in 1997 the world stopped when my partner was diagnosed with cancer. We spent the entire next year getting her through all of the treatments. And all of a sudden life becomes shorter and your somedays become todays. And so I recorded my first CD, Long Time Comin’. And I began singing anywhere that I could. Then in 1999, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I was terrified that the surgery would make me not able to sing. But, it didn’t. I then released Against the Ticking as a short CD with special songs for folks facing difficult times. (Click here to learn more about Healing Heartz). And now I am so excited to introduce my new CD, These Two Hands.

For someone who got such a late start, I’ve been pretty lucky. I have been placed on the approved artist roster at the John F. Kennedy Center. I almost made it to the television show Star Search (Keep on Walkin’ track 4 of These Two Hands). Billboard Songwriting Contest 2001 Honorable Mention for Grandmas’ Arms and Forever Lovin’ You. Billboard Songwriting Contest 2002 Honorable Mention for Against the Ticking. Who knows what will come next?

Please take the time to listen to some clips and maybe even buy a CD! Please feel free to email me. Most of all live well!

Peace