Yusef Gonzalez
2010-05-04 05:27:36 UTC
http://cjonline.com/stories/053198/new_singerprom.shtml
CJ Online National News: High school senior escorts Kansas singer
Chely Wright to prom 05/31/98
Published Sunday, May 31, 1998
High school senior escorts Kansas singer Chely Wright to prom
The Associated Press
ALTOONA, Pa. -- Dave Showalter's prom date arrived a half-hour late in
a white stretch limousine, but with all the fanfare, he hardly seemed
to notice.
About 250 people -- including television crews and reporters -- mobbed
Showalter's working-class neighborhood of modest houses Friday to get
a look at country singer Chely Wright, who agreed to be his date for
the senior prom at Altoona High.
Showalter, a senior at the high school in west-central Pennsylvania,
routed his request through Wright's fan club after seeing her on
Country Music Television.
Wright, 27, who hails from Wellsville, Kan., accepted -- dashing the
hopes of two other girls who had asked Showalter to be their escort.
The crowds cheered when Wright's limousine pulled up in front of
Showalter's house. He emerged wearing a black western-style tuxedo and
bolo tie, walked stiffly to the limo and helped her out.
Wright wore a short lavender satin gown and jacket and a wrist corsage
of pink roses.
"She looks much better in person," said Showalter. "I'm ecstatic."
He mopped his brow while his cool-as-a-cucumber date surveyed the
crowd and underwent inspection by the throngs of relatives, friends
and neighbors who were packed into the Showalters' house.
"It's crazy. What are all these people doing here?" Wright said at one
point. "We're going to try to put a lid on it quickly and go do the
prom."
Neighbor Randy Burkett, observing the scene, said he felt it was
"overdone."
"Ever since they found out, everything has snowballed," he said,
indicating the reporters. "It's kept getting bigger and bigger."
His opinion was shared by some prom-goers, including Brandi Burger, a
senior who went by herself because her 24-year-old boyfriend hadn't
graduated from high school, which disqualified him as a date under
school rules.
"To me, this is supposed to be our day, not hers or just his," Burger
said. "Everyone is drawn to her because she's famous. I like her
music, but it's not right that she came."
The evening's first dance was a solo between Showalter and Wright, who
moved across the floor to Wright's ballad "I Already Do."
Earlier in the evening, the couple sat primly on a porch swing, hands
folded, while broadcast crews hung off the porch railings.
Wright, whose hits include "Shut Up and Drive" and "Just Another
Heartbreak," said she expected to become friends with Showalter and to
keep in touch after the prom.
"I enjoy young people, and this guy is one of the best high-school
seniors I ever met," she said.
Copyright 1998 The Topeka Capital-Journal
CJ Online National News: High school senior escorts Kansas singer
Chely Wright to prom 05/31/98
Published Sunday, May 31, 1998
High school senior escorts Kansas singer Chely Wright to prom
The Associated Press
ALTOONA, Pa. -- Dave Showalter's prom date arrived a half-hour late in
a white stretch limousine, but with all the fanfare, he hardly seemed
to notice.
About 250 people -- including television crews and reporters -- mobbed
Showalter's working-class neighborhood of modest houses Friday to get
a look at country singer Chely Wright, who agreed to be his date for
the senior prom at Altoona High.
Showalter, a senior at the high school in west-central Pennsylvania,
routed his request through Wright's fan club after seeing her on
Country Music Television.
Wright, 27, who hails from Wellsville, Kan., accepted -- dashing the
hopes of two other girls who had asked Showalter to be their escort.
The crowds cheered when Wright's limousine pulled up in front of
Showalter's house. He emerged wearing a black western-style tuxedo and
bolo tie, walked stiffly to the limo and helped her out.
Wright wore a short lavender satin gown and jacket and a wrist corsage
of pink roses.
"She looks much better in person," said Showalter. "I'm ecstatic."
He mopped his brow while his cool-as-a-cucumber date surveyed the
crowd and underwent inspection by the throngs of relatives, friends
and neighbors who were packed into the Showalters' house.
"It's crazy. What are all these people doing here?" Wright said at one
point. "We're going to try to put a lid on it quickly and go do the
prom."
Neighbor Randy Burkett, observing the scene, said he felt it was
"overdone."
"Ever since they found out, everything has snowballed," he said,
indicating the reporters. "It's kept getting bigger and bigger."
His opinion was shared by some prom-goers, including Brandi Burger, a
senior who went by herself because her 24-year-old boyfriend hadn't
graduated from high school, which disqualified him as a date under
school rules.
"To me, this is supposed to be our day, not hers or just his," Burger
said. "Everyone is drawn to her because she's famous. I like her
music, but it's not right that she came."
The evening's first dance was a solo between Showalter and Wright, who
moved across the floor to Wright's ballad "I Already Do."
Earlier in the evening, the couple sat primly on a porch swing, hands
folded, while broadcast crews hung off the porch railings.
Wright, whose hits include "Shut Up and Drive" and "Just Another
Heartbreak," said she expected to become friends with Showalter and to
keep in touch after the prom.
"I enjoy young people, and this guy is one of the best high-school
seniors I ever met," she said.
Copyright 1998 The Topeka Capital-Journal