She Had It All—Then Lost It Tragically
In the late 1990s, Mindy McCready was on her way to becoming a country music superstar unlike any other. But a series of dramatic personal struggles and legal troubles ended her career—and her life—far too soon. These facts are why fans call McCready the Amy Winehouse of country music.
Malinda Gayle McCready was born to be a country star. Born in late November of 1975, it didn’t take her long to shine. By the time she was just three-years old, she was singing in her local church. By the time she was nine-years old, she was in operatic training with a professor from Juilliard.
But, as a Fort Myers, Florida girl, country was in her blood.
2. She Was Country Through And Through
By the time she was 16, McCready had already graduated from high school and set her sights on music stardom. But opera wasn’t her passion. “It was that Garth Brooks-Trisha Yearwood time…So when I decided to pursue singing professionally, I wanted to sing country”.
And she was already kind of famous.
3. She Was The Karaoke Queen
Even when she was in Fort Myers, McCready was a star. She described herself as “the karaoke queen of my hometown”. Of course, it didn’t take her long to outgrow those small stages. At the age of 18, she packed her things and moved to the country capital of the world: Nashville, Tennessee.
Fame practically fell at her feet.
4. Her Karaoke Landed Her A Contract
When McCready landed in Nashville, she didn’t have anything except a heart full of hopes and a head full of dreams. And a set of karaoke tapes. Once studio executives and talent scouts heard her voice, they knew immediately: she would be a star. BNA Records signed her and the rest is country music history.
Tragic country music history.
5. She Made A Big Splash
Just a few short years after arriving in Nashville, McCready released her first studio album. Suffice to say, the records were flying off the shelves faster than she could keep up. Her 1996 debut, Ten Thousand Angels, sold more than two million copies! She was a chart-topping juggernaut.
6. She Topped The Charts
McCready’s debut album produced four singles that had radio stations playing her on repeat. Her feminist-forward song, “A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)” reached #4 on the charts. But it was single, “Guys Do It All the Time”, that made McCready the country star of the future, reaching #1 on the charts.
She seemed virtually unstoppable.
7. She Almost Snagged The Prize
At the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1997, McCready was just about all anyone could talk about. Her category, Top New Female Vocalist, came down to a close race between her and LeAnn Rimes. In the end, Rimes snagged the prize, but McCready had a prize of her own. A hunky “super” prize.
8. She Was Engaged To Superman
That same year, McCready made a stunning announcement—her career wasn’t the only thing going in her favor. In a splashy press release, McCready revealed that she was engaged to Superman…or, at least, TV’s Superman; Dean Cain of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman fame.
However, she appeared to have found his kryptonite.
9. Her Engagement Ended Suddenly
Just as quickly as McCready had announced her engagement to the dashing television star, it fell apart. Before the couple could even set a date for their nuptials, they announced that the engagement was off. However, curiously missing in their announcement was an explanation. Years later, the scandalous reason made headlines.
10. She Had A Secret Affair
A decade after McCready’s engagement to Cain ended, the reason for their split became public knowledge—and it was juicy. In a tearful interview with the New York Daily News, McCready confessed that she had been carrying on a “long term affair” with Roger Clemens, the (married) Yankee pitcher.
It only got even more scandalous from there.
11. She Was Just A Child Then
The story of McCready’s affair with Clemens came out as a result of Clemens’ own divorce proceedings. But the most shocking detail wasn’t that Clemens and McCready had been having an affair—it was that McCready was only 15-years old when the two met at a “karaoke contest at a Florida bar”.
Still, she insisted that everyone was getting it all wrong.
12. She Denied Anything Too Scandalous
At the time of their meeting, McCready was just a teen. But Clemens was nearly 30-years old. However, McCready insisted that her relationship with Clemens was not physical—at least, not at first. “Yes, I have known Roger Clemens for a long time,” she confessed. But she was quick to add, “He's a kind and caring man”.
13. Her Second Album Came Out
Just one year after releasing her debut album, McCready followed it up with another highly-anticipated record. However, her initial success proved hard to follow up. While singles like “What If I Do” and “You'll Never Know” performed well, they weren’t chart-toppers. Worse yet, her second album sold less than half of her first album with only 825,000 copies.
14. Her Third Album Flopped
McCready took her time releasing her third studio album, I’m Not So Tough, hoping to reverse the downward trend from her second album. However, when her single “All I Want Is Everything” didn’t crack the top 50, she knew it wasn’t going well. Ultimately, her 1999 album only sold 144,000 copies, making it a decisive flop.
It was all downhill from there.
15. Her Studio Dropped Her
In light of her cratering record sales, BNA Records dropped McCready. Thankfully, she found safe haven with Capitol Records, releasing her self-titled album, Mindy McCready, in 2002. Once again, however, her record sales failed to meet expectations and Capitol dropped her almost as quickly as they had picked her up. At the same time, her personal life was falling to pieces.
16. She Met An “Aspiring Singer”
By late 2003, McCready’s star had faded—but her troubles were just beginning. She began what would turn out to be a roller coaster relationship with William Patric “Billy” McKnight, himself an “aspiring singer”. Frankly, she didn’t need him to get into trouble, though.
17. She Used A Fake Prescription
In the summer of 2004, McCready’s personal struggles took their first dangerous turn, landing her in trouble with the law. Authorities charged McCready with obtaining a strong painkiller using a counterfeit prescription. Though she denied the allegation, she ultimately pleaded guilty, paid a hefty fine and had to perform 200 hours of community service while serving probation.
It got worse from there.
18. She Sped Into Trouble
Less than a year later, McCready once again found herself on the wrong side of the law. After authorities pulled her over speeding, they charged her with driving under the influence and using a suspended license. Thankfully, the jury cleared her of the DUI, but the suspended license charge stuck. But her rap sheet was about to get a lot longer.
19. She Almost Had A DUI
Months after narrowly escaping a DUI conviction, McCready once again found herself in handcuffs. This time, authorities in Arizona accused the former country star of “identity theft, unlawful use of transportation, unlawful [detainment], and hindering prosecution”. Repeated violations of her probation agreement followed—and so did the really hard times.
20. She Finally Faced The Music
After months of evading responsibility (and punishment), authorities finally nabbed McCready in Florida. Newspapers and media organizations caught photos of a distraught McCready sobbing at her hearing where she faced the music for her repeated violations of her probation agreement. Truth be told, however, she wasn’t the bad guy in all of this.
21. Her Boyfriend Nearly Ended Her Life
McCready’s legal troubles might have had something to do with her turbulent relationship with McKnight. And it all came to a head on May 8, 2005. In a truly tragic and shocking turn of events, authorities accused McKnight of having beaten and choked McCready to within an inch of her life. From the sounds of it, she was lucky to make it out alive.
22. She Was “Gurgling On Blood”
In an interview after her boyfriend’s attack, McCready described the vicious incident. Through tears, she recalled “gurgling on blood”. Chillingly, she spoke about the lasting impact the attack left on her, saying, “That feeling of not being able to breathe is something I'll never forget”.
It changed the course of her life forever.
23. She Cut Her Boyfriend Loose
McCready told People magazine that she had “cut ties” with her aggressive boyfriend. But the threats to her safety didn’t end there. In mid-2005, McCready had another near fatal incident when she was found “unconscious” in the lobby of a hotel in Florida. The cause of her unconscious state was another scandal.
24. She Had Taken “Undisclosed” Substances
Once she arrived at the hospital, it became clear what had caused McCready’s collapse in the hotel in the lobby. Medical staff found copious amounts of “undisclosed” substances in her system along with a dangerous amount of hooch. The potentially lethal combination suggested that her mental health was even worse than her physical health.
Her next move all but confirmed that.
25. She Got Back With Her Ex
In a truly shocking move, after her episode in the hotel lobby, McCready got back together with McKnight. Though she hadn’t fully forgiven him for the attack, she was ready to move forward. In fact, she was looking forward to building a future with McKnight as she became pregnant with his child.
The question remained as to whether the pregnancy—and the relationship—would last.
26. She Attempted To End It All
Getting back with McKnight did little to improve McCready’s health. By late 2005, her self-destructive pattern of behavior took an ominous turn. Beaten down mentally and emotionally, McCready attempted to end her life by taking too many antidepressants. Thankfully, she survived. But her pregnancy was in trouble.
27. She Had A Baby Boy
Against the odds, McCready didn’t lose her baby. By early 2006, she had given birth to a baby boy, Zander Ryan McCready. It was the bright spot in her life. If she could only get her career back, she would have everything again. But that was a long shot.
28. Her Friends Quit On Her
Schatzi Hageman, a music industry insider with close ties to McCready, described the country singer’s fall from grace. “This isn't something that happened overnight,” he explained. “I quit working with her because I felt like there were lots of demons she was dealing with”. The focus on her personal dramas were too distracting for the very music professionals she needed to make a comeback.
So, she tried to make a fresh start.
29. She Wanted To Start Anew
By the end of 2005, McCready was trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life—and sell them off. Her neighbors reported to the media that she had sold off her house after her apparent attempt to end her life. Still, it wasn’t enough to make the change she truly needed.
30. She Had Everyone’s Sympathy
Despite not wanting to work with McCready, Hageman also wasn’t ready to write her off and showed sympathy for her. “I feel bad for her,” Hageman stated, “because the reality is that she's going to be spending a lot of time recovering from this after all of the media attention is over which I think feeds some of this”.
The reality, however, was that McCready had done a lot of self-sabotage.
31. She Had “Uneasy Relationships”
Long before her trouble with the law, struggles with mental health, and troubled relationships, McCready’s career was already on the rocks. And it had all been her doing. Music industry insiders in Nashville’s country music scene already reported having an “uneasy relationship” with McCready.
It’s certainly not hard to see why.
32. She Was Always Late
In a 1998 documentary about the Nashville music scene, McCready’s skeletons came out of the closet. Citing Joe Galante, the head of McCready’s record label, the British-made documentary painted a picture of the “young star” as “petulant” and “perpetually late”. Galante further added that McCready lacked ambition following her initial success.
And Galante had the receipts.
33. She Ghosted Her Producer
Galante allowed the documentary cameras to capture a common incident: McCready ghosting him for a “media luncheon” to promote her album. However, Galante was somewhat understanding, blaming McCready’s former fiance, Dean Cain, for her entitled celebrity behavior.
McCready, however, had a mind of her own—and she expressed it.
34. She Knew What Was Best
Far from laying the blame on Cain as a bad influence, McCready doubled-down on her unreliable behavior. “His age group isn’t buying country music,” she fired back at Galante, “Mine is”. Galante wasn’t buying it, coolly responding, “At 21, we all know best”. To his credit, it didn’t seem like McCready knew what was in her best interest at all.
Not by a long shot.
35. She Had Suspicious Cuts
McCready’s downward spiral continued into the late 2000s. By December 2008, she had reached what appeared to be the end of her rope. In a terrifying and tragic incident, paramedics arrived at her home and discovered “wounds on her wrists”. Had it not been for their quick action in taking her to the hospital, she may never have recovered.
But she did want to recover.
36. She Entered “Rehab”
In a positive sign for McCready, she re-entered the public eye in 2009 after yet another attempt on her own life. This time, however, it wasn’t with a new album or dramatic relationship. McCready appeared as a cast member on Celebrity Rehab 3. Based on what happened next, she was clearly not the winner of the season.
37. She Relapsed Hard
The very next year after seeking help on the reality TV show, McCready relapsed—in dramatic fashion. In yet another attempt to end her own life, McCready landed in a hospital in Cape Coral, Florida. The details of her time in the hospital are hard to come by, but speculation was that she attempted another overdose.
Her dealer was the shocking part.
38. Her Mother Was Her Dealer
McCready’s road to recovery might not have been a successful one because of her lack of support. When the few details about her hospitalization in Cape Coral leaked out, some speculated that the substances she had ingested had been given to her by her own mother! Then she went from the frying pan into the oven.
39. She Had Survived Worse
McCready’s overdose was, thankfully, not as bad as some of her previous attempts on her own life. In fact, she made a speedy enough recovery that the medical team felt comfortable releasing her later that same day. Far from a safe haven, however, she returned home. Where more trouble was brewing.
40. Her Private Tapes Leaked
Following her release from the hospital, McCready’s 2010 continued its downward trajectory. This time with a scandal so sordid it seemed that she would never recover. Vivid Entertainment released for sale a videotape of McCready engaging in intimate acts with an unknown ex-boyfriend.
Thankfully, she didn’t feel enough shame to keep from pushing for a comeback.
41. She Was Doing Much Better
For two years, McCready laid low and tried to avoid the limelight and further scandal. And it seemed to work. By April 2012, her personal life seemed to be getting back on track and she gave birth to a second child, Zayne. However, just when it seemed that she was on the right road, everything came crashing down—worse than it had before.
42. Her Boyfriend Ended Things—In Blood
McCready had managed to keep most of her new personal life out of the tabloids. However, when the worst tragedy of her life struck, there was nothing she could do. In early January of 2013, just months after having her second son, the baby’s father, David Wilson (a record producer) passed on. His CoD? A self-inflicted wound from a roscoe.
But, was it really that clear?
43. Her Boyfriend’s Demise Caused An Investigation
Despite the evidence that McCready’s boyfriend and the father of one of her children had taken his own life, authorities had their doubts. For reasons that aren’t clear in the media coverage of the incident, the sheriff’s department stunned everyone when they “opened an investigation”. But there could be no doubt; McCready was not involved.
44. She Lost Her “Soulmate”
Whatever the outcome of the investigation, one thing was clear: McCready was devastated. To respond to the mounting public interest in the horrific story, she released one of her first public statements in years. In her statement, she called Wilson her “soulmate” and “life partner”. Truly, she couldn’t live without him.
45. Her Neighbors Heard Something Ominous
Just one month after Wilson’s tragic passing, the sheriff’s department received another call. This time, the call from McCready’s neighbors who reported hearing loud bangs coming from her home. Bangs that they feared sounded ominously familiar.
46. She Was Lifeless
When the sheriff’s department responded to the call from McCready’s neighbors, they couldn’t have imagined the horror of what they found. In a messy pool of blood, sprawled out on her front porch, was none other than McCready…utterly lifeless. But that wasn’t even the eerie part.
47. She Was With Her Boyfriend—Almost
Just like her boyfriend, Wilson, McCready appeared to have inflicted her own wound with a roscoe, tragically succeeding where she had failed so many times before. Even more eerie than that, however, was the fact that the sheriffs found McCready exactly where they had found Wilson one month earlier.
Still, there was another tragedy awaiting them.
48. She Took The Dog, Too
In a horrifying twist to the already harrowing scene, the sheriff’s department discovered another lifeless body at McCready’s residence. Not only had the former country music star successfully taken her own life; she had also taken the life of Wilson’s dog.
49. She Was Still Young
In just a few months, McCready’s once hopeful path to recovery had ended in tragedy and loss. At the time of her tragic passing, she was just 37 years old and, with a life full of unbelievable stories, might have made a triumphant comeback. Instead, she was laid to rest in Alva, Florida, leaving her fans wondering what might have been.
50. She Was The Amy Winehouse Of Country Music
Jeff Walker, another music executive with ties to McCready, summarized her tragic tale perfectly when he said, “Once you have some degree of success, to come down to a second level of success makes it difficult to cope and adjust”. McCready’s saddenning fall from fame truly made her the Amy Winehouse of country music.
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