it for my singing. So that was a real shot in the arm because I hadn't thought about it before, but I thought I might actually be a good singer if Jonathan Edwards is hiring me." In 1983, Wheeler released her first album, a four-song EP called Newport Songs, which is now out of print. Her next two releases – a self-titled album in 1986 and Half a Book in 1987 – were produced by North Star Records in Providence. The song “Addicted,” from the self-titled album, was recorded by country singer Dan Seals and became a No. 1 hit for him in 1988 on Billboard's Top 40 Country chart. Following the success of her first two full-length albums, Wheeler was signed to Capitol Records and released Circles and Arrows in 1990. Suzy Bogguss recorded Wheeler's song “Aces” from this album, and it reached #9 on the country charts in 1992. Wheeler's next four albums – Driving Home (1993), Mrs. Pinocci's Guitar (1995), Sylvia Hotel (1999), and Defying Gravity (2005) – were produced by the folk-oriented Philo-Rounder Records in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2003, Wheeler approved the production of a double disc album, No Previous Record, which contains songs that never made it onto a commercial recording. Distribution of the album is free, but restricted to members of her e-mail list. Wheeler's two most-recent albums – Pointing at the Sun (2009) and Cheryl Wheeler Live (2012) – were released by her own record label, Dias Records. Wheeler's songs have been covered by a number of other artists in addition to Dan Seals and Suzy Bogguss. They include Kathy Mattea, Sylvia, Garth Brooks, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Bette Midler, Kenny Loggins, Melanie, Holly Near, and D.C. Anderson. Wheeler has said she doesn't purposefully write for other people, but she appreciates when others cover her songs. “[It’s] great. I make money if they do well,” she said. “But more than that, it's wonderful to have a singer you respect singing your song." Her song "If It Were Up to Me" (which was written shortly after the Jonesboro Massacre), with the closing line "If it were up to me, I'd take away the guns" got nationwide attention shortly after the Columbine High School massacre. Wheeler released the recording into the public domain to exempt radio stations from paying royalties (it was being played every hour near the high school), and Rounder Records ran a