 One of the most popular female country singers of the '90s,
Trisha Yearwood initially rose to fame as a protégée of
Garth Brooks but quickly staked out her own identity as an assertive yet
vulnerable modern woman.
Trisha Yearwood was born in the small town of Monticello, GA, in 1964 and grew up
on a farm owned by her father, who also worked as a prominent local banker. She
loved
Elvis Presley as a child and sang in musicals, choral groups, and talent
shows while in school. She enrolled at the University of Georgia, but in 1985
she transferred to the music business program at Belmont College in Nashville.
Trisha Yearwood served an internship with MTM Records and soon moved on to become
an in-demand demo singer, which resulted in an up-and-coming
Brooks hiring her as a backup vocalist.
Trisha Yearwood appeared on
Brooks' 1989 debut and its blockbuster follow-up, No Fences, and with the
help of producer
Garth Fundis, she staged a showcase performance in 1990 that landed her a
record deal with MCA.
Trisha Yearwood's self-titled debut album was released in 1991, and the lead
single, "She's in Love With the Boy," rocketed to the top of the country charts,
making her an instant star. Three more singles from the record -- "Like We Never
Had a Broken Heart" (co-written by
Brooks), "That's What I Like About You," and "The Woman Before Me" -- all
went Top Ten, and
Trisha Yearwood toured as
Brooks' opening act, gaining immense exposure. As a result, she became the
first female country singer ever to sell a million copies of her debut album --
and, a little bit later on, two million. Her follow-up was the acclaimed Hearts
in Armor, which appeared in 1992 during the aftermath of a divorce. Two of its
singles, "Wrong Side of Memphis" and the
Don Henley duet "Walkaway Joe," reached the Top Five, and the record as a
whole established
Trisha Yearwood as an artist of creative ambition; like its predecessor, it also
went platinum. The title track of 1993's The Song Remembers When went to number
two, and she followed it with a Christmas album, The Sweetest Gift, in 1994;
that year, she also married
Mavericks bassist Robert Reynolds.
In 1995,
Trisha Yearwood released her fourth proper album, Thinkin' About You, another
hugely popular collection that featured her second and third number one hits in
"XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)" and the title track, plus another Top Ten
in "I Wanna Go Too Far." The record found her music hinting more at adult
contemporary-style country-pop, a trend that continued on 1996's Everybody
Knows. "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)" was another chart-topping smash, and the title
track also made the Top Five. In 1997,
Trisha Yearwood issued her first compilation, Songbook: A Collection of Hits, which
became her first album to top the country charts and which also reached the pop
Top Five. She also recorded the
Diane Warren-penned ballad "How Do I Live" for the soundtrack of the movie
Con Air, and it was nominated for a Best Song Oscar; it also reached number two
on the country charts and nearly made the pop Top 20 as well (though its
performance was hurt by a competing version from
LeAnn Rimes). Two new singles from Songbook were also hugely successful: "In
Another's Eyes," a long-awaited duet with
Brooks, hit number two, and "Perfect Love" went all the way to the top.
Trisha Yearwood won Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the CMA and ACM in 1997
and 1998, respectively, and she also picked up her first solo Grammy for "How Do
I Live," giving her a sort of country equivalent of the Triple Crown.
Now settled into her role as a big-voiced, crossover-friendly diva,
Trisha Yearwood released her next all-new album, Where Your Road Leads, in 1998,
with
Tony Brown producing in place of
Fundis. "There Goes My Baby," "Powerful Thing," and "I'll Still Love You
More" all went Top Ten, and another duet with
Brooks on the title cut made the Top 20. Also in 1998,
Trisha Yearwood made her first real foray into acting, taking a recurring role on
the CBS military drama JAG that would last for the next few seasons.
Unfortunately, her marriage to Reynolds broke up, and 2000's Real Live Woman --
recorded with
Fundis -- was a more personal outing that reflected some of her heartbreak
and turmoil. Perhaps as a result, it sold fairly well in spite of not producing
any major hit singles. With new producer
Mark Wright behind the boards,
Trisha Yearwood returned in 2001 with Inside Out, which topped the country charts
and produced the Top Five smash "I Would've Loved You Anyway." Jasper County
came out on MCA Nashville in 2005. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Trisha Yearwood for your next corporate or private event.
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