 LeAnn Rimes - In 1996, LeAnn Rimes burst out of
nowhere with her debut single "Blue," which immediately captured the attention
of country fans across America. It wasn't just the fact that her rich, powerful
vocals were remarkably similar to Patsy Cline -- it was the fact that LeAnn
Rimes was only 13 years old. Like Tanya Tucker and Brenda Lee before her, she
had a hit with her debut single and she was barely a teenager at the time. It
was quite an auspicious way to begin a career.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi but raised in Garland, Texas,
LeAnn Rimes (b. August 28, 1982) began singing as a child, performing at local
talent contests. At the age of 11, she released her first album on an
independent record label called Nor Va Jak. That same year, Bill Mack, a Dallas
disc jockey and record promoter, met LeAnn Rimes and impressed by her talents,
he took her under his wing and began cultivating a plan to break her into the
mainstream. The cornerstone of Mack's plan was a song called "Blue" which he had
written in the '60s. Mack claimed that he had written the tune for Patsy Cline,
but she had died before she was able to record the song.
Throughout 1995, LeAnn Rimes' career continued to gain
momentum, as she performed more than 100 concerts and appeared on television
shows across Texas. After Mack arranged a record contract for Rimes with Curb
Records, the label sent out a release with the single of "Blue" that claimed the
DJ had been waiting over 30 years to find the right vocalist to sing "Blue." The
story was an exaggeration: "Blue" had been recorded by no less than three
different artists, including Bill Mack and Kenny Roberts, who both released
versions on Starday in the '60s, and in 1993, Kathryn Pitt released the record
as a single in her native Australia. Nevertheless, the story was repeated
throughout the country and mainstream music press, adding to the growing myth
that LeAnn Rimes was the successor to Cline's tradition. "Blue" and its
accompanying album of the same name became a major hit in the summer of 1996.
Blue debuted at number three on the pop charts, selling over 123, 000 copies
within its first week of release -- the largest figure in the history of the
SoundScan tracking system.
LeAnn Rimes was nominated for the Country Music Association
Horizon award and the CMA Best Country Singer, becoming the youngest singer in
the history of the CMA awards to receive a nomination; she won neither award.
After two quickie 1997 releases -- Unchained Melody: The Early Years and You
Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs -- she issued her second proper LP, Sittin'
on Top of the World, in 1998. Her self-titled third album followed a year later.
~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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