 Contemporary country singer
Martina McBride rose to stardom in the late '90s,
starting out with a more traditionalist approach and later
moving into pop-friendlier
territory. She was born Martina Mariea Schiff in Medicine
Lodge, KS, in 1966, and discovered country music through her
father, who led a local band called the Schifters. By her
teen years, she was singing and playing keyboards with the
Schifters, and after high school she gigged around Kansas
with several different bands. She married soundman John
McBride, and in 1990 the couple moved to Nashville, where
John worked for artists like
Charlie Daniels and
Ricky Van Shelton;
Martina McBride, meanwhile, worked as a demo singer, and her
husband produced her own demo tape, which got her signed to
RCA in 1991. Around the same time, John was hired as
Garth Brooks' production manager, which helped land
Martina McBride an opening slot on tour with
Brooks. Her debut album, The Time Has Come, was released
in 1992, offering a set of songs indebted to traditional
honky tonk and progressive-minded country-folk. The
pop-inflected 1993 follow-up, The Way That I Am, was her
commercial breakthrough, with the lead single "My Baby Loves
Me" zooming up the country charts to the number two
position. The affecting story-song "Independence Day" became
something of a signature number, and another single, "Life
#9," also reached the Top Ten.
Martina McBride's 1995 follow-up, Wild Angels, gave her a second
Top Five hit in "Safe in the Arms of Love," and its title
track became her first-ever number one single. 1997's
Evolution became her first Top Ten country album, and the
Jim Brickman duet "Valentine" not only went Top Ten, but
crossed over to become her first big hit on the adult
contemporary charts. Evolution went on to spawn two number
two hits ("Happy Girl" and "Whatever You Say") and two
number one hits ("A Broken Wing" and "Wrong Again"), and
sold over two million copies, launching
Martina McBride into the top rank of country stardom. She issued
a Christmas album in late 1998, and returned with a proper
follow-up, Emotion, in 1999. Its lead single, "I Love You,"
hit number one country and also crossed over to adult
contemporary radio, and the follow-ups "Love's the Only
House," "There You Are," and "It's My Time" were all
successful as well (the first two also reached the Top Ten).
2001's Greatest Hits compilation was the first
Martina McBride album to top the country charts, and sold well
enough to make the pop Top Five as well. It contained four
new tracks, all of which were eventually released as
singles; "Blessed" hit number one, and "When God-Fearin'
Women Get the Blues" and "Where Would You Be" both reached
the Top Ten.
Martina McBride from 2003 celebrated womanhood, while
Timeless from 2005 was a collection of country classics;
both became Top Ten album hits, the latter reaching number
three. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Martina McBride for your next corporate or private event.
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