Janie Fricke

Jane Marie Fricke ( FRIK-ee; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen singles in the top ten of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Eight of these songs reached the number one spot on the Country music chart. She has also won accolades from the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association and has been nominated four times from the Grammy Awards. Fricke was born and raised in Indiana. She was surrounded by music from a young age and began performing locally. Fricke attended Indiana University Bloomington, where she participated in the vocal group the Singing Hoosiers. Her participation in the organization led to further opportunities as a commercial jingle singer. She later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she was hired as part of a background vocal group called The Lea Jane Singers. As part of the quartet, Fricke sang background vocals on songs recorded by country artists in the 1970s. On one occasion, Fricke was asked to sing a solo part on a song by Johnny Duncan called "Stranger". It was released as a single and her uncredited vocal part sparked interest in the country music community. Nashville record label Columbia Records took particular interest in Fricke and signed her to a solo contract in 1977. Fricke's early material explored diverse styles of music. Unsure of how to identify her material, disc jockeys gave her singles limited airplay. Songs like "What're You Doing Tonight" failed to become major hits and her producer suggested that she focus on one musical style. With a focus centered on ballads, Fricke's next releases proved to be successful. In 1981, she reached the top ten of the country charts with the song "Down to My Last Broken Heart". Over the next decade, Fricke had a series of top ten country singles. Six of these songs reached the number one spot including "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby", "Tell Me a Lie" and "Your Heart's Not in It". In the 1980s, Fricke also acted on The Dukes of Hazzard television series and designed belts and other clothing products. In the early 1990s, Fricke left Columbia Records and signed with the smaller Intersound label. During the early 1990s, the label released three albums of her material including a collection of gospel songs called Crossroads: Hymns of Faith (1992). At the end of the decade, Fricke formed her own record label and released several albums of material beginning with Bouncin' Back (2000). In 2004, she revived her catalog with a reworking of her former hits on the studio album The Bluegrass Sessions. Fricke has since continued to perform and record, most recently releasing a Christmas collection in 2020 called A Cowgirl Country Christmas.

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