Born into a big-band jazz family, she earned a degree in metalwork from Illinois State University while playing guitar in the clubs. Her career break came in 1986, when a recruiter from Capitol (now Liberty) spotted her during a stint at Dollywood (Dolly Parton's Nashville park). From 1991 onwards, with the album Aces, she established herself as one of Nashville's finest vocalists, racking up hits such as "Someday Soon", "Outbound Plane" and "Letting Go". The style remains traditional, with a great facility for yodeling (singing in vocals with abrupt changes of register), but the lyrics are often cleverly chosen, as evidenced by the hit "Hey Cinderella", which deals with the female mentality in 1990.
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