Patricia Lynn "Trisha" Yearwood (September 19, 1964, Monticello, Georgia, USA) is an American country music singer, author, and actress. She is known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a perspective that has been described by music critics as "strong" and "confident". Yearwood is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
Yearwood rose to fame in 1991 with her debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became her first No. 1 single and was featured on her self-titled debut album. Yearwood has continued to find success and widespread critical acclaim, releasing a further 10 studio albums, which have spawned eight more No. 1 singles and 20 top-10 hits combined, including "Walkaway Joe", "The Song Remembers When", "Thinkin' About You", "I'll Still Love You More", and "I Would've Loved You Anyway". In 1997, Yearwood recorded the song "How Do I Live" for the soundtrack of the movie Con Air. It became her signature song, achieving high positions and sales worldwide, and won her a Grammy Award. She has also recorded successful duets with her husband, country singer Garth Brooks, including "In Another's Eyes", which won the couple a Grammy Award.
Yearwood has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide,[4] and has won three Grammy Awards, four Country Music Association Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, an American Music Award, and a Pollstar Industry Award for touring. Aside from her success in music, Yearwood has also ventured into writing, releasing three successful cookbooks, which earned her the status of two-time New York Times best-selling author. Since April 2012, Yearwood has hosted a culinary series on Food Network called Trisha's Southern Kitchen, for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Program.
Yearwood was born in Monticello, Georgia, the daughter of Gwendolyn (née Paulk), a schoolteacher, and Jack Howard Yearwood, a local banker. As a child, she listened to country artists Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells, and Hank Williams. In elementary school, Yearwood sang in musicals, choir groups and talent shows. In high school, Yearwood and her sister Beth were A students, and Yearwood wanted to become an accountant. Yearwood was also a member of the National Beta Club. After graduating, she moved to Nashville to become an agent for musicians. After having no luck at that, she decided to try her hand at singing and enrolled at Young Harris College in the mountains of northeast Georgia, where she received an associate degree and became a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She then attended the University of Georgia in Athens but grew unhappy with the school's large campus, and dropped out.
After dropping out, Yearwood gained an internship with MTM Records and was eventually hired as a full-time employee. With the help of the record label's resources, she recorded a series of demo tapes and also sang background vocals for new artists. One of the new artists Yearwood recorded with was Garth Brooks in 1989. The pair developed a friendship and Brooks promised to help Yearwood sign a recording contract if his career succeeded. Brooks brought her to his producer, Allen Reynolds, who then brought her to Garth Fundis. Fundis and Yearwood soon began working together, and together they created a demo tape. In 1990, she sang background vocals on Brooks' second album, No Fences, and performed live at a label showcase. MCA record producer, Tony Brown was impressed by her vocal ability at the concert and helped her sign a recording contract with MCA Nashville Records shortly afterwards. After signing with the label, she served as the opening act on Brooks' 1991 nationwide tour.
Under MCA Nashville, Yearwood released her self-titled debut album in 1991. Its lead single titled "She's in Love with the Boy" peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Country Chart in late 1991, bringing her national success. Three other singles from her debut album also reached the Top 10 on the country chart — "Like We Never Had a Broken Heart" (co-written by Garth Brooks), "The Woman Before Me", and "That's What I Like About You". Her album eventually sold one million copies and was certified Platinum (and later on, 2× Platinum), with Yearwood therefore also becoming the first female artist to sell a million copies of her first album. AllMusic reviewed the album and called the effort "a very classy debut that stands the test of time", giving it four and a half out of five stars. It also received another positive review from Entertainment Weekly, who said that Yearwood's voice "demonstrates technical and emotional authority at every turn."[11] With success, Yearwood performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as the Late Show with David Letterman. She was also the subject of the book Get Hot or Go Home, a full-length biography of Yearwood's life and career written by Lisa Gubernick.
Her debut album's popularity helped Yearwood win a series of major industry awards. In 1991, she was named Top New Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards, and was also voted Favorite New Country Artist by the American Music Awards in 1992.
In 1992, Yearwood released her second studio album, Hearts in Armor, which was critically acclaimed. With her second album, Yearwood chose songs that came from her own emotional conflicts following her divorce from her first husband, Chris Latham. The album was a departure from her previous album, as it contained almost all ballads and some collaborations with other music artists, including Don Henley, Emmylou Harris and Raul Malo of the country music band, The Mavericks. Harris is featured singing background vocals on a song she previously recorded, "Woman Walk the Line". Music critics gave the album praise and some of the highest reviews of her career. Allmusic called Hearts in Armor "stunning" and "one of the best heartbreak records country music delivered in the '80s and '90s." About.com gave it five stars and called Hearts in Armor "possibly Trisha's best album ever". The album would spawn four singles. The first two reached the Top 10 — "Wrong Side of Memphis", which peaked at 5 and "Walkaway Joe" (a collaboration with Don Henley), which peaked at 2 — and the third and fourth singles ("You Say You Will" and "Down on My Knees") peaked within the Top 20, reaching 12 and 19 respectively. Like her previous effort, it was certified platinum.
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Narrator | The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas! |