Trisha Yearwood

Trisha Yearwood Biography by Steve Huey Let's Be Frank By many measures, Trisha Yearwood was the biggest female country star of the early '90s, recording a string of Top Ten hits that ran from 1991 to 2001. She landed a number one hit right out of the gate with "She's in Love with the Boy," a breezy, sweet single that established her sweet spot: tuneful, mellow country-pop that could've crossed over into the adult contemporary charts. During the '90s, Yearwood racked up five additional number one singles -- "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)," "Thinkin' About You," "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)," and "Perfect Love" -- with the last arriving in 1998, just as Twain reworked the rules of pop-country the same way Garth Brooks refashioned neo-traditional country in the early '90s. At the outset of her career, Brooks helped her land a contract at the dawn of the '90s -- and their connection deepened when the pair became romantically involved. Yearwood receded from the musical spotlight after their 2005 marriage, but she diversified in the 2010s. She developed and hosted the cooking show Trisha's Southern Kitchen on the Food Network and before the decade was out resurfaced with a pair of albums that 2018's Don Was-produced, Vince Mendoza-arranged Let's Be Frank, a tribute to Frank Sinatra, and her first country album in more than a decade Every Girl in 2019. No Fences Yearwood was born in the small town of Monticello, Georgia in 1964 and grew up on a farm owned by her father, who also worked was also a prominent local banker. She loved Elvis Presley as a child and sang in musicals, choral groups, and talent shows while in school. She enrolled at the University of Georgia, but in 1985 she transferred to the music business program at Belmont College in Nashville. Yearwood served an internship with MTM Records and soon moved on to become an in-demand demo singer, which resulted in the up-and-coming Brooks hiring her as a backup vocalist. Yearwood appeared on Brooks' 1989 debut and its blockbuster follow-up No Fences, and with the help of producer Garth Fundis, she staged a showcase performance in 1990 that landed her a record deal with MCA. Hearts in Armor Yearwood's self-titled debut album was released in 1991, and the lead single, "She's in Love with the Boy," rocketed to the top of the country charts, making her an instant star. Three more singles from the record -- "Like We Never Had a Broken Heart" (co-written by Brooks), "That's What I Like About You," and "The Woman Before Me" -- all went Top Ten, and Yearwood toured as Brooks' opening act, gaining immense exposure. As a result, she became the first female country singer ever to sell a million copies of her debut album -- and, a little bit later on, two million. Her follow-up was the acclaimed Hearts in Armor, which appeared in 1992 during the aftermath of a divorce. Two of its singles, "Wrong Side of Memphis" and the Don Henley duet "Walkaway Joe," reached the Top Five, and the record as a whole established Yearwood as an artist of creative ambition; like its predecessor, it also went platinum. The title track of 1993's The Song Remembers When went to number two, and she followed it with a Christmas album, The Sweetest Gift, in 1994; that year, she also married Mavericks bassist Robert Reynolds. Thinkin' About You In 1995, Yearwood released her fourth proper album, Thinkin' About You, another hugely popular collection that featured her second and third number one hits in "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)" and the title track, plus another Top Ten in "I Wanna Go Too Far." The record found her music hinting more at adult contemporary-style country-pop, a trend that continued on 1996's Everybody Knows. "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)" was another chart-topping smash, and the title track also made the Top Five. In 1997, Yearwood issued her first compilation, Songbook: A Collection of Hits, which became her first album to top the country charts and which also reached the pop Top Five. She also recorded the Diane Warren-penned ballad "How Do I Live" for the soundtrack of the movie Con Air, and it was nominated for a Best Song Oscar; it also reached number two on the country charts and nearly made the pop Top 20 as well (though its performance was hurt by a competing version from LeAnn Rimes). Two new singles from Songbook were also hugely successful: "In Another's Eyes," a long-awaited duet with Brooks, hit number two, and "Perfect Love" went all the way to the top. Yearwood won Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the CMA and ACM in 1997 and 1998, respectively, and she also picked up her first solo Grammy for "How Do I Live," giving her a sort of country equivalent of the Triple Crown. Where Your Road Leads Now settled into her role as a big-voiced, crossover-friendly diva, Yearwood released her next all-new album, Where Your Road Leads, in 1998, with Tony Brown producing in place of Fundis. "There Goes My Baby," "Powerful Thing," and "I'll Still Love You More" all went Top Ten, and another duet with Brooks on the title cut made the Top 20. Also in 1998, Yearwood made her first real foray into acting, taking a recurring role on the CBS military drama JAG that would last for the next few seasons. Unfortunately, her marriage to Reynolds broke up, and 2000's Real Live Woman -- recorded with Fundis -- was a more personal outing that reflected some of her heartbreak and turmoil. Perhaps as a result, it sold fairly well in spite of not producing any major hit singles. With new producer Mark Wright behind the boards, Yearwood returned in 2001 with Inside Out, which topped the country charts and produced the Top Five smash "I Would've Loved You Anyway." Jasper County came out on MCA Nashville in 2005. After leaving MCA in early 2007, Yearwood released Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love on Big Machine Records in November of the same year. MCA went on to release Yearwood's Greatest Hits in September 2007 and the compilation album Love Songs in January 2008. Prizefighter: Hit After Hit Following the one album with Big Machine, Yearwood went on an extended hiatus from music. During this downtime, she concentrated on writing cookbooks, beginning with 2008's Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen, which was co-written by her mother and sister. It was enough of a success to spawn the 2010 sequel Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood and the 2012 Food Network series Trisha's Southern Kitchen. Yearwood officially parted from Big Machine in 2012, and in 2014 signed with RCA Nashville, which reintroduced the star via the November compilation Prizefighter: Hit After Hit, which contained ten hits and six new songs. Two years later, she released Christmas Together, a duet album with Garth Brooks. Yearwood returned with Let's Be Frank -- a tribute to Sinatra that was her first solo album in 11 years -- in late 2018. Intially released in Williams Sonoma stores in December, in February the release went wide. In June, Yearwood released "Every Girl in This Town." The anthemic tune, penned by Erik Dylan, Connie Harrington, and Caitlyn Smith, marked her first appearance on the country radio charts in more than two decades. The song and lyric video was the lead-off single from her 12th studio album, Every Girl, issued by her Gwendolyn Records label via RCA Nashville in August. Her first album of all-original music since 2007, it was produced by Garth Fundis, and featured guest spots from Brooks, Kelly Clarkson, Patty Loveless, and Don Henley. A Star Is Born [2018] [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Every Girl peaked at five on Billboard's Country Album charts, with its neo-title track "Every Girl in This Town" reaching 21 on their Country Airplay chart. Yearwood released a deluxe version of Every Girl in 2021; the new edition celebrated her 30 years in the business with an acoustic rendition of "She's in Love with the Boy" and also featured a duet with Gar