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Many people said it wouldn’t be easy to top I Hope You Dance, an album that has sold three million copies, won too many awards to list, and garnered the critical acclaim that most singers can only dream about, but Lee Ann Womack has always been the kind of artist who loved a good challenge. The reigning CMA female vocalist of the year is back with Something Worth Leaving Behind, the brilliant new album that manages to preserve Lee Ann’s trademark sound while also pushing the boundaries to be completely new and exciting.
I Hope You Dance is already considered a modern classic, striking a chord with music lovers and critics, garnering praise from all corners and introducing Lee Ann to a whole new audience. The album was named to countless top-ten lists and gave Lee Ann the opportunity to sing at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Orange Bowl, “Oprah,” the White House, and many other venues. Among its many honors, one of the album’s singles, “Does My Ring Burn Your Finger” was named “song of the year” by USA Today for 2001 and the album was honored as Country Album of the Year by the likes of Entertainment Weekly, the Dallas Morning News, the Country Music Magazine Critics Poll, Playboy, and USA Today. “I Hope You Dance completely changed my life,” she says. “And I felt very strongly about the message of the title track. It defined what I was about and set a new creative path for me.” The success of the record also brought about new demands, but Lee Ann never lost sight of what was most important to her: family. “The more success you have, the bigger the machine becomes. But I’ve learned to balance the two. Just like last night, I really needed to get some work done, but I also really needed to read The Hobbit,” she says, referring to the book her daughter is currently immersed in. Lee Ann reads whatever Aubrie Lee does so they can discuss the work, while also tending to her younger daughter Anna Lise and keeping her career on track. “The Hobbit won out,” she laughs. “I want to be successful. But I also know what is really important.” She also knows that maintaining creativity is one of the most important things in her life. It would have been easy to simply pick up where I Hope You Dance left off, but Lee Ann realized “that just wasn’t the way to make good music.” She says while it may have been smart from a commercial angle, she is more interested in being creative. The main similarity between the two records is that they are both carefully crafted records that are filled with all of life’s emotions, whether it be joy, pain, or everything in between. The beautiful title track is a song about leaving our marks on the world. “Just like the song says, not all of us can paint a masterpiece or write a symphony, but we can all do good things, we can all do something positive in our lives,” she says. “It is so important that we all do something worth leaving behind. It doesn’t necessarily have to be painting a masterpiece. I believe that taking care of our children and doing right is far more important.” The theme of positive living continues with such songs as the redemptive joy of “I Saw Your Light,” and the insightful wisdom of “Forever Everyday.” The album is fleshed out by a rocking, can’t-help-but-dance-to-it cut called “I Need You,” the 70’s vibe of “When You Gonna Run to Me,” and the aching heartbreak of “Closing This Memory Down.” Add to this mix the intricate poetry of “Blame It On Me,” and the moody, stylized “Talk to Me.” “He’ll Be Back” harkens back to the famous Nashville Sound, while “Orphan Train” and “You Should Have Lied” allow Lee Ann to push her vocal talents to the limit. > All these songs prove that Lee Ann is still one of the smartest and most talented artists in the business, carefully choosing her material and delivering the full punch on every song. > A stellar cast of singers and pickers appear on the album as well, including Bruce Robison, Buddy and Julie Miller, Keith Sewell and Chris Rodriguez on background vocals and such musicians as Randy Scruggs, Brent Mason, Steve Nathan, Brent Rowan, Chris McHugh, Leland Sklar and Shannon Forest. The album was co-produced by Lee Ann’s longtime collaborator and MCA Nashville Executive VP of A&R Mark Wright and the production team of husband Frank Liddell (Chris Knight, Jack Ingram) and Mike McCarthy (Jack Ingram, … And They Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead). “I love working with both of them so much,” she says. “Frank approaches producing the way he does everything else-with his heart. He and Mike have a unique way of capturing the soul, grit and emotion. That’s what makes good music.” She is equally awed by Mark Wright, who also produced her last three albums. “We make a really good team,” she says. “Mark loves music, and obviously that’s the most important thing. He knows the business and he knows what makes a good record.” Lee Ann also worked with producer Matt Serletic (Matchbox-Twenty) on an alternate version of “Something Worth Leaving Behind.” She says Serletic is a perfectionist—once making her sing a single song for eight hours straight to get it right—and she was grateful to work with him and be privy to his “wonderful approach to music. That’s what it all boils down to—the music.” Lee Ann has held this theory ever since she was a very small child, growing up in Jacksonville, Texas. Even then, she always dreamed of being a country singer. She’s not ashamed to admit that she even entertained the notion of having #1 records, best-selling albums, and multiple awards. “I really believe that you have to dream it to achieve it,” she says. Lee Ann has always had the three most important things to become a successful singer: the talent, the drive, and the dream. As a child, she was surrounded by music. Her father was a high school principal who worked part-time as a deejay at a small country radio station, where she spent a lot of time listening to the singers who would became her biggest influences: Vern Gosdin, Glenn Campbell, Ray Price, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton. Her mother was a third grade teacher who loved musicals and had a teenage fascination with stars like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Lee Ann can’t pinpoint the exact moment she knew she wanted to be a singer because she simply always wanted it. Lee Ann graduated from high school and entered college when she was only 17. > Her parents let her go all the way across the state to attend South Plains Junior College’s renowned music program, where she became part of the school’s Country Caravan band. But Nashville was really the place Lee Ann had always dreamed of being. “Actually, Nashville wasn’t any further—mileage-wise—from home than the other side of Texas, so my parents agreed for me to go,” she says. After only a year of school in West Texas, she enrolled in the music business program at Belmont University in Nashville. “I lived in the dorm, so my parents felt I was safe and could get a hot meal three times a day in the cafeteria,” she laughs. “But for us, it was very expensive, being a private school.” Still, her parents supported her dream. While attending classes Lee Ann took on a job as an intern at MCA Nashville. > “I was your typical gopher,” she says, with a smile that makes it clear she is grateful for the experience. > “I ran errands and did a little bit of everything. But just being there helped me to see the big picture. I learned a lot about the business in that year.” Before long, Lee Ann was married to her first husband, singer/songwriter Jason Sellers, and had her first child, Aubrie Lee. While Sellers toured the world, Lee Ann found herself sitting at home, feeling sorry for herself. It didn’t take long for her drive to kick back into gear. “One day I just got up and I said ‘I’m doing something about my career.’ So I did.” Since she couldn’t afford a babysitter, Lee Ann took the baby along with her as she knocked on the doors of Music Row, handing out demos. “I was even more determined to succeed after I had Aubrie,” she says. “Everyone kept telling me that once I had a baby, I’d never become a singer. And I wanted to prove them wrong.” Lee Ann had been in Nashville 10 years before her determination really paid off. In 1995 she secured a songwriting job at Sony/Tree, where she learned the ropes. “I loved it at Sony/Tree. For the first time I really had a family of my own in the business,” she says. “At Sony/Tree, I finally had my own circle. It was great to meet other writers and sing demos and be involved in all of that.” In 1997 her refusal to give up paid off when executives from Decca Records caught a showcase she was doing and immediately signed her to their label. Lee Ann released her debut album from Decca, and it quickly struck a chord with country music lovers. The self-titled album produced her first #1 single, “The Fool,” and went platinum. A year later, her second album, Some Things I Know, was a gold record that contained two more #1 hits in “A Little Past Little Rock” and “I’ll Think of a Reason Later.” But in 2000, everything changed when “I Hope You Dance” became an anthem for millions of people and the album was lauded by critics from all over the world. During the staggering success of that album, Lee Ann was already quietly preparing what would become Something Worth Leaving Behind. With her new album, Lee Ann Womack proves that she is here for the long haul. Her material was never more wisely chosen and her voice has never sounded better. The main thing that makes Lee Ann such a beloved artist is that listeners can tell that she loves to sing. It comes through on every song she has ever recorded, and it’s clearer than ever on Something Worth Leaving Behind. “This album has an edge to it, but at the same time, it’s similar to what I’ve tried to do since the very beginning of my career,” she says. “And it was a joy to sing these songs.” LeeAnnWomack.com (Opens New Window) Source: MCA Nashville Label Profile |
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