Womack, Lee Ann

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LEE ANN WOMACK

Born: Jacksonville, Texas, 19 August 1966

Genre: Country, Pop

Best-selling album since 1990: I Hope You Dance (2000)

Hit songs since 1990: "I Hope You Dance," "I'll Think of a Reason Later"

Possessing a bell-clear soprano voice that recalls legendary country/pop singer Dolly Parton, Lee Ann Womack brought a refreshing air of ingenuousness to country music in the 1990s. Like many modern country artists, Womack is comfortable performing in a wide range of styles, from tough 1950s-styled honky-tonk to sophisticated 1970s "countrypolitan." Moving from rocking up-tempo numbers to string-laden love ballads, often within the course of the same album, Womack shows deep respect for tradition while remaining mindful of the slick, polished prerequisites of contemporary country. Although her hit "career song" of 2000, "I Hope You Dance," threatens to define her in the same way that country star Tammy Wynette was forever linked with the 1968 hit, "Stand By Your Man," Womack possesses the talent and ingenuity to overcome this limitation. Her post-2000 work, however, has pointed to artistic confusion stemming from the pressures of following up such a massive hit.

Womack spent her early years in Jacksonville, Texas, where her disc jockey father exposed her to a broad range of country music. As a child she would visit her father in his studio, often helping him choose which records to play. Enrolling in South Plains Junior College in Levelland, Texas, she studied country and bluegrass music, in one of the first academic programs of its kind. Like fellow 1990s artist Brad Paisley, Womack transferred to Belmont University, located in the country music hub of Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, she interned at MCA Records, one of the country's leading labels, and, by 1995, began penning songs for stars such as Bill Anderson. Eventually, she was signed by MCA's Decca imprint and in 1997 released her self-titled debut album. From the opening track, the fiddle-soaked heartache ballad, "Never Again, Again," Womack impresses with her mature phrasing and appealing resemblance to Parton. Elsewhere on the album, such as on the rock-influenced "A Man with 18 Wheels," Womack displays the ability to shift toward tougher material without losing her unique vocal identity.

Womack's follow-up album, Some Things I Know (1998), evinces an even deeper appreciation for country's timeless reliance on emotion and heartache. While not released as a single, "The Man Who Made My Mama Cry," is a highlight of Womack's career, a personal and moving account of an absentee father who suddenly reappears: "All I know about you is how to live without you." Singing against an arrangement that surges with gushing strings and cooing vocal choruses, Womack has rarely sounded so committed to the "countrypolitan" style of 1970s country, yet her self-assured perspective remains wholly contemporary. Despite the strengths of Some Things I Know, Womack's biggest commercial success lay just around the corner, with the 2000 release of I Hope You Dance.

Now a country and pop star, Womack returned in 2002 with Something Worth Leaving Behind. Capitalizing on the sexy image of hit country artists such as Shania Twain, the album cover features Womack dressed in a provocative outfit with teased blonde hair. The music inside sounds just as heavily styled, with scattershot production ranging from the breezy pop of "When You Gonna Run to Me" to the hard rock–edged "I Need You." Although the latter song, sparked by the daring line, "I need something like morphine, only better," finds Womack singing with new force in the manner of rock singer Sheryl Crow, critics observe that the album as a whole feels disjointed, too calculated to generate much warmth.

Womack was one of the most likable personalities to emerge in 1990s country music. Beyond her lilting voice, Womack's appeal lies in her ability to pull together a range of past country styles, treating each with respect and sensitivity. Although this approach failed in the wake of her big hit, "I Hope You Dance," Womack clearly possesses the talent to maintain her rank as a singer of intelligence and passion.

Spot Light: "I Hope You Dance"

In 1999 Nashville songwriter Tia Sillers was recovering from a messy divorce, attempting to sort out her life by vacationing on a Florida beach. "As I was leaving the beach," she told Songwriter Universe magazine, "I remember thinking that things weren't really so bad . . . that's when I came up with the line, 'I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.'" The line became a centerpiece of the song, "I Hope You Dance," co-written with songwriter Mark Sanders. After completing a demo version, Sillers and Sanders presented the song to Mark Wright, producer for rising country star Lee Ann Womack. Hearing its inspirational lyrics, written as a message of self-respect from parent to child, Womack decided to record the song, thinking of her two young children. When released in 2000, "I Hope You Dance" proved extremely influential, enhancing country's mainstream profile by crossing over to the pop charts and earning a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. While lyrics such as, "I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance," suggest a reliance on easy platitudes, the song is balanced by country group Sons of the Desert, whose backup chorus of "who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone" invests the song with a humbling awareness of life's disappointments. The recording's most impressive element, however, is Womack herself, who conveys the perfect combination of strength and tenderness.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Lee Ann Womack (Decca Nashville, 1997); Some Things I Know (Decca Nashville, 1998); I Hope You Dance (MCA Nashville, 2000); Something Worth Leaving Behind (MCA Nashville, 2002); The Season for Romance (MCA Nashville, 2002).