Now That I've Found You

Background:

"I always look for tunes that I can relate to and I always say if they make you feel like crap, you oughta do 'em. That's pretty much the approach." Alison Krauss

Bluegrass singer and fiddle player Alison Krauss was signed to Rounder Records by the age of 14. She released her first solo album, “Too Late to Cry” (1987), at age 16. She has since alternated releases as a solo artist and with her backup band, “Union Station.”

After the release of her multi-platinum compilation “Now That I've Found You: A Collection” (1995), Krauss became a mainstream star. She released a string of Gold and Platinum-certified albums, including "So Long So Wrong" (1997), "Forget About It" (1999), "New Favorite" (2001), "Live" (2002), "Lonely Runs Both Ways" (2004), "A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection" (2007), and "Raising Sand" (with Robert Plant, 2007).

Some of Alison’s hit singles include "When You Say Nothing At All" (1995), "Baby, Now That I've Found You" (1995), the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack (2000), "The Lucky One" (2001), and "You Will Be My Ain True Love," a duet with Sting that was nominated for an Oscar (from the 2003 film “Cold Mountain”).

Krauss has won twenty one Grammy Awards, more than any other female in the history of the Grammys. She also ranked #7 of most Grammy wins by any artist in Grammy history.

On a more personal note, this 5' 7" musician with gray eyes and light brown hair was married to Pat Bergeson and has one son.

Illinois Native

Childhood and Family:

Born in Decatur, Illinois, on July 23, 1971, Alison Krauss grew up in Champaign, Illinois. Alison and her brother, Viktor, were encouraged by their parents to play musical instruments. Alison began studying classical violin at age 5, but soon fell in love with the fiddle after being exposed to bluegrass music.

On November 8, 1997, she married Pat Bergeson and they have one son named Sam, who was born in July 1999. The couple divorced in August 2001.

A Hundred Miles or More

Career:

Studying classical violin at five years old, Alison Krauss soon switched to the fiddle and began entering local talent contests at age eight. She had her own band by the age of ten and by age thirteen, she had won the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship and was named the Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America.

In 1985, at age 14, Krauss began recording an independent album called “Different Strokes,” featuring her brother Viktor, Swamp Weiss, and Jim Hoyles, and soon scored a recording deal with Rounder Records. At sixteen, she released her debut album, “Too Late to Cry” (1987), with Union Station as her backup band.

As part of her contract with Rounder, Krauss released an album with Union Station titled “Two Highways” (1989), which featured many traditional bluegrass tracks. The following year, she released a solo album, "I've Got That Old Feeling" (1990), which spawned the singles "Steel Rails" and the title track "I've Got That Old Feeling." With a blend of a bluegrass with a soothing country polish, the album won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Recording and the International Bluegrass Music Association subsequently named Krauss Female Vocalist of the Year.

In 1992, Krauss released her second album with Union Station, "Everytime You Say Goodbye," which won a second Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. In 1993, at the age of 21, she joined the Grand Ole Opry, becoming the youngest cast member and the first bluegrass artist to join the Opry in twenty-nine years.

In 1994, Krauss collaborated with the Cox Family for a bluegrass album called "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow." Afterward, she released a compilation of older releases and some covers of her favorite works by other artists. "Now That I've Found You: A Collection" (1995), which featuring such covers as Bad Company's "Oh Atlanta," The Foundations' "Baby, Now That I've Found You," and The Beatles' "I Will," rose to #13 on the Billboard 200 Album charts and #2 at Billboard’s Top Country Albums.

Often regarded as the album that launched Krauss' career, "Now That I've Found You: A Collection" spun off the cover hit country single of Keith Whitley's "When You Say Nothing at All," which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. It sold over two million copies, earning double platinum RIAA certification, and was named the Single of the Year by the Country Music Association. Meanwhile, the title single "Baby, Now That I've Found You" also won the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Krauss won another Grammy's Best Bluegrass Album for her album with Union Station, "So Long So Wrong" (1997). It featured the singles "Find My Way Back to My Heart" and "Looking in the Eyes of Love," as well as the track "It Doesn't Matter," which was included on the "Buffy" soundtrack in 1999. By this time, Krauss had performed in the soundtracks of the films "Twister" (1996) and "The Prince of Egypt" (1998).

On August 3, 1999, Krauss released the solo album "Forget About It," which went to #60 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and #5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums. The Gold-certified album yielded the singles "Forget About It," "Stay," and "Maybe." The track "That Kind of Love" was also included in another episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Krauss and co-vocalist Dan Tyminski also contributed "I'll Fly Away" (with Gillian Welch), "Down to the River to Pray," and "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow," to the motion picture soundtrack of the Coen Brothers' comedy film starring George Clooney, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000).

"New Favorite," Krauss' next album with Union Station, hit the music stores on August 14, 2001. The Gold-certified album peaked in the top 50 on the Billboard 200 and was the top 5 on the Billboard charts for both Country and Bluegrass. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album of the Year with the featured single "The Lucky One" winning the Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Other singles off the album are "Let Me Touch You for a While" and the title number "New Favorite."

Krauss followed it up with the double platinum album "Live" (2002). Two years later, she released an album with Union Station titled "Lonely Runs Both Ways" (2004), which climbed to #29 on the Billboard 200, #6 on the Billboard Top Country Albums, and #1 on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums. The Gold-certified album won three Grammy Awards in 2006, including Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "Restless," Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Unionhouse Branch," and Best Country Album. The Gospel Music Association also named the song "A Living Prayer" Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year.

Krauss also performed a duet with Brad Paisley on his album “Mud on the Tires” for the single "Whiskey Lullaby." The single was in the top fifty on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top five on the Hot Country Songs. It also won the Country Music Association Awards for "Best Musical Event" and "Best Music Video" of the year.

2007 saw Krauss release the commercially successful anthology "A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection," a collection of soundtrack work, duets with artists such as John Waite, James Taylor, Brad Paisley and esteemed fiddle player Natalie MacMaster, and newer tracks. It debuted at #10 on the U.S. Billboard 200, and #3 on the U.S. Top Country Albums. The first single off the album, "Missing You," peaked on the country charts at #34. The Gold-certified album later aired in a one-hour special on the television network Great American Country.

That same year, Alison also recorded a collaborative album with Robert Plant titled "Raising Sand." For its choice of songs and instrumental quality, the album garnered positive reviews. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold about 112,000 copies during its first week of release. It also entered the Top 5 on the U.K. Albums Chart and rose to #2 in January 2008. This album was #24 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.

Meanwhile, the single "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" won the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Grammy Awards and the song "Killing the Blues" was #51 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. "Raising Sand" was eventually certified platinum by RIAA on March 4, 2008.

By this time, Krauss had performed in the soundtracks of "Heartbreakers" (2001), "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (2002), "Eight Crazy Nights" (2002), "Mona Lisa Smile" (2003), "Cold Mountain" (2003), "Bambi II" (2006), and "Mad Money" (2008).

Awards:

• Grammy: Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" (with Robert Plant), 2008

• Grammy: Best Country Instrumental Performance, "Unionhouse Branch," 2006

• Grammy: Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, "Restless," 2006

• Grammy: Best Country Album, "Lonely Runs Both Ways," 2006

• Grammy: Best Bluegrass Album, "Live," 2004

• Grammy: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, "How's The World Treating You" (with James Taylor), 2004

• Grammy: Best Country Instrumental Performance, "Cluck Old Hen," 2004

• World Soundtrack: Best Original Song Written for Film, "Cold Mountain," 2004

• Grammy: Best Contemporary Folk Album, "This Side," 2003

• Grammy: Album of the Year, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" 2002

• Grammy: Best Bluegrass Album, "New Favorite," 2002

• Grammy: Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, "The Lucky One," 2002

• Grammy: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, "Same Old Train," 1999

• Grammy: Best Bluegrass Album, "So Long So Wrong," 1998

• Grammy: Best Country Instrumental Performance, "Little Liza Jane," 1998

• Grammy: Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, "Looking in the Eyes of Love," 1998

• Grammy: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, "High Lonesome Sound," 1997

• Grammy: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart," 1996

• Grammy: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, "Baby, Now That I've Found You," 1996

• Grammy: Best Southern/Country/Bluegrass Gospel Album, "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow," 1995

• Grammy: Best Bluegrass Album, "Every Time You Say Goodbye," 1993

• Grammy: Best Bluegrass Album, "I've Got That Old Feeling," 1991