I Am Shelby Lynne

Background:

Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and occasional actress Shelby Lynne experienced breakthrough success with her critically acclaimed album “I Am Shelby Lynne” (UK, 1999; US 2000), for which she nabbed the 2001 Grammy Award for Best New Album. Lynne began her recording career in the late 1980s and recorded three country albums (1989's “Sunrise,” 1990's “Tough All Over” and 1991's “Soft Talk”) with Epic Records, one album (1993's “Temptation”) with the now-folded Morgan Creek and an album called “Restless” (1995) on Magnatone Records before releasing “I Am Shelby Lynne.” It was followed by “Love, Shelby” (2001, Island Records), “Identity Crisis” (2003, Capitol Records), “Suit Yourself” (2005, Capitol Records) and “Just a Little Lovin'” (2008, Lost Highway Records). She released the 2010 album “Tears, Lies and Alibis” on her own label, Everso Records. Lynne has also released several singles, including the country hits “I'll Lie Myself to Sleep” and “Things Are Tough All Over” (both 1990), “Gotta Get Back” (2000), “Wall in Your Heart” (2002) and “Killin' Kind.” As an actress, Lynne made her feature acting debut playing Joaquin Phoenix's mother in “Walk the Line” (2005).

Lynne is good friends with Mary-Louise Parker. She enjoys listening to albums by Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra and Chet Baker.

Tragedy

Childhood and Family:

Shelby Lynne Moorer was born on October 22, 1968, in Quantico, Virginia. She spent most of her childhood in Jackson, Alabama. She came from a family where music was an important part of their lives. Her father, who worked as an English teacher and juvenile corrections officer, fronted a local band and also played the guitar, while her mother was a singer. Her younger sister is alternative country singer Allison Moorer (born June 21, 1972). Both girls occasionally joined their parents on stage. When they were young, their father began drinking heavily and was abusive. In August 1986 in the family's driveway, he shot and killed their mother and then himself. After the tragic event, the then-17 year old Shelby took control of raising her sister and was married to her high school boyfriend. The marriage, however, only lasted a short time and after the divorce, she relocated to Nashville to pursue a singing career.

As a child, Shelby was a huge fan of authors John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway.

Wall in Your Heart

Career:

After moving to Nashville, Shelby Lynne appeared on the TNT music show “Nashville Now” in 1987 and then signed a recording contract with Epic Records. By 1988, she had recorded a duet with George Jones called “If I Could Bottle This Up,” which peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song was included in Jones' 1991 album “Friends in High Places,” the artist's final album with Epic. In 1989, Lynne launched her first solo single, “Under Your Spell Again,” which rose to No. 93 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart. Her debut album, “Sunrise,” followed later that same year. Produced by Billy Sherrill, the album charted at No. 61 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and spawned the top 40 country hit “Hurtin' Side” (#38) and “Little Bits and Pieces,” which charted on the U.S. and Canadian Country charts at No. 62 and No. 85, respectively.

The sophomore effort, “Tough All Over,” hit the music stores in 1990. It peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and produced three singles. The lead single, “I'll Lie Myself to Sleep,” rose to No. 26 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and No. 37 on the Canadian Country chart, while the second single, “Things Are Tough All Over,” was the most successful single from the album when it peaked at No. 23 and No. 19 on the same charts, respectively. The final single, “What About the Love We Made,” went to No. 45 on the U.S. Country chart and No. 86 in Canada.

Lynne's third album, “Soft Talk,” followed in 1991. The album received positive reviews from critics and peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. It yielded two singles with “The Very First Lasting Love,” featuring Les Taylor, and “Don't Cross Your Heart.” The songs peaked at No. 50 and No. 54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, respectively. They were also minor hits in Canada.

Lynne was considered a promising talent and handed an Academy of Country Music for Top New Female Vocalist in 1990 and a Horizon Award at the 1991 Country Music Awards. Not long after, she parted ways with Epic Records and signed with the smaller Morgan Creek label. “Temptation,” her debut album with the label, was launched on July 6, 1993, and produced by Brent Maher. The album rose to No. 55 on the U.S. Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 21 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. Two singles were produced from the album, but only “Feelin' Kind of Lonely Tonight” made it to the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, where it peaked at No. 69. The other single, “Tell Me I'm Crazy,” failed to enter any Billboard charts. The track “I Need a Heart to Come Home To” was used on the soundtrack to Tony Scott's film “True Romance” (1993). Lynne co-wrote two tracks on the album, the title track and “Some of That True Love.”

After Morgan Creek folded, Lynne signed with Magnatone Records and released her next album, “Restless,” on July 18, 1995. The album peaked at No. 72 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and produced the minor country hit single “Slow Me Down” (#59). Two more singles (“I'm Not the One” and “Another Chance at Love”) were produced from the album, but they both failed to chart.

After “Restless,” Lynne vanished from recording for several years. During this period, she moved to Palm Spring, California, in 1998 and approached producer Bill Bottrell, who had previously worked with Sheryl Crow, to work on her next album. The result, “I Am Shelby Lynne,” was released in the United Kingdom on April 10, 1999, under Mercury Records and the United States on January 25, 2000, on Island Records. The album earned positive reviews from critics and peaked at No. 94 on the U.K. Albums chart, and No. 18 on the Top Heatseekers Albums chart. The album generated the singles “Leavin',” which peaked at No. 73 on the U.K. Singles chart and No. 71 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary, and “Gotta Get Back,” which rose to No. 26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Seen as her breakout work, “I am Shelby Lynne” brought the artist a Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist.

The seventh studio album, “Love, Shelby,” followed on November 13, 2001. Released on Island Records and produced by Glen Ballad, the album received mixed reviews from critics but rose to No. 1 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. The first single, “Killin' Kind” (2001), peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart and was featured on the soundtrack for the film adaptation of “Bridget Jones's Diary.” The next single, “Wall in Your Heart” (2002), went to No. 22 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Two compilation albums, “This Is Shelby Lynne: The Best of the Epic Years” and “Epic Recordings,” were released in between “I Am Shelby Lynne” and “Love, Shelby.” Also in 2001, Lynne performed the song “Mother” on the TV special “Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music,” which was broadcasted on The WB in October 2001. The next year, she performed the song “Takes Two To Tango” with Raul Malo (formerly of the Mavericks). It was included in his first solo album.

On September 16, 2003, Lynne released the album “Identity Crisis” on Capitol Records. The album, which she produced, peaked at No. 5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 60 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. The album received critical acclaim but was not a commercial hit. Two singles released from the album, “Telephone” and “Lonesome,” both failed to chart. The same year, she also performed three duets with her sister Allison Moorer on Moore's live album “Show.”

Released on May 24, 2005, the album “Suit Yourself” peaked at No. 11 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. The album earned praise from critics but was not commercially successful. The singles “I Won't Die Alone” and “Go with It” failed to chart.

The compilation album “The Definitive Collection” was released on August 29, 2006, by Mercury Records. The following year, she provided background vocals on Marc Cohn's album “Join the Parade.”

The album “Just a Little Lovin',” followed on January 29, 2008. It was released under Lost Highway Records, which marked her first album to be recorded with a Nashville-based record label since 1995's “Restless.” Produced by Phil Ramone, the album peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard 200, No. 58 on the Swedish Albums chart and No. 129 on the U.K. Albums chart. Her remake of “Anyone Who Had a Heart” failed to chart. 2008 also saw her contribute the song “She Knows Where She Goes,” which she wrote, to her sister's album “Mockingbird” (2008).

Lynne released her eleventh studio album, “Tears, Lies and Alibis,” on April 20, 2010, under her own newly founded record label, Everso. The album received rave reviews from critics and peaked at No. 108 on the Billboard 200, No. 3 on the Billboard Top Folk Albums, No. 16 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums and No. 36 on the Billboard Top Rocks Albums. She co-produced the album with Brian Harrison. She followed it up with the Holiday album “Mary Christmas,” which is comprised of songs like “Christmas Time Is Here” and “O Holy Night.” Beginning in October 2010, Lynne and her sister performed together in a concert tour in the United States called “Side by Side Tour.”

In addition to recording, Lynne appeared in the 1991 TV film “Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind,” which starred Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Joan Severance. She then portrayed Johnny Cash's mother, Carrie, on the 2005 critically acclaimed feature “Walk the Line,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by James Mangold. In 2009, she guest starred in the Lifetime TV series “Army Wives.”

Awards:

• Grammy: Best New Artist, 2001

• Country Music Awards: Horizon Award, 1991

• Academy of Country Music: Top New Female Vocalist, 1990