b. Audrey Faith Perry, 21 September, 1967, Jackson, Mississippi, USA. Raised in the small town of Star, Mississippi, USA, this popular country singer was singing at family gatherings from the age of three. She was influenced by Reba McEntire and formed her first band when she was 17 years old, performing at local rodeos. She moved to Nashville in 1989 and her first job was selling T-shirts at the Country Music Fan Fair. Attempts to make a name for herself in Nashville were fruitless, and Hill eventually accepted a secretarial job with a music publisher. Legend has it that the publisher/singer Gary Morris urged her to leave the job and take up singing as a career. She befriended songwriter Gary Burr, who produced her demo tape, and suitably impressed Warner Brothers Records. Hill subsequently recorded several of Burr’s songs, including ‘I Would Be Stronger Than That’, ‘Just Around The Eyes’ and ‘Just About Now’. Her first album was produced by then flame Scott Hendricks, who had previously had some success with Brooks And Dunn and Restless Heart. Her sparkling debut US country single, the rocking ‘Wild One’, topped the country charts and she followed it with a version of Janis Joplin’s ‘Piece Of My Heart’, another cheerful country-rocker. Take Me As I Am was successful, but surgery on her vocal cords delayed the making ofIt Matters To Me. This included a song about wife-beating, ‘A Man’s Home Is His Castle’, a duet with Shelby Lynne, ‘Keep Walkin’ On’, and a song written for her by Alan Jackson, ‘I Can’t Do That Anymore’.
Hill’s regular band features Trey Grey (drums), Steve Hornbeak (keyboards), Tom Rutledge (guitar/fiddle), Anthony Joyner (bass), Lou Toomey (lead guitar), Karen Staley (guitar/vocals) and is masterminded by dobro and steel guitarist Gary Carter. Much of Hill’s popularity has been fuelled by having one of the best touring bands in the business. ‘It Matters To Me’ was a further US country chart topper in 1996. In 1997, she recorded with her husband Tim McGraw, resulting in the number 1 hit and Country Music Association Award-winning ‘It’s Your Love’. The following year’s Faith broke into the US Top 10. ‘This Kiss’ climbed steadily to a peak position of 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October, and also provided Hill with her debut entry on the UK singles chart. The chart-topping Breathe followed in the footsteps of the previous album in terms of enormous success, although it was not such a strong album in terms of quality.
In 2001, Hill’s ‘There You’ll Be’ was featured in the end credits of Pearl Harbor. Her new studio album, Cry, topped the US charts the following November. Country critics complained that Hill had strayed from her country path into ‘rock chick’ territory. Clearly the album was marketed as an attempt at the AOR rock market, but Hill remained in amazingly good voice, as demonstrated by stand-out tracks such as ‘If This Is The End’ and ‘This Is Me’. Despite many mainstream moments, the album featured enough epic ballads, scorching Telecaster guitars and pedal steel vignettes to keep Hill’s credibility intact. The 2005 follow-up Fireflies achieved similar commercial success although the layer of sugar coating in content and production was just a tad too thick.
