Post by fogcitygal on Dec 11, 2004 5:45:08 GMT -5
Alison Krauss, Union elation
Fri Dec 10,12:01 PM ET Entertainment - USATODAY.com
By Brian Mansfield, Special for USA TODAY
A few years ago, Alison Krauss' mother, an amateur painter, brought home a canvas so big that she knew she wouldn't be able to get it back out her door when she had framed it. That way, she reasoned, she knew she wouldn't work for anyone but herself
"I've had people say, 'Well, I know where you got it,' " Krauss says. Like her mother, Krauss, who has been a recording artist for more than half of her 33 years, works on a big canvas. She has sold more than 7 million copies of her albums, including her latest, Lonely Runs Both Ways. That disc, which made its debut at No. 29 on the Billboard chart last week, features her regular band, Union Station, a talented group of bluegrass players consisting of bassist Barry Bales, guitarist/banjo player Ron Block, dobro player Jerry Douglas and guitarist Dan Tyminski.
Krauss' influence extends far beyond bluegrass and far beyond her own albums. A recent duet with country singer Brad Paisley, Whiskey Lullaby, was a chart-topping ballad about two suicides. It sold nearly 1 million copies of Paisley's album when released to radio as a single. In early November, Krauss and Paisley sang it on the Country Music Association awards show.
A few days before that performance, Krauss performed with Robert Plant (news) at a Leadbelly tribute concert at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"What a nice guy," Krauss says of the former Led Zeppelin frontman. "What a music lover. We talked about bluegrass and Ralph Stanley and driving through the mountains and taking pictures."
Krauss gave Plant a bluegrass listening list that included albums by Stanley, J.D. Crowe and the New South, the Osborne Brothers and Mac Wiseman.
In a little more than a year, the angelic-voiced singer also has performed with Sting, Elvis Costello (news), Shania Twain, and, on the Great High Mountain Tour, a group of traditional shape-note singers. Television appearances that included performances on the Grammys and the Oscars have put her in front of an estimated 100 million viewers. Her three awards at this year's Grammy ceremony gave her a total of 17, the most for any woman in the awards' history. (She leads Aretha Franklin by one trophy.)
As popular as Krauss is - and that's popular enough to have been booked twice by The Tonight Show the week Lonely Runs Both Ways came out - she probably could be even bigger, if that's what she wanted.
Though any major record label surely would welcome her with open arms, Krauss has spent her entire career with Massachusetts-based independent Rounder Records. She has sold more albums for that label than any other act.
"I'm so glad we didn't do anything else, because I'm so happy with how it's gone," Krauss says. "I never had any big dreams about doing something on a huge scale. But I have dreamt about liking my records. And I have dreamt about (bluegrass guitarist) Tony Rice's records. That's the kind of stuff that I dreamt about."
Krauss doesn't seem to be driven much by a desire for fame or money, though she has achieved both. Her primary motivation is simpler and has served her well.
"I want to like it, and I want Barry, Ron, Dan and Jerry to like it, too," she says. "If they don't like it, I'll probably change my mind."
Fri Dec 10,12:01 PM ET Entertainment - USATODAY.com
By Brian Mansfield, Special for USA TODAY
A few years ago, Alison Krauss' mother, an amateur painter, brought home a canvas so big that she knew she wouldn't be able to get it back out her door when she had framed it. That way, she reasoned, she knew she wouldn't work for anyone but herself
"I've had people say, 'Well, I know where you got it,' " Krauss says. Like her mother, Krauss, who has been a recording artist for more than half of her 33 years, works on a big canvas. She has sold more than 7 million copies of her albums, including her latest, Lonely Runs Both Ways. That disc, which made its debut at No. 29 on the Billboard chart last week, features her regular band, Union Station, a talented group of bluegrass players consisting of bassist Barry Bales, guitarist/banjo player Ron Block, dobro player Jerry Douglas and guitarist Dan Tyminski.
Krauss' influence extends far beyond bluegrass and far beyond her own albums. A recent duet with country singer Brad Paisley, Whiskey Lullaby, was a chart-topping ballad about two suicides. It sold nearly 1 million copies of Paisley's album when released to radio as a single. In early November, Krauss and Paisley sang it on the Country Music Association awards show.
A few days before that performance, Krauss performed with Robert Plant (news) at a Leadbelly tribute concert at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"What a nice guy," Krauss says of the former Led Zeppelin frontman. "What a music lover. We talked about bluegrass and Ralph Stanley and driving through the mountains and taking pictures."
Krauss gave Plant a bluegrass listening list that included albums by Stanley, J.D. Crowe and the New South, the Osborne Brothers and Mac Wiseman.
In a little more than a year, the angelic-voiced singer also has performed with Sting, Elvis Costello (news), Shania Twain, and, on the Great High Mountain Tour, a group of traditional shape-note singers. Television appearances that included performances on the Grammys and the Oscars have put her in front of an estimated 100 million viewers. Her three awards at this year's Grammy ceremony gave her a total of 17, the most for any woman in the awards' history. (She leads Aretha Franklin by one trophy.)
As popular as Krauss is - and that's popular enough to have been booked twice by The Tonight Show the week Lonely Runs Both Ways came out - she probably could be even bigger, if that's what she wanted.
Though any major record label surely would welcome her with open arms, Krauss has spent her entire career with Massachusetts-based independent Rounder Records. She has sold more albums for that label than any other act.
"I'm so glad we didn't do anything else, because I'm so happy with how it's gone," Krauss says. "I never had any big dreams about doing something on a huge scale. But I have dreamt about liking my records. And I have dreamt about (bluegrass guitarist) Tony Rice's records. That's the kind of stuff that I dreamt about."
Krauss doesn't seem to be driven much by a desire for fame or money, though she has achieved both. Her primary motivation is simpler and has served her well.
"I want to like it, and I want Barry, Ron, Dan and Jerry to like it, too," she says. "If they don't like it, I'll probably change my mind."
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