Sara Evans Biography
5 February 1971, New Franklin, Missouri, USA. Country singer Evans got her start in music by singing with her impoverished rural family from the age of four. In 1992 she married and moved to Oregon, working alongside a band entitled North Santiam. They opened shows for artists including Tim McGraw and Willie Nelson. However, Evans elected to launch a solo career instead, relocating to Nashville to improve her prospects. It was her rendition of the Buck Owens standard, "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail", that triggered her breakthrough. Her version so impressed the song's writer, Harlan Howard, that he secured her a recording contract with RCA Records in 1996. She achieved a strong critical following with her 1997 debut album, Three Chords And The Truth, with several writers noting her flair for composition as well as her self-evident vocal skill. The project was orchestrated by Dwight Yoakam producer Pete Anderson.
The songs on the follow-up, No Place That Far, were written in consort with Music Row veterans Tom Shapiro, Tony Martin, Billy Yates and Matraca Berg. However, the album failed to produce sales figures to match the critical expectations of the artist. In an attempt to reverse this trend, Evans employed Paul Worley as co-producer on her third collection. Worley, the man who helped the Dixie Chicks' fashion their highly successful late 90s sound, attempted the same crossover magic on 2000's distinctly pop-orientated Born To Fly. Worley was back in the seat for the 2003 follow-up Restless, but this time around the formula was beginning to wear thin. 2005's Real Fine Place was a move back towards Evans' more familiar country style.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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