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Faith Hill is probably the best known female country singer in the United States. Following the foot steps of country-pop phenomena, Shania Twain, Hill has managed to be a chart topper in both the country and pop genres.
Audrey Faith Perry was born on September 21, 1967 in Jackson, Mississippi. She grew up in the small town of Star, Mississippi with her parents and two brothers. By the time she was three years old, she was singing for her family members. Hill made her first public appearance at a 4-H luncheon when she was just seven years old. When she was seventeen, Hill formed her own country band. The group sang at local rodeos. In 1989, Hill moved to Nashville, Tennessee (the capital of country music). In order to make money, she sold t-shirts at the Country Music Fan Fare. She then had a brief marriage to music executive Dan Hill. Hill took a job as a secretary for a music company. Rumor has it, that one day when she was singing to herself, music producer Garry Morris heard her and insisted she get into ‘the business.’ Hill’s friend, songwriter Gary Burr, wrote three singles for Hill. She recorded “I Would Be Stronger than That,” “Just Around the Eyes,” and “Just About Now” for her demo tape.
Hill’s 1993 debut album was entitled Take Me As I Am. The album was produced by Hill’s boyfriend, Scott Hendricks (Brooks and Dunn, Restless Heart). Take Me As I Am contained the hit single, “Wild One.” The single stayed four weeks at number one, and Hill became the first female in country music to have a single stay at number one that long in over thirty years. The album also contained a cover of Janis Joplin’s hit song, “Piece of My Heart.” The album did very well; selling over two million copies. Hill, however, was unable to enjoy the success of the album. Shortly after Take Me As I Am was released, she underwent vocal chord surgery.
In the summer of 1995, hill released It Matters to Me. The album contained the controversial song about a man beating his wife; “A Man’s Home is His Castle.” It Matters to Me also had the single, “I Can’t Do That Anymore,” which was written by country music star Alan Jackson. The album, which sold over three million copies, firmly established Hill as a country music super star. After the album’s release, Hill began touring. In 1996 she went on the Spontaneous Combustion Tour which was headlined by country music star, Tim McGraw. The two became very close. In fact, Hill broke off her engagement to Hendricks and married McGraw in October of 1996. In May 1997, the couple’s first child, Gracie, was born. That same year, McGraw and Hill recorded their first duet together, “It’s Your Love.” The song was a single on McGraw’s Everywhere album. “It’s Your Love” was number one for six weeks on the country music charts.
In 1998, Hill released her album, Faith. The album showed Hill’s first attempts at crossing over to pop music. Faith contained the hit single, “This Kiss.” The single stayed at number one for three weeks on the country charts and at number seven on the pop charts. That same year, Hill also signed a deal to be a spokes person for Cover Girl makeup. Hill and McGraw also had their second child, Maggie. The album also contained the singles, “Let Me Let Go,” and “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me.” The latter single was Hill’s second duet with husband, McGraw. Faith did extremely well; selling over five million copies.
In 1999, Hill released the album Breathe. The album entered the charts at number one. The title track, “Breather,” was a hit on adult contemporary charts, and became the biggest hit of the year 2000. Other singles on the album were “The Way You Love Me” and “There You’ll Be.” “There You’ll Be” would, in 2001, be used as the title song in the motion picture, Pearl Harbor. The single, “Let’s Make Love,” was Hill’s third duet with her husband, Tim McGraw. In 2000, McGraw and Hill went on the road with their two children and did a joint tour. In 2001, Hill and McGraw had their third child, Audrey. Hill took a small break and in December of that year recorded “Where are You Christmas,” for the Grinch Soundtrack. In 2002, Hill released her new album, Cry.
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