Deana Carter Like Strawberry Wine
by Snehashree Mandal for Country Music News International
“If only you can be born famous, you can be far ahead of others.” It’s not so true a statement as can be seen with the life and the journey of one of the most commendable country music enthusiasts Deana Carter, born to Fred Carter Jr. Fred Carter was a famous studio guitarist and producer and she was born in Nashville. People journey to Nashville from wherever they’re born but here she was sitting right where all the music is happening forever.
But then it was not an easy ride even after having met the most famous personalities of all time- Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Muddy Waters, and a lot many more. After failing to get through her inspirational musical journey at the age of 17, Deana changed her course, went on to pursue something very different from music.
She joined the University of Tennessee for a course in guess what? She took up a major in rehabilitation therapy. During her tenure, she became a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Little Sister.
During her graduating years, she also worked as a bartender for Back Door Tavern (BDT) and sang at local festivals just for the love of it. It was not a career anymore for her but she loved the fun and love of singing songs throughout. After graduating she took up a job wherein, she worked towards recovering stroke and head injury patients.
But then the musical bug never left her and even though she loved doing what she did, she left it to pursue her first passion- music. She created her benchmarks and stood up to become one of the most sought-after country musicians the country ever produced.
Finally, she got her big break when her demo tapes caught Willie Nelson’s eyes. He invited her to become the Farm Aid VII concerts-only soloist. With that same tape, she got a contract with Capitol Records. Finally, in 1995, she released her first album, Did I shave my legs for this?
Her long drought ended when finally, her debut single, Strawberry Wine reached the number one slot for the US Billboards Hot country singles and tracks. The song is a beautiful blend of country, folksy and retro rock. The album sold 5 million copies and gave way to two more number one hits- “We Danced Anyway” and “How Do I Get There.”
This paved her way to the second, third, and then more albums in the process.
Strawberry Wine got nominated for the Grammy and also won the Grammy for the year 1997.
With almost eight albums for her collections, she almost always experiments with subjects that are prime discussions at any point of life. Her latest release is the Southern Way of Life, which saw her in an all-new role. Apart from singing her song, she also released it under the Little Nuggets Records tag for which she serves as the CEO, her very own label. The album is distributed by Sony/Red.
With a life full of everything, the Strawberry wine girl shines through the everyday darkness and life singing all along the way collecting accolades and glitter from the world.