Until Beyoncé in 2021, country singer Alison Krauss held the record for the most Grammy Awards of any female artist. It’s rare for someone in the country-bluegrass space to capture the attention of a mainstream audience. However, Krauss was able to through her projects with Union Station and her work with Robert Plant. She’s always been a bluegrass prodigy, but for Krauss, the real recognition came when she chose country stardom.
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In 1995, she released Now That I’ve Found You, the album that would change her career forever.
Before Now That I’ve Found You, Krauss had achieved early success as a teenager with other albums, the first released at just 16. She also won her first Grammy just three years later. The move to mainstream country was an attempt to combine the style she’d developed throughout her early career with the more pop-leaning elements of country music at the time. However unexpected, her take on the genre would be so well-received that Krauss would go on to win a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and three CMA Awards.
One of those CMA Awards would be for Single of the Year, for “When You Say Nothing At All”.
Alison Krauss Continues To Surprise Herself
Before fame, Alison Krauss really was just a girl from Illinois who loved music. However, while talking with Chrissy Iley, Krauss revealed that it wasn’t necessarily always her dream to be a country star.
I never thought I’d be doing this,” she explained. “I wanted to become a choir director when I was a kid because I was in a children’s choir and the teacher was great. They would direct so that everyone was singing the same kind of vowel, and she’d do all that kind of work to get people to sing together, and I loved it. I didn’t think I’d be doing this.”
Young Alison, who started playing violin at the age of five and signed her first record deal at 14, was in for a shock. But throughout all the highs, she’s remained true to her artistic roots. As of this year, Krauss has been signed to the same label for 40 years, an impressive feat by any means. She also still performs with the same backing band she started with, Union Station.
According to Krauss, her success continues to catch her off guard to this day. “It’s all been a big surprise,” she explained. “One of the guys in the band says this about me. ‘You walk around surprised, not about work or anything in particular, but just in general. A state of surprise.’”
It might wow her, but to us, her continued success doesn’t come as a shock at all.
Photo by: Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Palms Resort & Casino
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