Country star Lee Ann Womack debuted on the country music scene in 1997 with the release of her celebrated self-titled album. Like many new artists of the decade, the Texas native won over listeners and critics with her updated take on traditional country themes and sound.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: Meet the Writers Behind Lee Ann Womack’s Crossover Hit “I Hope You Dance”]
In 2000, the title track of her third record, I Hope You Dance, unexpectedly elevated Womack into a crossover success. The uplifting track climbed to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary chart and earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
Womack continues to create and release stellar music, and in recent years, her work has shifted back to the more traditionalist sound of her early works. Let’s take a look back at four early Lee Ann Womack songs that are worth revisiting:
1. “A Little Past Little Rock”
In 1998, Womack delivered a preview of her second studio album, Some Things I Know, with the stellar lead single “A Little Past Little Rock.” Penned by hit songwriters Jess Brown, Brett Jones, and Tony Lane, the emotionally charged track about a woman trying to outrun heartbreak showcases Womack’s powerful vocals.
2. “I’ll Think of a Reason Later”
One of Womack’s most playful songs, “I’ll Think of a Reason Later,” is a punchy, humor-tinged tale of a woman searching for faults in her ex-lover’s new romantic interest. The infectious tune climbed to No. 2 on country radio in 1999, only narrowly edged out of the top spot by Kenny Chesney‘s “How Forever Feels.”
3. “The Fool”
Arguably one of the best country ballads of the 1990s, “The Fool” is a narrative-driven song that tells the story of a woman whose partner is still hung up on a former flame. Womack expertly channels the character’s nervous determination as she confronts the other woman in her 1997 single, which became another No. 2 hit.
4. “You’ve Got to Talk to Me”
Penned by Jamie O’Hara and released in 1997, “You’ve Got to Talk to Me” finds Womack beginning her partner for open and honest communication. The hopeful but pleading cut from her self-titled debut also peaked at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart a few months after its release to radio.
Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Across the Great Divide
