Big Country (page 3 of 4)

Pushing the Boundaries

He moved to Nashville in 1985, but Music City, then stuck in the Urban Cowboy era of country-pop, wasn't buying his honky-tonk songs with their simple lyrics about cornbread, cars and Dairy Queen dreams. He got his break when his wife, Denise, then a flight attendant, met Glen Campbell, who recommended a music publisher.

Jackson's "Where Were You," included on his top-selling 2002 collection, Drive, earned so many accolades that the singer seems embarrassed by the attention. "I never have liked preachy, save-the-world songs, and I wouldn't want to write another song that influences people like that," he says. "Music to me is more entertainment than a medium for politics."

Shania Twain
On paper Shania Twain looks nothing like a country music superstar. Born Eileen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, Twain grew up loving show tunes and the Carpenters, and at age 21 toured her honeyed voice on the Canadian resort circuit after the death of her parents left her in charge of her four siblings.

Her first major album (1993's Shania Twain) went largely unnoticed, but that didn't dampen her ambition. Toby Keith remembers Twain telling him, "Country music is just a little pond in a big world, and there's a whole ocean out there." He says, "She wanted her music to be heard everywhere."

She got her wish when she began working with -- and later married -- record producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, a South African who'd worked with major rock acts including AC/DC, Foreigner and the Cars. Their 1995 collaboration, The Woman in Me, revolutionized country production with its rock 'n' roll instrumentals and dance music beats. Their follow-up, 1997's Come On Over, sold 34 million copies worldwide.

But her most recent album, UP!, has stalled at the 8-million mark -- still huge, but not mega like the past. Twain launches a world tour this fall, hoping to match her 1998-99 road trip, during which she earned $63 million. "I'm basically a bar singer," Twain has said, "who ended up on a concert stage." That's a lot of tips.

Martina McBride
She grew up on a farm in tiny Sharon, Kansas, and began singing for local audiences at age three. But when McBride moved to Nashville in 1990, it wasn't with grand ambitions. It was to sell T-shirts for Garth Brooks, for whom her husband worked as concert engineer. Two years later, when she became Garth's opening act, McBride won over audiences with music that celebrated Midwestern values. "It was all about friends and neighbors," says McBride, "and helping each other out when they need it."

Soon she was pushing the boundaries of country to pop, but without abandoning her core theme -- the connections between us all. "Independence Day," McBride's 1994 hit about domestic violence, became her signature song and earned her a slot on the all-female Lilith Fair tour in 1998. This year's "Concrete Angel," which addresses child abuse, has solidified her status as a champion of the female spirit. Now she gets letters from people thanking her for singing about their lives.

"It's weird for me to take credit for that," says McBride. "You must never underestimate the power of music, but I am just an instrument."

• • Musicians

• Dolly Parton Lets Her Hair Down
• Country music superstar Dolly Parton takes time from her busy life to discuss her past growing up in Tennessee, and what she hopes to do in the future.
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• Loretta Lynn: Honky-Tonk Queen
• Loretta Lynn is better than ever, with five Grammy nominations and a little help from a hip young rocker.
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• Reba McEntire: A Style of My Own
• I was Dolly Parton's biggest fan, but I learned I could also be true to me.
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• Tim McGraw: Ties That Bind
• Country star Tim McGraw wanted to be a good son and an even better father.
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• Shania Twain: On Her Way
• Hard times behind her, the country star sets her sights on helping others.
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