My dad told me that there are only two ways to argue with a woman and neither one of them work. 😁
She changed her name from Eilleen Regina Edwards and even if you’re not a country music fan, more than likely you’ve heard, and enjoyed, listening to Shania Twain. She was born and raised in Canada across the river from Detroit. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Of course, Shania was gorgeous, but if you see pictures of her before taking on the music industry, you’d see a girl who looks like your average country girl. Her handlers helped create her sexy image. Her parents were huge country music fans so that’s what Shania mostly listened to and performed, but she also loved pop and rock music. Right off the bat her mom thought Shania had an extraordinary voice, so she took her everywhere beginning at age eight, including to bars, to perform and gain exposure since she thought her daughter was good enough to be a superstar. She was right. Shania also began writing songs when she was young, and she was a natural pumping out one song after another. She learned how to play a few instruments, but the guitar was her favorite. She had a music demo sent to Mercury Records Nashville, and they liked her sound, so they signed her. In 1993, her debut album went out and it wasn’t successful. Her husband Mutt Lange helped with her second album titled: The Woman in Me and it became a mega hit. She began winning awards every time she turned around. Best Song. Best Album. Entertainer of the Year. Best Video. Hollywood Walk of Fame. Inductee into various Hall of Fames. By the way, her husband Mutt is a famous music producer who worked with AC/DC, Brian Adams, Def Leppard, Foreigner, etc. There’s no doubt that he was a big part of Shania’s success. Country music was an easier fit for Shania because she was more experienced with that music genre, but she wanted to take her music a little more pop so that she could get an international audience. In 1995, her album: The Woman in Me, skyrocketed up both the country and pop charts. She began touring around the world. Her music videos were the most requested. Some artists really stress over successful albums because it puts pressure on them to produce another one equally as good. Shania worried about this too and ended up writing songs and putting together an album with Mutt, that surpassed all expectations and the album (Come on Over), released in 1997, became one of the greatest selling records of all time in any genre. The album was loaded with hit songs including You’re Still the One, From This Moment On, That Don’t Impress Me Much and Man, I Feel Like a Woman. Not everyone in country music was happy with Shania because of her performing crossover music. This is not at all unlike the kind of heat that both Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift received for some of their music. Country music purists just don’t like it. Shania began having health problems which impacted her singing voice, so she had to retire, although when her health improved around 2010, she began putting together some new music, but it certainly wasn’t the same as when she first arrived in Nashville. On a few personal notes, Shania had a rough childhood. Her father was abusive, and she was often afraid for her mom. Shania talked her into moving to a shelter but just a few days later, they were back with their dad. They rarely had food in the house, so they were usually very hungry. Then when Shania was 21, her parents died in a car accident, and she had to get a better job to help raise her three siblings and put her music career on hold. She wasn’t afraid of hard work and once had a job in forestry where she pretty much did it all. They didn’t give her slack because she was a woman. She said she still loves hands-on, hard work. In my opinion, Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, and Taylor Swift, are some of the greatest examples of women taking charge of their destinies in the music business. Whether it was writing songs, producing them, choosing the songs for each album, how they’d perform on stage, etc., they took charge and didn’t let anyone else get creative control. All four are way more than just performers, they’re brilliant businesspeople as well. Oh, and after all that, she’s now acting in movies and on television shows. There’s no stopping Shania! |
Author: John Mann |