Pam Tillis
Encyclopedia
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis (born July 24, 1957 in Plant City, Florida
) is an American
country music
singer-songwriter
and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis
.
Originally a demo singer in Nashville, Tennessee
, Pam was signed to Warner Bros. Records
in 1981, with nine singles and a studio album being released in the 1980s. She later found work as a staff songwriter for Tree Publishing. By 1991, she had signed to Arista Records
; that year, she reached Top 5 on the Billboard country charts with "Don't Tell Me What to Do
", the first of five singles from her second album, Put Yourself in My Place
, which was certified gold by the RIAA.
Between 1991 and the present, Tillis has charted more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts, including her only Number One single, 1995's "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)
". She has also released ten albums overall (nine studio albums plus a Greatest Hits compilation), with three platinum and two gold certifications. She has also founded her own label, Stellar Cat Records.
surrounded by music. As the daughter of country star Mel Tillis
, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry at age 8, singing "Tom Dooley."
At sixteen, she injured herself in a severe car accident, requiring many years of surgical reconstruction. Throughout her education, Tillis said, music was the only thing she took seriously.
Following surgery, Tillis enrolled at the University of Tennessee
and later Belmont University
in Nashville, Tennessee
, forming her first band. She dropped out of college to pursue her own musical career in the late 1970s.
Tillis got her musical start in San Francisco, joining the jazz-rock band Freelight along with local guitar legend John Cipollina. She then returned to Nashville as a demo
singer. She took another shot at pop stardom with her first (and only) album for Warner Bros. Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey was released in 1983. After five unsuccessful country single entries, Tillis left the label and became a staff songwriter with Tree Publishing in Nashville. As a staff writer, Tillis shifted her focus to contemporary country. Tillis started making regular appearances on The Nashville Network
's Nashville Now
, a variety show
hosted by Ralph Emery
.
During her time with Warner Bros. Records
, Tillis transferred from the pop to the Nashville country division, working as a staff writer for Tree. Her songs have been recorded by artists as varied as Suzy Bogguss
, Chaka Khan
, Martina McBride
, Gloria Gaynor
, Joy Lynn White
, Conway Twitty
, Holly Dunn
, Juice Newton
, Sweethearts of the Rodeo
, Dan Seals
, and Highway 101
. Tillis recorded a pop album, Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey
, in 1983, during a short stay on the Warner Brothers label.
Tillis was released from her Warner Bros. contract in 1987 to poor artistic showing on the country music charts, her highest being "Those Memories of You
" in 1986 (that song would become a Top five hit for Emmylou Harris
, Dolly Parton
, and Linda Ronstadt
the following year), which peaked outside the Country top 40 at No. 55. Another song that Tillis recorded while at Warner Bros., "Five Minutes", would become Lorrie Morgan
's first No. 1 in April 1990. During this time, Tillis released singles on her own as a country artist, none of which were very successful, including songs like, "I Wish She Wouldn't Treat You That Way" and "There Goes My Love".
. Here, Tillis gained her biggest success. Tillis released her label debut, Put Yourself in My Place
, in 1991, and the lead single, "Don't Tell Me What to Do
," raced into the Top Five, giving Tillis her long-awaited breakthrough. Of the album's five total singles, "One of Those Things
" and "Maybe It Was Memphis
" also made the Top Ten (as did the album). 1992's Homeward Looking Angel was an equally successful follow-up, with "Shake the Sugar Tree
" and "Let That Pony Run
" both making the Top Five.
The success the singles brought lead to Tillis' album being certified "Gold" by the RIAA that year, and reaching No. 10 on the "Top Country Albums" chart and No. 69 on the "Billboard 200" that year.
Homeward Looking Angel was Tillis' first album to be certified "Platinum" by the RIAA. Tillis had two other successful hits from the album that reached the Country top 20, "Do You Know Where Your Man Is" and "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial". While at Arista, Tillis recorded six albums, earning two gold and two platinum in the process. At one point, she was also married to songwriter Bob DiPiero
, who co-wrote several of Pam's singles.
One of Tillis' compositions, "We've Tried Eveything Else," was later recorded by Canadian
country music artist Michelle Wright
in 1994. Tillis also recorded the song and included it on her second album for Arista, Homeward Looking Angel
, released in 1992.
In 1993, she won her first major award from Country music, winning the CMA Awards' Vocal Event of the Year with George Jones
and Friends for "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair".
In 1994, Tillis, released a fourth album, Sweetheart's Dance
, which is to date her highest-charting studio album on both the "Top Country Albums" chart and the "Billboard 200" chart, peaking at No. 6 and No. 51 respectively. The album also became Tillis' second "Platinum"-certified album. The first single, "Spilled Perfume
" was a Top 5 Country hit in 1994, and its follow-up, a cover of Jackie DeShannon
's "When You Walk in the Room
", was an even bigger hit, peaking in the Top 5 at No. 2, just missing the Country chart's top spot. However, it was her third single from the album, "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)
" that became Tillis' first — and, to date, only — Number One single, spending a fortnight on top in February 1995. Another release from this album, "I Was Blown Away", was making its ascension up the charts in the Spring of 1995 when Tillis herself requested it be pulled and that radio stations stop playing it in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing
.
In 1996, Tillis released a brand-new studio album, All of This Love
, which was certified "Gold" by the RIAA. Released in late 1995, All of This Love was the first album Tillis produced by herself, and gave her Top Tens in "Deep Down
" and "The River and the Highway
".
In 1997, Tillis released her first-ever, Greatest Hits
album. The album featured two new tracks, which were released as singles, "All the Good Ones Are Gone
" and "Land of the Living
", which both reached the Top 5 in 1997. Tillis called her Greatest Hits record, released in 1997, a turning point. Her career gained momentum when the single "All the Good Ones Are Gone" was nominated for numerous awards, including two Grammys.
In 1998, Tillis released a new studio album, Every Time
. 1998's Every Time reflected her recent divorce from songwriter Bob DiPiero and gave her a near-Top Ten hit in "I Said a Prayer."
The title tracks, second and last single from the album barely cracked the Top 40 at No. 38, and showed Tillis' declining popularity on the Country charts.
In 2000, Pam became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
. Pam also appeared on the Opry's 75th Birthday special on CBS
, performing an original song she wrote as a tribute to Minnie Pearl
called "Two Dollar Hat".
A reshuffling at Arista delayed the release of Thunder and Roses
until 2001, so in the meantime Tillis performed on Broadway in the Leiber & Stoller tribute production.
The one single released from the album, "Please" nearly reached the Top 20 in 2001, and was also her seond entry onto the Billboard Pop charts, reaching No. 120. By this time in 2001, after the new millennium, Country music grew less and less Neo-traditional and more Country-pop sounding with newcomers, like Faith Hill
and Shania Twain
, and therefore, Tillis career slowed down greatly. She then left Arista in 2001.
and Diagnosis: Murder
on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). "My interest in acting started in 1989 when I starred in Tennessee Repertory's 'Jesus Christ Superstar' as Mary Magdalene," explained Tillis, who has also appeared on L.A. Law
and hosted Live at the Ryman.
As well as singing, she has acted in guest spots on television
and on stage in the Tennessee Repertory production of Jesus Christ Superstar and on Broadway
in Smokey Joe's Café that ran from 1995 to 2000. In 2011, Tillis will start in a new movie called The Goree Girls
alongside Jennifer Aniston
, and Jennifer Landon
.
Tillis began her own label, Stellar Cat Records, in 2007. Her first album, RhineStoned
, was released in April of that year. Her second album on the label, Just in Time for Christmas
, was released on November 13, 2007. Two singles from the album were released that failed to chart the Hot Country Songs
list in 2007.
Tillis earned thirteen top ten hits on the country music charts, and in 1994, was named the Country Music Association
"Female Vocalist of the Year". In 1999, she earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
.
Tillis ranked #30 on CMT
's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002.
Wounded Bird reissued Tillis' 1983 debut album on CD on June 9, 2009.
In 2011, Pam re-entered the studio to record the followup album to "Rhinestoned", expected later in the year
Twice divorced, she has a grown son, Ben, and lives in Nashville.
She has since married Matthew Spicher, son of Fiddle great Buddy Spicher.
Plant City, Florida
Plant City is a city in Hillsborough County, Florida, in the United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 34,721 at the 2010 census....
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
.
Originally a demo singer in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Pam was signed to Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in 1981, with nine singles and a studio album being released in the 1980s. She later found work as a staff songwriter for Tree Publishing. By 1991, she had signed to Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
; that year, she reached Top 5 on the Billboard country charts with "Don't Tell Me What to Do
Don't Tell Me What to Do
"Don't Tell Me What to Do" is a single by American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1991, it was the first single from the album Put Yourself in My Place. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
", the first of five singles from her second album, Put Yourself in My Place
Put Yourself in My Place (album)
Put Yourself In My Place is an album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. It was also her first album for Arista Records, following 1983's Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey, released on Warner Bros. Records. Put Yourself in My Place reached #10 on the Top Country Albums charts...
, which was certified gold by the RIAA.
Between 1991 and the present, Tillis has charted more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts, including her only Number One single, 1995's "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)
Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)
"Mi Vida Loca " is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Pam Tillis. It was released in November 1994 as the third single from the album, Sweetheart's Dance. She co-wrote the song with Jess Leary, and co-produced it with Steve Fishell...
". She has also released ten albums overall (nine studio albums plus a Greatest Hits compilation), with three platinum and two gold certifications. She has also founded her own label, Stellar Cat Records.
Early years
Tillis grew up in NashvilleNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
surrounded by music. As the daughter of country star Mel Tillis
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry at age 8, singing "Tom Dooley."
At sixteen, she injured herself in a severe car accident, requiring many years of surgical reconstruction. Throughout her education, Tillis said, music was the only thing she took seriously.
Following surgery, Tillis enrolled at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
and later Belmont University
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is the largest Christian university in Tennessee and the second largest private university in the state, behind nearby Vanderbilt University.-Belmont Mansion:Belmont Mansion...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, forming her first band. She dropped out of college to pursue her own musical career in the late 1970s.
Tillis got her musical start in San Francisco, joining the jazz-rock band Freelight along with local guitar legend John Cipollina. She then returned to Nashville as a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
singer. She took another shot at pop stardom with her first (and only) album for Warner Bros. Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey was released in 1983. After five unsuccessful country single entries, Tillis left the label and became a staff songwriter with Tree Publishing in Nashville. As a staff writer, Tillis shifted her focus to contemporary country. Tillis started making regular appearances on The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
's Nashville Now
Nashville Now
Nashville Now is a television talk show that focused on country music performers. It aired live weeknights on The Nashville Network from 1983-1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The show won several Emmy awards during its run. A frequent guest and substitute host was...
, a variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
hosted by Ralph Emery
Ralph Emery
Walter Ralph Emery is a country music disc jockey and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. He gained national fame hosting the syndicated television music series, Pop! Goes the Country, from 1974 to 1980 and the nightly Nashville Network television program, Nashville Now, from 1983 to 1993...
.
During her time with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, Tillis transferred from the pop to the Nashville country division, working as a staff writer for Tree. Her songs have been recorded by artists as varied as Suzy Bogguss
Suzy Bogguss
Susan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
, Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
, Joy Lynn White
Joy Lynn White
Joy Lynn White is an American country music singer and composer, who gained fame in the Country Music world in 1992 after being nominated for an Academy of Country Music award for top new female vocalist. She ultimately lost to Canadian artist Michelle Wright...
, Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty , born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B, and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 55 No. 1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006...
, Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn is a country music artist who first found fame with her 1986 Top-10 hit "Daddy's Hands" from her self-titled début album. Dunn has charted more than a dozen country singles, two of which reaching the #1 spot.Dunn is the daughter of a minister father...
, Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
, Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Sweethearts of the Rodeo is an American country music duo composed of sisters Janis Oliver and Kristine Oliver . The duo recorded for Columbia Records between 1986 and 1991, releasing four albums and twelve singles for the label. In the 1990s, they also recorded two albums for Sugar Hill Records...
, Dan Seals
Dan Seals
Danny Wayland "Dan" Seals was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals & Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as the "England Dan" half of the soft rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, which charted nine pop and adult contemporary singles between 1976 and 1980, including...
, and Highway 101
Highway 101
Highway 101 is an American country music band founded by Paulette Carlson , Jack Daniels , Curtis Stone and Scott "Cactus" Moser . With Carlson as lead vocalist, the band recorded three albums for Warner Bros. Records Nashville and charted ten consecutive Top Ten hits on the Hot Country Songs...
. Tillis recorded a pop album, Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey
Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey
Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey is the debut album of American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1983 as her only album for Warner Bros. Records, it features the singles "Killer Comfort" and "Love Is Sneakin' Up on You"...
, in 1983, during a short stay on the Warner Brothers label.
Tillis was released from her Warner Bros. contract in 1987 to poor artistic showing on the country music charts, her highest being "Those Memories of You
Those Memories of You
"Those Memories of You" is a song written by Alan O'Bryant. It was first released as a single by Pam Tillis in 1986, whose version peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart....
" in 1986 (that song would become a Top five hit for Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
the following year), which peaked outside the Country top 40 at No. 55. Another song that Tillis recorded while at Warner Bros., "Five Minutes", would become Lorrie Morgan
Lorrie Morgan
In 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
's first No. 1 in April 1990. During this time, Tillis released singles on her own as a country artist, none of which were very successful, including songs like, "I Wish She Wouldn't Treat You That Way" and "There Goes My Love".
1990 – 2001: Breakthrough and popularity
In 1989, Tillis, signed with her second record company, Arista NashvilleArista Nashville
Arista Nashville is an American record label that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment, operated under the Sony Music Nashville division. Founded in 1989, the label specializes in country music artists, including Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood...
. Here, Tillis gained her biggest success. Tillis released her label debut, Put Yourself in My Place
Put Yourself in My Place (album)
Put Yourself In My Place is an album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. It was also her first album for Arista Records, following 1983's Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey, released on Warner Bros. Records. Put Yourself in My Place reached #10 on the Top Country Albums charts...
, in 1991, and the lead single, "Don't Tell Me What to Do
Don't Tell Me What to Do
"Don't Tell Me What to Do" is a single by American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1991, it was the first single from the album Put Yourself in My Place. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
," raced into the Top Five, giving Tillis her long-awaited breakthrough. Of the album's five total singles, "One of Those Things
One of Those Things
"One of Those Things" is a single by American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1991, it was the second single from the album Put Yourself in My Place. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....
" and "Maybe It Was Memphis
Maybe It Was Memphis
"Maybe It Was Memphis" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Pam Tillis on two separate occasions. She first cut the song on Warner Bros...
" also made the Top Ten (as did the album). 1992's Homeward Looking Angel was an equally successful follow-up, with "Shake the Sugar Tree
Shake the Sugar Tree
"Shake the Sugar Tree" is the title of a country music song written by Chapin Hartord. It was recorded by American singer Pam Tillis on her 1992 album Homeward Looking Angel, from which it was released in 1992 as the album's lead-off single...
" and "Let That Pony Run
Let That Pony Run
"Let That Pony Run" is the title of a song written by Gretchen Peters and recorded by American country music artist Pam Tillis. It was released in January 1993 as the second single from the album Homeward Looking Angel. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart...
" both making the Top Five.
The success the singles brought lead to Tillis' album being certified "Gold" by the RIAA that year, and reaching No. 10 on the "Top Country Albums" chart and No. 69 on the "Billboard 200" that year.
Homeward Looking Angel was Tillis' first album to be certified "Platinum" by the RIAA. Tillis had two other successful hits from the album that reached the Country top 20, "Do You Know Where Your Man Is" and "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial". While at Arista, Tillis recorded six albums, earning two gold and two platinum in the process. At one point, she was also married to songwriter Bob DiPiero
Bob DiPiero
Bob DiPiero is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15. U.S. Number 1 hits and countless top 20 hits for the likes of Tim McGraw, The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Shenandoah, Neal McCoy, Highway 101, Restless Heart, Ricochet, John Anderson, Montgomery...
, who co-wrote several of Pam's singles.
One of Tillis' compositions, "We've Tried Eveything Else," was later recorded by Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
country music artist Michelle Wright
Michelle Wright
Michelle Wright is a Canadian country music artist. She is one of the country's most widely recognized and awarded female country singers of the 1990s, winning the Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Award twice...
in 1994. Tillis also recorded the song and included it on her second album for Arista, Homeward Looking Angel
Homeward Looking Angel
Homeward Looking Angel is the third album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. The album was a #23 album on the Billboard charts. This album produced four singles for Tillis on the Hot Country Songs charts: the Top Five hits "Shake the Sugar Tree" and "Let That Pony Run" , as well as the...
, released in 1992.
In 1993, she won her first major award from Country music, winning the CMA Awards' Vocal Event of the Year with George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Friends for "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair".
In 1994, Tillis, released a fourth album, Sweetheart's Dance
Sweetheart's Dance
Sweetheart's Dance is a 1994 album from American country music singer Pam Tillis. It is her highest ranking album on the Billboard charts, at number 6....
, which is to date her highest-charting studio album on both the "Top Country Albums" chart and the "Billboard 200" chart, peaking at No. 6 and No. 51 respectively. The album also became Tillis' second "Platinum"-certified album. The first single, "Spilled Perfume
Spilled Perfume
"Spilled Perfume" is the title of a song written by American country music artist Pam Tillis along with Dean Dillon, and recorded by Tillis. The song was released as the lead single from her 1994 album, Sweetheart's Dance.-Personnel:...
" was a Top 5 Country hit in 1994, and its follow-up, a cover of Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
's "When You Walk in the Room
When You Walk In The Room
"When You Walk in the Room" is a song written and recorded by Jackie DeShannon, first released by her in 1963 but covered by many artists. The lyrics of the song attempt to detail the singer's emotions when in the presence of the person he or she loves...
", was an even bigger hit, peaking in the Top 5 at No. 2, just missing the Country chart's top spot. However, it was her third single from the album, "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)
Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)
"Mi Vida Loca " is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Pam Tillis. It was released in November 1994 as the third single from the album, Sweetheart's Dance. She co-wrote the song with Jess Leary, and co-produced it with Steve Fishell...
" that became Tillis' first — and, to date, only — Number One single, spending a fortnight on top in February 1995. Another release from this album, "I Was Blown Away", was making its ascension up the charts in the Spring of 1995 when Tillis herself requested it be pulled and that radio stations stop playing it in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
.
In 1996, Tillis released a brand-new studio album, All of This Love
All of This Love
All of This Love is a 1995 album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. The album reached #25 on the Billboard country albums charts...
, which was certified "Gold" by the RIAA. Released in late 1995, All of This Love was the first album Tillis produced by herself, and gave her Top Tens in "Deep Down
Deep Down (song)
"Deep Down" is a single by American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1996, it was the first single from the album All of This Love. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:...
" and "The River and the Highway
The River and the Highway
"The River and the Highway" is a single by American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1996, it was the second single from the album All of This Love. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....
".
In 1997, Tillis released her first-ever, Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Pam Tillis album)
Greatest Hits is a 1997 compilation album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. The album reached #6 on the Billboard country albums charts. It chronicles her greatest hits from her first four albums for Arista Nashville. The tracks "Land of the Living" and "All the Good Ones Are Gone" are...
album. The album featured two new tracks, which were released as singles, "All the Good Ones Are Gone
All the Good Ones Are Gone
"All the Good Ones Are Gone" is a single by American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1997, it was the first new single from her Greatest Hits album. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....
" and "Land of the Living
Land of the Living
Land of the Living is the first official album from singer-songwriter Kristine W. It consists of Hi-NRG and some Vocal House songs."Feel What You Want", "One More Try" and "Land of the Living" were released as singles.-Track listing:...
", which both reached the Top 5 in 1997. Tillis called her Greatest Hits record, released in 1997, a turning point. Her career gained momentum when the single "All the Good Ones Are Gone" was nominated for numerous awards, including two Grammys.
In 1998, Tillis released a new studio album, Every Time
Every Time (album)
Every Time is a 1998 album from American country music singer Pam Tillis. The album peaked #26 on the Billboard country albums charts. Singles from the album were "I Said a Prayer" which reached #12 on the Hot Country Singles chart, and the title track at #38...
. 1998's Every Time reflected her recent divorce from songwriter Bob DiPiero and gave her a near-Top Ten hit in "I Said a Prayer."
The title tracks, second and last single from the album barely cracked the Top 40 at No. 38, and showed Tillis' declining popularity on the Country charts.
In 2000, Pam became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. Pam also appeared on the Opry's 75th Birthday special on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, performing an original song she wrote as a tribute to Minnie Pearl
Minnie Pearl
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon , known professionally as Minnie Pearl, was an American country comedienne who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.-Early life:Sarah Colley was born in Centerville, in Hickman County, Tennessee,...
called "Two Dollar Hat".
A reshuffling at Arista delayed the release of Thunder and Roses
Thunder and Roses
Thunder & Roses is the seventh studio album recorded by American country music artist Pam Tillis. It is also the last album she recorded for the Arista label. Its lead-off single, "Please", was a #22 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in 2002...
until 2001, so in the meantime Tillis performed on Broadway in the Leiber & Stoller tribute production.
The one single released from the album, "Please" nearly reached the Top 20 in 2001, and was also her seond entry onto the Billboard Pop charts, reaching No. 120. By this time in 2001, after the new millennium, Country music grew less and less Neo-traditional and more Country-pop sounding with newcomers, like Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
and Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
, and therefore, Tillis career slowed down greatly. She then left Arista in 2001.
Acting career
She felt 1998 was the right time to expand her acting repertoire. She appeared in back-to-back crossover episodes of Promised LandPromised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
and Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). "My interest in acting started in 1989 when I starred in Tennessee Repertory's 'Jesus Christ Superstar' as Mary Magdalene," explained Tillis, who has also appeared on L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
and hosted Live at the Ryman.
As well as singing, she has acted in guest spots on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and on stage in the Tennessee Repertory production of Jesus Christ Superstar and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in Smokey Joe's Café that ran from 1995 to 2000. In 2011, Tillis will start in a new movie called The Goree Girls
The Goree Girls
The Goree Girls is an upcoming musical film set in the 1940s which tells the story of eight Goree Prison inmates who form a country-western band. Filming was set to take place during January 2010, but was pushed back to accommodate Aniston's filming of Just Go With It. Ellen Pompeo also agreed to...
alongside Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
, and Jennifer Landon
Jennifer Landon
Jennifer Landon is an American actress. She is known for her role as Gwen Norbeck Munson on As the World Turns .-Private life:...
.
2002 – present: Career today
She caught on at Epic's roots subsidiary Lucky Dog and debuted for them in 2002 with It's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis, a collection of her father's material that finally found her embracing his legacy on her own terms. RhineStoned appeared in 2007 from Stellar Cat Records.Tillis began her own label, Stellar Cat Records, in 2007. Her first album, RhineStoned
RhineStoned
RhineStoned is the ninth studio album recorded by country music artist Pam Tillis. It is her first album for her own Stellar Cat label. The tracks "Band in the Window" and "The Hard Way" were both released as singles, although neither charted....
, was released in April of that year. Her second album on the label, Just in Time for Christmas
Just in Time for Christmas
Just in Time for Christmas is the tenth studio album, and first Christmas album, recorded by country music artist Pam Tillis. The album was released on November 13, 2007, on Tillis' own Stellar Cat Records and distributed by RED Distribution. The album features seven of Tillis' favorite Christmas...
, was released on November 13, 2007. Two singles from the album were released that failed to chart the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
list in 2007.
Tillis earned thirteen top ten hits on the country music charts, and in 1994, was named the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
"Female Vocalist of the Year". In 1999, she earned a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...
.
Tillis ranked #30 on CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002.
Wounded Bird reissued Tillis' 1983 debut album on CD on June 9, 2009.
In 2011, Pam re-entered the studio to record the followup album to "Rhinestoned", expected later in the year
Twice divorced, she has a grown son, Ben, and lives in Nashville.
She has since married Matthew Spicher, son of Fiddle great Buddy Spicher.
Discography
- 1983: Above and Beyond the Doll of CuteyAbove and Beyond the Doll of CuteyAbove and Beyond the Doll of Cutey is the debut album of American country music artist Pam Tillis. Released in 1983 as her only album for Warner Bros. Records, it features the singles "Killer Comfort" and "Love Is Sneakin' Up on You"...
- 1991: Put Yourself in My PlacePut Yourself in My Place (album)Put Yourself In My Place is an album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. It was also her first album for Arista Records, following 1983's Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey, released on Warner Bros. Records. Put Yourself in My Place reached #10 on the Top Country Albums charts...
- 1992: Homeward Looking AngelHomeward Looking AngelHomeward Looking Angel is the third album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. The album was a #23 album on the Billboard charts. This album produced four singles for Tillis on the Hot Country Songs charts: the Top Five hits "Shake the Sugar Tree" and "Let That Pony Run" , as well as the...
- 1994: Sweetheart's DanceSweetheart's DanceSweetheart's Dance is a 1994 album from American country music singer Pam Tillis. It is her highest ranking album on the Billboard charts, at number 6....
- 1995: All of This LoveAll of This LoveAll of This Love is a 1995 album from American country music artist Pam Tillis. The album reached #25 on the Billboard country albums charts...
- 1998: Every TimeEvery Time (album)Every Time is a 1998 album from American country music singer Pam Tillis. The album peaked #26 on the Billboard country albums charts. Singles from the album were "I Said a Prayer" which reached #12 on the Hot Country Singles chart, and the title track at #38...
- 2001: Thunder & Roses
- 2002: It's All Relative: Tillis Sings TillisIt's All Relative: Tillis Sings TillisIt's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis is an album, released in 2002, by country music artist Pam Tillis. All of the songs were co-written by Pam and/or her father, country singer Mel Tillis...
- 2007: RhineStonedRhineStonedRhineStoned is the ninth studio album recorded by country music artist Pam Tillis. It is her first album for her own Stellar Cat label. The tracks "Band in the Window" and "The Hard Way" were both released as singles, although neither charted....
- 2007: Just in Time for ChristmasJust in Time for ChristmasJust in Time for Christmas is the tenth studio album, and first Christmas album, recorded by country music artist Pam Tillis. The album was released on November 13, 2007, on Tillis' own Stellar Cat Records and distributed by RED Distribution. The album features seven of Tillis' favorite Christmas...
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | The Goree Girls The Goree Girls The Goree Girls is an upcoming musical film set in the 1940s which tells the story of eight Goree Prison inmates who form a country-western band. Filming was set to take place during January 2010, but was pushed back to accommodate Aniston's filming of Just Go With It. Ellen Pompeo also agreed to... | Cassidy Sunderson | Pre-production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | L.A. Law L.A. Law L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,... |
Amanda Hopewell | Episode: "Bourbon Cowboy" |
| 1997 | You Wish | Kate Matthews | Episode: "Genie Without a Cause" |
| 1998 | Promised Land | Kate Matthews | Episodes: "Total Security" and "When Darkness Falls" |
| 1998 | Diagnosis Murder Diagnosis Murder Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman... |
Kate Matthews | Episode: "Promises to Keep" |