Suzy Bogguss
Encyclopedia
Susan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) 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 taking a brief recording hiatus in the mid-1990s to start a family with her husband, songwriter Doug Crider, Bogguss returned to the country music industry, but did not match her previous commercial success. Although she last appeared on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart in 2001, Bogguss continues to record and perform around the country.
. At the age of 5, she began singing in the Angel Choir
of the College Avenue Presbyterian Church in her hometown. With the encouragement of her parents, she took lessons in piano
and drum
s, and as a teenager picked up the guitar
as well. She starred in several musicals at Aledo High School, where she was crowned homecoming queen during her senior year. After graduating in 1975, she enrolled at Illinois Wesleyan University
, but later transferred to Illinois State University
, graduating in 1979 with a bachelor's degree
in metalsmithing.
While in college, Bogguss sang and played guitar and drums in local coffeehouses, and after graduating became a regular on the club circuit in the Quad Cities
area, performing frequently in Davenport
, Rock Island
, Kewanee
and Peoria
. In 1980, she began touring the United States, and produced her first independent album, Suzy, on the Old Shack Recording label. This LP was available for purchase at her shows and is now considered to be a rare collector's item.
In 1985, Bogguss moved to Nashville
, where she worked as a demo
singer by day and played in clubs at night. The following year, she became the first featured female performer at Dollywood
, a theme park owned by country music legend Dolly Parton
. This prompted her to produce an eponymous demo cassette
, which she sold at her Dollywood shows. During this time she met songwriter and future husband Doug Crider, who penned one of the songs on the demo. Eventually, the demo caught the attention of a record label executive Jim Foglesong
, who offered her a recording contract on the Liberty/Capitol Nashville
label.
, in March, 1989. The album, with its blend of traditional and contemporary styles, drew positive reviews, and Bogguss finally struck gold when the record's second single, "Cross My Broken Heart," became a top twenty hit on the country music charts. Following its success, she was named the Academy of Country Music
's Top New Female Vocalist.
For her second album, Moment of Truth
, production tasks were taken over by new label-head and Nashville heavyweight Jimmy Bowen
, who moved Bogguss's sound in a more polished direction. However, the album's two singles failed to rise beyond the lower reaches of the Billboard charts. A duet she recorded with Lee Greenwood
, "Hopelessly Yours," went to #12 on the country singles chart and received a Grammy Award
nomination for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
In 1991 Bogguss released the platinum-selling Aces
. The LP yielded four hit singles - "Someday Soon
," "Outbound Plane
," "Aces
," and "Letting Go
," the latter three all reaching the country Top Ten. The following year, the Country Music Association
recognized her achievements by giving her its Horizon Award, awarded annually to the artist who has demonstrated the most significant creative growth and development.
Her 1992 follow-up, Voices in the Wind
, earned Bogguss her second straight gold record. The album's first single, a cover of John Hiatt
's "Drive South
", just missed the #1 spot but gave Bogguss the highest-charting hit of her career to date. Her streak continued the following year with another gold record, Something Up My Sleeve
, giving her two additional Top Five hits in "Just Like the Weather
" and "Hey Cinderella
". The latter, which she cowrote with Matraca Berg
and Gary Harrison, has gone on to become one of Bogguss's trademark songs.
After the successes of those two years, Bogguss changed direction, parting with Bowen, who had produced her four previous albums. Her 1994 release, Simpatico, was a low-key album of duets with long-time friend and guitar legend Chet Atkins
. Although the album was generally well reviewed, its lone single, "One More for the Road," did not chart. Many feel this was due to Capitol's being distracted by the feud between Bowen and the label's biggest star at the time, Garth Brooks
. The disagreement ultimately ended with Bowen leaving the label and Simpatico falling through the cracks. The same year, Bogguss's Greatest Hits
album was released and went gold.
In 1994, Bogguss collaborated with Alison Krauss
, Kathy Mattea
, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash to contribute "Teach Your Children
" to the AIDS
benefit compilation album Red Hot + Country
produced by the Red Hot Organization
.
Not long after Simpatico was recorded, Bogguss temporarily set her music aside to start a family. Bogguss and Crider's first child, Benton Charles Crider, was born on March 17, 1995. Sixteen months later, she was back with her sixth solo album (excluding her greatest hits compilation), entitled Give Me Some Wheels. During her hiatus, the climate of country music had changed considerably, with more pop-oriented female singers such as Martina McBride
, Faith Hill
, Sara Evans
and Shania Twain
dominating the charts. Bogguss's traditional, straightforward style failed to connect with younger listeners, and the record yielded disappointing sales.
After her next album, 1998's Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt, also proved unsuccessful, Bogguss was dropped from the Liberty/Capitol
label. With her typical grace and aplomb, she issued the following statement on February 18, 1999:
, who had formerly worked at Capitol. Within three months, she had released her debut, a self-titled album, not to be confused with the independently produced LP from her days as a traveling folk troubadour. (Adding to the confusion is the fact that the album is sometimes referred to as It's a Perfect Day.) Again, the album floundered, with only one single even making an appearance on the country charts.
In 2001, Bogguss decided to form her own record label, Loyal Duchess. Its first release was the album Live at Caffé Milano, culled from three separate 1999 performances at the now-closed Caffé Milano in Nashville, TN. This release is only available for purchase at Bogguss's official website. A few months later, she released the holiday album, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a combination of new and previously available material included through a special licensing agreement with her old label, Capitol. In addition to being available at her website, the CD was also offered through Amazon.com
, select retailers, and at her live performances.
In March, 2003, Bogguss and her own Loyal Duchess Records label secured a deal with Compadre Records
. Her first release on this label was the pure Western swing
album, Swing, that she had been recording with producer Ray Benson
, the 6'7" frontman of Western swing group Asleep at the Wheel
. Although the album saw only lukewarm sales (it reached #6 on the jazz album charts, but failed to appear on the Billboard 200), it was a critical success. She then released Sweet Danger in 2007, which failed to reach the country charts, but peaked at #4 on the jazz charts.
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. 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
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
's award for Top New Female Vocalist and 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...
's Horizon Award.
After taking a brief recording hiatus in the mid-1990s to start a family with her husband, songwriter Doug Crider, Bogguss returned to the country music industry, but did not match her previous commercial success. Although she last appeared on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart in 2001, Bogguss continues to record and perform around the country.
Early life and rise to success
Bogguss was born in Aledo, IllinoisAledo, Illinois
Aledo is a city in Mercer County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,613 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mercer County.-Geography:Aledo is located at ....
. At the age of 5, she began singing in the Angel Choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
of the College Avenue Presbyterian Church in her hometown. With the encouragement of her parents, she took lessons in piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, and as a teenager picked up the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
as well. She starred in several musicals at Aledo High School, where she was crowned homecoming queen during her senior year. After graduating in 1975, she enrolled at Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University is an independent undergraduate university located in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856...
, but later transferred to Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
, graduating in 1979 with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in metalsmithing.
While in college, Bogguss sang and played guitar and drums in local coffeehouses, and after graduating became a regular on the club circuit in the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
area, performing frequently in Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, Rock Island
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
, Kewanee
Kewanee
Kewanee is the name of several places in the United States:*Kewanee, Illinois, a city in Henry County*Kewanee, Mississippi, a location in Mississippi*Kewanee, Missouri, an unincorporated community in New Madrid County...
and Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
. In 1980, she began touring the United States, and produced her first independent album, Suzy, on the Old Shack Recording label. This LP was available for purchase at her shows and is now considered to be a rare collector's item.
In 1985, Bogguss moved to Nashville
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...
, where she worked 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 by day and played in clubs at night. The following year, she became the first featured female performer at Dollywood
Dollywood
Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....
, a theme park owned by country music legend 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...
. This prompted her to produce an eponymous demo cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
, which she sold at her Dollywood shows. During this time she met songwriter and future husband Doug Crider, who penned one of the songs on the demo. Eventually, the demo caught the attention of a record label executive Jim Foglesong
Jim Foglesong
Jim Foglesong was a Music Row executive in the 1970s and 1980s.-Career:Foglesong helped lay the foundation for the new country music boom in the 1990s...
, who offered her a recording contract on the Liberty/Capitol Nashville
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
label.
Liberty/Capitol recording career
In 1987, Bogguss released her first singles on the Liberty/Capitol label. Of these ("I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire," "Love Will Never Slip Away," and "Come as You Were"), two succeeded in making the lower reaches of the country music charts, but were left off her first LP, Somewhere BetweenSomewhere Between
Somewhere Between is the major label debut by country artist Suzy Bogguss. Released on March 21, 1989, the album included the singles "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" and "Cross My Broken Heart," which became a top 20 hit on the country music charts...
, in March, 1989. The album, with its blend of traditional and contemporary styles, drew positive reviews, and Bogguss finally struck gold when the record's second single, "Cross My Broken Heart," became a top twenty hit on the country music charts. Following its success, she was named the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
's Top New Female Vocalist.
For her second album, Moment of Truth
Moment of Truth (Suzy Bogguss album)
Moment of Truth, released August 21, 1990, is the second offering by country artist Suzy Bogguss under the Liberty Records label. It includes the singles "Under the Gun" and "All Things Made New Again," both of which charted at #72 on Hot Country Songs...
, production tasks were taken over by new label-head and Nashville heavyweight Jimmy Bowen
Jimmy Bowen
Jimmy Bowen is an American record producer and former pop music performer.Bowen was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He began as a teenage recording star in 1957 with "I'm Stickin' With You," originally the flip side of the hit record "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, but ultimately a Top 20 recording...
, who moved Bogguss's sound in a more polished direction. However, the album's two singles failed to rise beyond the lower reaches of the Billboard charts. A duet she recorded with Lee Greenwood
Lee Greenwood
Melvin Lee Greenwood is an American country music artist. Active since the early 1980s, he has released more than twenty major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the Billboard country music charts....
, "Hopelessly Yours," went to #12 on the country singles chart and received a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
In 1991 Bogguss released the platinum-selling Aces
Aces (Suzy Bogguss)
Aces is an album released in 1991 by American country music singer Suzy Bogguss.The first single released was in fact, "Aces". The album spawned three Top #10 hits on the country charts -- "Outbound Plane," "Aces" and "Letting Go" and stayed at number #1 in album sales and in the top ten on the...
. The LP yielded four hit singles - "Someday Soon
Someday Soon (Ian Tyson song)
"Someday Soon" is the title of a song composed by Canadian singer Ian Tyson. He recorded the song with his wife, Sylvia Tyson, as the duo Ian & Sylvia in 1964. Although this version was not released as a single, the song has been covered by Judy Collins, Moe Bandy and Suzy Bogguss, all of whom had...
," "Outbound Plane
Outbound Plane
"Outbound Plane" is a single by American country music artist Suzy Bogguss. Released in December 1991, it was the second single from her album Aces. The song reached #9 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in March 1992....
," "Aces
Aces (song)
"Aces" is a single by American country music artist Suzy Bogguss. Released in March 1992, it was the third single from her album Aces. The song reached #9 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in July 1992.-Chart performance:...
," and "Letting Go
Letting Go (Suzy Bogguss song)
"Letting Go" is a single by American country music artist Suzy Bogguss. Released in July 1992, it was the fourth single from her album Aces. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in October 1992.-Chart performance:...
," the latter three all reaching the country Top Ten. The following year, 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...
recognized her achievements by giving her its Horizon Award, awarded annually to the artist who has demonstrated the most significant creative growth and development.
Her 1992 follow-up, Voices in the Wind
Voices in the Wind
Voices in the Wind is the follow-up to Bogguss's platinum-selling Aces. It earned her a second straight gold record and her highest-charting single ever, the #2 cover of John Hiatt's "Drive South."...
, earned Bogguss her second straight gold record. The album's first single, a cover of John Hiatt
John Hiatt
John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
's "Drive South
Drive South
"Drive South" is the title of a song written by John Hiatt, and recorded by him on his 1988 album Slow Turning. Hiatt's version of the song was never issued as a single.-The Forester Sisters version:...
", just missed the #1 spot but gave Bogguss the highest-charting hit of her career to date. Her streak continued the following year with another gold record, Something Up My Sleeve
Something Up My Sleeve
Something Up My Sleeve is the title of an album released in 1993 by American country music artist Suzy Bogguss. Something Up My Sleeve produced two Top 10 singles: "Just Like the Weather" and "Hey Cinderella", which Bogguss co-wrote with Grammy-nominated songwriters Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison...
, giving her two additional Top Five hits in "Just Like the Weather
Just Like the Weather
"Just Like the Weather" is a single by American country music artist Suzy Bogguss. Released in July 1993, it was the first single from her album Something Up My Sleeve. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in November 1993.-Chart performance:...
" and "Hey Cinderella
Hey Cinderella
"Hey Cinderella" is a single by American country music artist Suzy Bogguss. Released in November 1993, it was the second single from her album Something Up My Sleeve. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in February 1994.-Chart performance:...
". The latter, which she cowrote with Matraca Berg
Matraca Berg
Matraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
and Gary Harrison, has gone on to become one of Bogguss's trademark songs.
After the successes of those two years, Bogguss changed direction, parting with Bowen, who had produced her four previous albums. Her 1994 release, Simpatico, was a low-key album of duets with long-time friend and guitar legend Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
. Although the album was generally well reviewed, its lone single, "One More for the Road," did not chart. Many feel this was due to Capitol's being distracted by the feud between Bowen and the label's biggest star at the time, Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
. The disagreement ultimately ended with Bowen leaving the label and Simpatico falling through the cracks. The same year, Bogguss's Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Suzy Bogguss)
Greatest Hits is the first greatest-hits album by American country music singer Suzy Bogguss. It was released on March 8, 1994 via Liberty Records. Eight of her Top 40 singles are here including her Grammy-nominated duet with Lee Greenwood, previously available only on his own A Perfect Ten album...
album was released and went gold.
In 1994, Bogguss collaborated with Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
, Kathy Mattea
Kathy Mattea
Kathleen Alice "Kathy" Mattea is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot...
, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash to contribute "Teach Your Children
Teach Your Children
"Teach Your Children" is a song by Graham Nash. Although it was written when Nash was a member of The Hollies, it was never recorded by that group, and first appeared on the album Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released in 1970. The recording features Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar...
" to the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
benefit compilation album Red Hot + Country
Red Hot + Country
Red Hot + Country was the follow-up to No Alternative in the Red Hot Series of compilation albums, a series produced to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues...
produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
.
Not long after Simpatico was recorded, Bogguss temporarily set her music aside to start a family. Bogguss and Crider's first child, Benton Charles Crider, was born on March 17, 1995. Sixteen months later, she was back with her sixth solo album (excluding her greatest hits compilation), entitled Give Me Some Wheels. During her hiatus, the climate of country music had changed considerably, with more pop-oriented female singers such as 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....
, 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...
, Sara Evans
Sara Evans
Sara Lynn Evans is an American country singer and songwriter.Evans was one of the few traditional-styled singers to emerge from Nashville in the late 1990s, according to Allmusic. Since emerging in the late 1990s, Evans has made five No. 1 Country hits and Gold and Platinum-certified albums by...
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...
dominating the charts. Bogguss's traditional, straightforward style failed to connect with younger listeners, and the record yielded disappointing sales.
After her next album, 1998's Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt, also proved unsuccessful, Bogguss was dropped from the Liberty/Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
label. With her typical grace and aplomb, she issued the following statement on February 18, 1999:
Indie Label recording career
In May 1999, Bogguss found a new home with Nashville-based fledgling label Platinum Records, headed by chief George CollierGeorge Collier
Sir George Collier was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the frigate HMS Rainbow, he was one of the most successful British naval commanders during the opening stages of war...
, who had formerly worked at Capitol. Within three months, she had released her debut, a self-titled album, not to be confused with the independently produced LP from her days as a traveling folk troubadour. (Adding to the confusion is the fact that the album is sometimes referred to as It's a Perfect Day.) Again, the album floundered, with only one single even making an appearance on the country charts.
In 2001, Bogguss decided to form her own record label, Loyal Duchess. Its first release was the album Live at Caffé Milano, culled from three separate 1999 performances at the now-closed Caffé Milano in Nashville, TN. This release is only available for purchase at Bogguss's official website. A few months later, she released the holiday album, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a combination of new and previously available material included through a special licensing agreement with her old label, Capitol. In addition to being available at her website, the CD was also offered through Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, select retailers, and at her live performances.
In March, 2003, Bogguss and her own Loyal Duchess Records label secured a deal with Compadre Records
Compadre Records
Compadre Records is a Houston-based independent record label that specializes in roots music. Compadre’s artists include Billy Joe Shaver, Honeybrowne, Suzy Bogguss, Flaco Jimenez, James McMurtry, Trent Willmon, Hayes Carll, among others...
. Her first release on this label was the pure Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
album, Swing, that she had been recording with producer Ray Benson
Ray Benson
Ray Benson is the front man of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel.In 1970, Benson, a Jewish native of Philadelphia, formed Asleep at the Wheel with friends Lucky Oceans and Leroy Preston. The group relocated to Austin in 1973 after a suggestion from Willie Nelson .Since then, the group has...
, the 6'7" frontman of Western swing group Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is a American country music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, but based in Austin, Texas. Altogether, they have won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, and have charted more than twenty...
. Although the album saw only lukewarm sales (it reached #6 on the jazz album charts, but failed to appear on the Billboard 200), it was a critical success. She then released Sweet Danger in 2007, which failed to reach the country charts, but peaked at #4 on the jazz charts.