Kelly Willis

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Kelly Willis from the insert to her début album, Well Travelled Love (1990). Original photograph by Britain Hill.
Kelly Willis from the insert to her début album, Well Travelled Love (1990). Original photograph by Britain Hill.

Kelly Willis is a country music singer-songwriter noted for her clear, unadorned vocal style and her model-like beauty. Willis’ music has been described as contemporary country, alternative country and new traditionalist.

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[edit] History

Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, USA on October 1, 1968, Willis was the youngest of three children. While her father was a U.S. Army colonel, Willis’ mother had a strong interest in music and sang and acted in amateur musicals. Willis began singing when she was nine as a way to comfort herself after her parents divorced. After the divorce, Willis and her siblings lived with her dad and moved around the country to accommodate her father’s military job. She spent her middle school years in North Carolina and her high school years in Annandale, Virginia.

Willis joined her first band in high school. Her boyfriend, drummer Mas Palermo, introduced Willis to his rockabilly band. The band took her on as the lead vocalist and soon rechristened the band Kelly Willis & the Fireballs. After Willis’ high school graduation, the band decided to move to Austin, Texas to participate in the vibrant Austin music scene. After a few months in Austin, however, the band broke up. Willis and Palermo, married in 1989, formed a new band called Radio Ranch. In Austin, Willis attracted the notice of several influential Texas singer-songwriters including Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett. Griffith introduced MCA producer Tony Brown to Willis. Brown was very impressed with Willis’ vocal abilities and signed her to the MCA label in 1989.

MCA embarked on a big marketing campaign to tout Willis after she recorded her first album on the label, the 1990 album Well Travelled Love. MCA ensured that Willis was interviewed by several national magazines including unusual venues like Vogue and Mademoiselle. Her voice appeared in the 1991 Ridley Scott-produced movie Thelma and Louise, singing "Little Honey." Willis also had a small part in Tim Robbins’ 1992 film Bob Roberts. Despite of all the publicity and positive reviews from most reviewers, Well Travelled Love and Willis’ subsequent albums for MCA (Bang Bang in 1991 and Kelly Willis in 1993) sold modestly and received very little radio play. During this time, Willis felt uncomfortable with the way she was marketed by MCA. In 1994, MCA released Willis from her contract.

Willis also experienced upheaval in her personal life. Palermo and Willis divorced in 1991. In 1992, Willis met Austin singer-songwriter Bruce Robison. They had a tumultuous relationship for the next few years. After several years of dating, Willis and Robison married in 1996.

Willis continued to pursue her music career after leaving MCA. In 1996, she recorded an EP for A&M Records entitled Fading Fast. However, her relationship with A&M was short-lived; after working with two major labels, Willis decided to record her next album on her own. Her efforts resulted in the 1999 album What I Deserve, which Willis sold to Rykodisc after finishing the album. What I Deserve received quite a bit of press after the album’s release. It was commonly seen as Willis’ response to her history with MCA, and was uniformly praised by critics, becoming a hit for Willis.

Willis spent the next few years working on her music and focusing on her family. After going through in vitro fertilisation treatments, Willis gave birth to her first baby in 2001, a son. Willis' experience with raising a child led a different sort of album than What I Deserve. In 2002, Willis released Easy. The album evoked Willis contentment with her new life by presenting songs that had a contented, mellow vibe. After the album’s release, Willis became pregnant again and gave birth to twins in 2003.

In 2003, Robison and Willis released the record Happy Holidays, a cover album of Christmas songs.

Starting in 2005, Willis and Robison appeared in television and radio commercials for the anti-allergy product Claritin.

[edit] Discography

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Corcoran, Michael. “Happy holidays, from Kelly and Bruce; A songwriting duo's Christmas: The children will nestle all snug in their beds, while Mom and Dad's records dance in our heads.” The Austin American-Statesman 25 Nov. 2003: E1+.
  • House, Silas. “Nothing to Fear.” No Depression July-Aug. 2002: 72-81.
  • Manheim, James M. “Kelly Willis.” Contemporary Musicians. Vol. 12. Detroit: Gale, 1994. 278-280.
  • Patoski, Joe Nick. “What She Deserves.” Texas Monthly Mar. 1999: 114-116.
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