Terri Clark
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| Terri Clark | |
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 Terri Clark performing at the Western Idaho Fair in Boise, Idaho on August 22, 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Terri Lynn Sauson |
| Born | August 5, 1968 |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genre(s) | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1995-present |
| Label(s) | Mercury Nashville, BNA, Capitol |
| Associated acts | Tom Shapiro |
| Website | Terri Clark Official Website |
Terri Lynn Sauson (born August 5, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec), known professionally as Terri Clark, is a Canadian country music artist who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that year. Both it and its two follow-ups, 1996's Just the Same and 1998's How I Feel, were certified platinum in both countries, and produced several Top Ten country hits.
Her fourth album, 2000's Fearless, though certified gold in Canada, was not as successful in the U.S., producing no Top 10 hits. Pain to Kill from 2003 restored her chart momentum in the U.S. with "I Just Wanna Be Mad" and "I Wanna Do It All", while a 2004 greatest hits album produced the Number One "Girls Lie Too". A non-album single, "The World Needs a Drink", and the 2006 album Life Goes On were her last releases for Mercury before she signed to BNA Records in 2007. There, she released the singles "Dirty Girl" and "In My Next Life". Although the latter went to Number One in Canada, she has not released an album for BNA.
Clark's albums have accounted for more than twenty singles, including six Number Ones. "If I Were You", "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Emotional Girl" and "In My Next Life" all topped the country charts in Canada, "Girls Lie Too" reached Number One only in the U.S., and "You're Easy on the Eyes" was a Number One in both countries.
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[edit] Early life
Clark's grandparents Ray and Betty Gauthier were both noted Canadian country musicians, and her mother belonged to the folk scene. Terri's parents divorced (her father is Les Sauson) when she was young and her mother re-married. This is where "Clark" comes from. From a young age, Terri wore cowboy outfits, a trait she retained into later years. After graduating high school at Crescent Heights High School in Medicine Hat, Alberta she moved from Medicine Hat to Nashville in 1987, where she got her start playing at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.
[edit] Career
[edit] Mercury Records (1994-2006)
In 1994, Terri Clark received a record deal from Mercury Records. Released in 1995, "Better Things to Do" was her first single. It reached #3 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in the United States, as well as on RPM's Country Singles chart in Canada. Her debut album, Terri Clark, released in the same year, achieved gold status and contained a few songs she had composed herself. Both "When Boy Meets Girl" and "If I Were You" also charted in the Top 10, the latter becoming Terri's first #1 single in Canada.
Her second album, 1996's Just the Same, sold even better than her first work. In the USA as well as Canada, it went platinum. The first two singles, "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Emotional Girl," reached the Top 10 in the U.S. and #1 in Canada.
Terri released her third album, How I Feel, in 1998. The album contained her first American #1 single, "You're Easy on the Eyes," which also went to #1 in Canada.
Fearless was Terri's fourth album, released in 2000. While the album was a success in Canada, the highest charting single in the United States was "A Little Gasoline," which peaked at #13.
Terri's fifth album, 2003's Pain to Kill, brought her back to the American Top 5 when "I Just Wanna Be Mad" peaked at #2. "I Wanna Do It All" also reached #3.
Terri released her Greatest Hits 1994-2004 the following year. The only single released from the collection, "Girls Lie Too," went straight to #1 in the United States. Terri became the first Canadian female to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on June 12, 2004. Currently she is the only Canadian female member.
Only one single from 2005's Life Goes On reached the U.S. Country charts, "She Didn't Have Time." Her contract with Mercury Records expired in March 2006, after seven albums.
In 2008, Mercury Records released The Definitive Collection. This CD featured 18 of Terri's biggest hits, spanning her 10 year career on the label.
[edit] 2007-present
In 2007, Clark signed with BNA Records. She released two singles, "Dirty Girl" and "In My Next Life", which was to be the title track to her debut BNA Records release. The album was shelved and Clark left BNA in 2008, to concentrate on her career in Canada and possibly starting her own record label.
Clark is working on her own at her next studio album, The Long Way Home, set for release in September 2009 via Capitol Records/EMI Canada. The first single is "Gypsy Boots", a song previously recorded on the unreleased My Next Life album. The single was released to country radio in Canada on June 22, 2009 and will be released to country radio in the United States on July 20.
[edit] Personal life
Terri married her tour manager Greg Kaczor on September 17, 2005. The couple filed for divorce on February 16, 2007. It was her second marriage. Her first marriage, to fiddle player Ted Stevenson in 1991, ended in 1996. In late September 2005, she moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
In 2007, Clark received startling news about her mother's terminal illness. Her mother was diagnosed in late 2007 with cancer. The tumor has been removed and she is still recovering.
[edit] Controversy
On May 2, 2001, Clark was pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. After failing a field sobriety test Terri refused to take a blood alcohol test on the advice of her lawyer. She was charged with careless driving after the charge was reduced.[1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] References
- Williams, Janet (1998). "Terri Clark". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 95.
- ^ "CMT Artist News" (html). CMT.com. 2001. http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1443589/20010513/clark_terri.jhtml. Retrieved on 2007.
[edit] External links
- Grand Ole Opry: Members page for Terri Clark
- Terri Clark Official Website
- Terri Clark's latest bio, news, photo galleries, and Fan Q&A at Great American Country
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