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Faith Hill

Faith Hill - Star

From the time of her childhood here in Star, Faith Hill demonstrated a zest for music and performing that took her to Nashville while still a teenager, and to stardom from the release of her first record in 1993. She became a dominant, glamorous face of country music, a major star in the broader pop music market with tens of millions in record sales and multiple awards, and an effective advocate for the culture and people of Mississippi on the national stage.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, on September 21, 1967, Audrey Faith Perry was adopted by Ted and Edna Perry to complete their family, which already included their sons Wesley and Steve. Raised in Star, Mississippi, Faith grew up singing in church, at family gatherings, 4-H receptions, talent shows…anywhere she could. She would sing along with records of Tammy Wynette, Elvis, Reba McEntire and Aretha Franklin, and was dreaming of life as a performer. In early 1987, she packed up her things, and with her dad, drove to Nashville to follow that dream.

A few years later, while performing at The Bluebird Café, an executive from Warner Bros. Records was in the audience and shortly thereafter signed her to her first record deal. Her first single, “Wild One,” went to #1 in January of 1994 and stayed there for four weeks, making her the first female country artist in thirty years to spend multiple weeks at #1 with a debut single. She had three #1 singles from her first album, Take Me As I Am, and followed those with the #1 single “It Matters To Me” from her second album of the same name.

In 1996, she opened for Tim McGraw on the aptly named Spontaneous Combustion Tour, and by the end of that year they were married. In 1998 she released the career-changing hit single “This Kiss” and in 1999, “Breathe,” which put her at #1 on not only the country single charts but the pop charts as well. With the release of the albums Faith, Breathe, and Cry, she was the first female artist to have three studio albums debut consecutively at #1 on both Billboard’s Top 100 and Top Country charts. She co-produced each of those albums, as well as Fireflies, The Hits, and Joy To The World. Faith has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, had 14 #1 singles and has won multiple awards from The Grammys, Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, American Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards and Billboard Music Awards.

Along with McGraw, they created the Soul2Soul tour franchise in 2000. That year, it was the top grossing country music tour and the 5th highest grossing tour in all genres. The 2006 & 2007 Soul2Soul tour was the highest grossing multi-year tour in country music history.

Faith has appeared and performed on every major award show, including twice on the Academy Awards, and performed for Presidents and Heads of State. For six years, Faith was the signature voice of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, kicking off each week’s game with their opening song, “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night.”

She is an active philanthropist and an advocate for the arts nationally and in her home states of Tennessee and Mississippi, and was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame in 2002. She and McGraw have three daughters: Gracie, Maggie and Audrey.

content © Mississippi Country Music Trail

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