“I always thought if one person could do it, there is no reason why I can’t be successful. I approach life that way. I … refuse to believe in the ‘I can’t’ syndrome. I cannot stand to go sit down in a meeting and have someone say ‘Lee Ann, you just can’t do that.’ I found in my life there is very little I just can’t do.”
Her tenacious spirit was born and bred in East Texas, in the small town of Jacksonville. She spent her childhood days accompanying her father to his gig as a disc jockey at KEBE radio station. She grew up on the heart-tugging songs of country giant George Jones, who she still credits as one of her key influences. Bluegrass greats like Ralph Stanley also made an impression, and she continues to honor their legacy with the inclusion of bluegrass elements in the albums she releases.
In her college days, she moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, an institution that has educated some of today’s most successful country artists, like Brad Paisley. While attending, she put her education and music dreams on hold to focus on being a mom to her baby girl.
‘I Just Couldn’t See Giving Up’
When asked if she ever thought about a career change after spending several years in Nashville without a record deal, Womack shared that music was always her end goal, no matter what.
“To be honest, I didn’t know how to do anything else. … I just couldn’t see giving up. I reached a point where I questioned myself about this dream of mine. ... And I thought for several days—what else would I enjoy doing? I finally realized that I would enjoy trying to get something going in the music business more than I would enjoy being successful in some other business.”
It was a tough but necessary question to ask as she raised her family. Over the years, she’s remained candid regarding the balancing act moms face as they nurture their children’s journeys as well as their own. While speaking about her time spent working for the day care her daughter attended, she shared that being a new mom, while chasing a dream, was “hard.” But with her can-do Texas attitude, she made it work.
A Big Break
In the mid 1990s, she signed a deal with Decca Records and released multiple projects before moving on to the MCA record label.In 2000, she had her big break.
With the release of her album “I Hope You Dance,” she achieved crossover success despite the album containing plenty of bluegrass and country stylings she fell in love with as a girl. But the pop-flavored title track, which was also the lead single, proved to be a powerhouse. Written by songwriters Tia Sillers and Mark D. Sanders, the contemplative song features lyrics encouraging listeners to embrace life with all of its ups and downs, and find meaning in those moments.
The song went to No. 1 on the country charts and climbed into the top 20 on the Hot 100 chart. With the single’s crossover appeal, it was hard to find a radio station that didn’t have the song on rotation. The triple-platinum certified song earned a Grammy award for Best Country Song. The chart-topper also scored multiple wins at other awards shows, including Single of the Year for the Country Music Association and Song of the Year for organizations like the Academy of Country Music.
Free-range Musician
Womack spent the rest of the early 2000s in Nashville releasing records. But as a musician with a traditional country lens in a rapidly changing mainstream country market eyeing the pop charts, she yearned for authenticity, and a place where she could hang her hat. In 2012, she announced she’d be leaving MCA. She’d go on to find her home at places like the spirited Sugar Hill Records, and ATO, an independent label founded in part by fellow free-range musician Dave Matthews.Harmonic Forces
Womack is an artist who understands genres like country, bluegrass, and gospel aren’t mutually exclusive, and she expertly displays this nuanced understanding with album releases like “The Way I’m Living” and “The Lonely, The Lonesome, & The Gone.” When wielded well, these sister genres exist in harmony, not as opposing forces. Those operating in the seemingly boundless genre of Americana understand this principle well. These days, Womack is one of Americana’s key players.
Her ability to blend stylings effortlessly has been a lifetime in the making. Regarding the spiritually themed tracks in her repertoire, she talked about her faith and said, “It’s part of my life, part of my fabric. It makes sense to me to do these songs because that’s who I am.”
She shared in a Billboard interview that while working with ATO, she was thrilled when they embraced the traditional country music she played for them.
Intuition Is Key
From her early days in East Texas to forging her own path in country music, Womack has built a career on her own terms. Her decades in the industry and her award-winning song catalog have been built on character traits that can be hard to come by in a business that needs every artist to cut through never-ending noise. The self-confessed introvert and homebody has used quiet strength and controlled determination to serve a body of work that stands the test of time.When asked whether she has any advice for artists trying to forge their own paths, the witty songster—who once cleverly proclaimed “I want to play music in rooms that were built to play music, not built to play basketball”—revealed some understated but effective advice.
“Every time I went with my gut I was never sorry. ... Go with your gut and don’t give up.”
After all, it worked for her.
