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They say the ladies who sing the
country songs are a breed apart. And the ladies who
write the country songs, well, they're just as rare
a breed, too. But the ladies who do both--ah, now
there is the heart and soul of it all, the women who
give country music conscience and sizzle, with a
full portion of romance from the feminine
perspective thrown in at no extra cost. "I love
to write stories," says Shania Twain.
"Songwriting is my favorite part of what I do.
I like to give ever song its own personality and
attitude and to sing each one in its own
style."
Shania Twain is no stranger to conscience, sizzle
and the woman's prerogative. Come On Over is her
third album (Mercury Records), sixteen songs written
by Shania with her husband and producer, Robert John
"Mutt" Lange. This is Shania's first
release in more than two and a half years, since the
9-times platinum phenomenon known as The Woman In
Me. That album, which has also sold another 3
million copies outside the U.S., continues its
record-breaking run on the Billboard Country Albums
chart; 140-plus weeks (and counting) as of the
November 1997 release of Come On Over.
For her achievements, Shania earned Billboard honors
as 1996's #1 Top Country Album Artist. Her Grammy
award for Best Country Album was echoed by the
Academy of Country Music and her native Canadian
Country Music Awards (both Album of the year); and
she was variously named Favorite New Country Artist
or Favorite Female Country Artist by the American
Music Awards, Blockbuster Entertainment Awards,
Canada's JUNO Awards, World Music Awards, and so on.
Her videos earned similar awards from CMT (Country
Music Television, U.S. and European outlets), ABC
Radio Networks and others. One of the most
telegenically accessible figures on the planet, her
promo video clips were compiled on The Complete
Woman In Me Video Collection.
At the same time, Shania has been profiled in
numerous magazines, performed at more awards shows
than you can count, appeared on many television
specials, and much more. On September 24, 1997,
viewers of the CMA Awards were treated to a
performance of "Love Gets Me Every Time,"
the first single from Come On Over.
Shania's story may well be the great American dream,
that is, the great North American dream, since she
was born in Canada on August 28, 1965, the second
oldest of five siblings. Shania was raised in
Timmins, Ontario (about 500 miles due north of
Toronto), where her stepfather, an Ojibway Indian,
and mother had both been raised. It was a proud but
at times, impoverished existence. There may have
been a struggle to keep enough food in the
cupboards, but there was always an abundance of
music in the household.
Shania often grabbed a guitar and retreated to the
solitude of her bedroom, singing and writing until
her fingers ached. "But I loved it! I grew up
listening to Waylon, Willie, Dolly, Tammy, all of
them," she recalls. "But we also listened
to the Mamas and the Papas, the Carpenters, the
Supremes and Stevie Wonder. The many different
styles of music I was exposed to as a child not only
influenced by vocal style, but even more so, my
writing style." Mom noticed her daughter's
talents, and Shania was soon being shuttled to radio
and TV studios, community centers, senior citizens'
homes, "everywhere they could get me
booked."
Part of the legend has 8-year-old Shania being
dragged out of bed at midnight to sing with the
house band at a local club after the nightly liquor
curfew went into effect. Later, she spent summers
working with her father as the foreman of a
dozen-man reforestation crew in the Canadian bush,
where she learned to wield an axe and handle a chain
saw as well as any man. In the winter season, she
would sing in clubs and do television and radio
performances as often as her schooling would allow.
At age 21, Shania lost her parents in an auto wreck.
She then took on the task of handling her parents'
affairs as executrix and the responsibility of bring
her three younger siblings to live with her. She
managed to keep the household going with a job at
Ontario's Deerhurst Resort, which not only provided
for her new family responsibilities, but also gave
her an education in every aspect of theatrical
performance, from musical comedy to Andrew Lloyd
Webber to Gershwin, an experience quite different
from the bar gigs she grew up doing. After a couple
of years the kids came into their own, lightening
the load of her responsibilities. It was 1990, and
she was on her own. Shedding her real name, Eilleen,
she adopted the Ojibway name of Shania, pronounced
shu-NYE-uh, meaning "I'm
on my way." Shania's way resulted in a demo
tape of original music and a road map to Nashville.
At age 21, Shania lost her parents in an auto wreck.
She then took on the task of handling her parents'
affairs as executrix and the responsibility of bring
her three younger siblings to live with her. She
managed to keep the household going with a job at
Ontario's Deerhurst Resort, which not only provided
for her new family responsibilities, but also gave
her an education in every aspect of theatrical
performance, from musical comedy to Andrew Lloyd
Webber to Gershwin, an experience quite different
from the bar gigs she grew up doing. After a couple
of years the kids came into their own, lightening
the load of her responsibilities. It was 1990, and
she was on her own. Shedding her real name, Eilleen,
she adopted the Ojibway name of Shania, pronounced
shu-NYE-uh, meaning "I'm on my way."
Shania's way resulted in a demo tape of original
music and a road map to Nashville.
Although Shania was signed on the basis of her
original material, her self-titled debut album of
1993 featured only one of her songs, the feisty
"God Ain't Gonna Getcha For That." It took
a phone call from a distant admirer, rock producer
Mutt Lange (AD/DC, Cars, Def Leppard, Foreigner,
Bryan Adams and many more) for Shania to find a true
believer, both in her voice and her original songs.
Shania and Mutt met face to face in 1993 and were
wed in December, by which time they'd written half
an album's worth of tunes together. As the following
year unfolded, they traveled (and wrote) their way
across the U.S., Canada, England, Spain, Italy and
the Caribbean. They began to lay down basic tracks
for the new album in Nashville, later recording
overdubs and mixing in Quebec.
The first results of the labor, "Whose Bed Have
Your Boots Been Under?" entered the Billboard
Country Singles chart in January 1995; The Woman In
Me debuted on the Country Albums chart the following
month. The single rose to No. 11, and The Woman In
Me was certified RIAA gold. Its flip side, "Any
Man of Mine," hit the charts in May and became
the first of four consecutive number ones for
Shania, every one of which spent the requisite 20
weeks on the list, including "(If You're Not In
It For Love) I'm Outta Here!," "You Win My
Love," and "No One Needs To Know."
Two more singles were released in late 1996,
"Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)"
and the lullaby-hymn "God Bless The
Child," with proceeds donated to Kids
Cafe/Second Harvest Food Bank in the U.S. and the
Canadian Living Foundation which provides meals for
underprivileged children there. Altogether, Shania's
run on the singles chart spanned well over 100
weeks, an amazing achievement for one album with no
touring.
But with the completion of Come On Over, Shania has
turned her attention to her maiden tour, which
promises to be the premiere event of 1998.
"When I get out on tour, I'll be able to do a
full show of original songs that people will be
familiar with. It's going to be ideal, almost like I
couldn't have planned it better, even though I
didn't really plan it at all. I'm glad I waited, and
I'm going to give it all I've got to make it
everything the fans have been waiting for."
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