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Mary Chapin Carpenter
Multi-platinum recording artist Mary Chapin Carpenter has an array of
achievements to be proud of these days. With more than eight million albums
sold worldwide, five Grammy awards, two Country Music Association Awards, and a
list of other honors, this singer/songwriter has steadily added to her
credentials as she has appealed to an ever-growing audience. Born in
Princeton, New Jersey, in 1958 and raised in New Jersey, Japan, and Washington,
D.C., Mary Chapin Carpenter graduated from Brown University in 1981. Following
graduation she worked day jobs while performing in clubs around the Washington,
D.C., area and in 1985 landed a recording contract with Columbia Records in
Nashville. In 1987, Hometown Girl, her debut album, announced the
arrival of a striking new voice in music. Her second release, State of the
Heart (1989) launched her into the public eye for good. Her 1990 album
Shooting Straight in the Dark became her first platinum
record and Ms. Carpenter won her first Grammy, for Best Country Vocal
Performance/Female. Her triple-platinum CD Come On Come On (1992)
spawned seven hit singles and won three Grammy awards. "He Thinks He'll Keep
Her" was honored with a nomination for the prestigious Record of the Year
Grammy. Her next album, Stones in the Road (1994), entered
Billboard's Country Album chart at number one and held that position for five
consecutive weeks. The CD's first single "Shut Up and Kiss Me" went to Number
One and earned Ms. Carpenter her fourth consecutive Grammy award for Best
Country Vocal Performance/Female; Stones went on to win the Grammy for
Best Country Album. Her sixth album, A Place in the World, includes
twelve new Mary Chapin Carpenter songs. The single "Let Me Into Your Heart"
was featured in the film Tin Cup. Mary Chapin Carpenter is a
dynamic live performer and her rigorous U.S. and international touring
schedule in 1995 garnered rave reviews. Named one of Amusement Business
top ten touring acts that year, Ms. Carpenter performed more than 100
concerts worldwide. She has made a PBS documentary video (Jubilee: Live at
Wolf Trap) and received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Brown
University.
She contributed an essay to A voice of our Own: Leading American Women
Celebrate the Right to Vote, a book celebrating the 75th anniversary of
women's suffrage, and has written a children's book entitled
Dreamland.
That book was inspired by a Carpenter song of the same name, which
she contributed to the 1992 fundraising releases Child of Mine: The Lullaby
Video and Till Their Eyes Shine: The Lullaby Video. Later this year
she will release a compilation album that will include selections from her six
albums, outside projects such as soundtracks and other collaborations, and two
or three newly recorded songs. In addition, she will sing lead vocal on "Oh
Lonesome Me," to be produced by Chet Atkins and included in a compilation album
of country standards that pays tribute to the rich tradition of country
songwriting. Mary Chapin Carpenter regularly advocates on behalf of
environmental causes and has supported numerous national and local charities in
the Washington, D.C., area; her extensive Stones in the Road tour
celebrated the 50th anniversary of C.A.R.E.; she has been a supporter of
various human rights organizations and has performed for Presidents Bush and
Clinton.