Pam Tillis

• Genre: New Traditional
• Hometown: Plant City
• Pam Tillis Website

About

Daughter of country-music legend Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis records country pop that is more updated than her dad's -- though not as successful. That's not to say her music isn't good; her sometimes sultry voice brings her catchy melodies to life. At age eight, Tillis was playing piano and learning to sing. She quickly excelled at the latter and ended up singing with her father on the Grand Ole Opry stage. By the age of 12, she had picked up the guitar and was playing in local talent shows in her hometown of Plant City, Fla. As a young teen she joined the High Country Swing Band, then the Ashley Cleveland Folk Duo and finally the jazzy-sounding outfit Freelight. But at age 16, she was in a car crash that almost took her life and necessitated years of reconstructive facial surgery. Following her recovery Tillis enrolled at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and formed her first band. And like any good musician in college, she dropped out. By the late '70s she was recording her own music and hitting the road. Her country-tinged pop boasts knowledge of many musical genres; listen closely and you can hear how some of her early influences have seeped into her unique style.

- Eric Shea