Allison Moorer
(born June 21 1972) is a Grammy-nominated American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S. Billboard
country charts with the release of her debut single "A Soft Place To Fall", which reached #73 on the charts.
Since the release of her debut album Alabama Song
, she released seven albums and eleven singles, five of which reached positions on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs chart.
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ALISON MOORER TICKETS
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Biography
Early years
Allison was raised in Frankville, Alabama, just north of Mobile. Raised on
George Jones and
Tammy Wynette,
Waylon Jennings,
Willie Nelson,
Johnny Cash and
Emmylou Harris, she sang harmonies as a toddler, eventually thinking she'd make a career of it. Following the
murder-suicide of her parents in 1985, she moved into her aunt and uncle's home.
Musical career
Not long afterwards, Lynne moved to
Nashville for a career in music, and after her high school graduation, Moorer followed. She sang harmonies with Lynne for a while but returned to Alabama to earn a degree in public relations. She skipped the graduation ceremony to move back to Nashville.
There, she met Doyle "Butch" Primm, an Oklahoma-reared musician who soon became her husband and frequent songwriting partner. In June 1996, she took part in a series of tributes to her songwriter friend, the late
Walter Hyatt, singing his "Tell Me Baby" at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Nashville agent Bobby Cudd was sufficiently impressed to hook her up with producer Tony Brown. After a few meetings, Brown asked her to cut some demos, from which two tracks -- "Pardon Me" and "Call My Name" -- ended up on her first MCA album,
Alabama Song
.
Her song "A Soft Place to Fall" was tapped for
The Horse Whisperer
in 1998, and she also appeared in the movie. Because the ballad earned her an
Academy Award nomination,
[1] she performed it on the
1999 Oscars ceremony. However, none of her singles from
Alabama Song
or its follow-up
The Hardest Part
caught on at radio, though both projects were highly praised by critics.
When Brown moved from MCA to Universal South, Moorer followed. Her 2002 album
Miss Fortune
earned more raves but didn't meet sales expectations. She almost got another big break by recording the duet "Picture" with
Kid Rock after
Sheryl Crow declined. However, Crow changed her mind, and the Rock-Crow version was a huge radio hit. Yet, the song was credited on the charts to both Crow and Moorer, in addition, the
CD single featuring Moorer sold a 500,000 copies and is certified Gold by the
RIAA.
Her ballad "Tumbling Down" (from
Miss Fortune
) was featured on the soundtrack of the popular 2002 film
The Rookie
.
Her album,
Show
was recorded in one night (two performances) at the 12th and Porter, Nashville and despite popular belief, it features the first recorded collaboration of both Moorer sisters.
After releasing
Show
and DVD on Universal South, Moorer moved to independent label Sugar Hill Records. With a slightly rougher edge than past efforts,
The Duel
was released in April 2004.
About a year after The Duel, Moorer divorced Primm and married
Steve Earle, after serving as his opening act on a European tour. Earle produced her 2006 album,
Getting Somewhere
. Moorer wrote all the songs, with the exception of one co-written with Earle. The couple live in New York City. She and Earle were nominated for a Grammy award in the category Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, for the song "Days Aren't Long Enough" from Earle's "Washington Square Serenade."
Moorer released the
Buddy Miller-produced
Mockingbird
in February 2008
[2]; an album mainly of covers of songs by female singer/songwriters including her sister,
Shelby Lynne.
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| Record Label
|
US Country
| US Heat
| US Indie
|
1998
| Alabama Song
| 68
| —
| —
| MCA Nashville
|
2000
| The Hardest Part
| 26
| 26
| —
|
2002
| Miss Fortune
| 35
| 34
| —
| Universal South
|
2003
| Show
| 49
| —
| —
|
2004
| The Duel
| 55
| —
| 41
| Sugar Hill
|
2006
| Getting Somewhere
| —
| —
| —
|
2008
| Mockingbird
| —
| 18
| 44
| New Line
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart
|
Compilations
Year
| Album
|
2005
| The Definitive Collection
|
2008
| The Ultimate Collection
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Chart positions
| Album
|
US Country
| CAN Country
|
1998
| "A Soft Place to Fall"
| 73
| —
| Alabama Song
|
"Set You Free"
| 72
| —
|
"Alabama Song"
| —
| 73
|
1999
| "Pardon Me"
| —
| —
|
2000
| "Send Down an Angel"
| 66
|
| The Hardest Part
|
2001
| "Think It Over"
| 57
|
|
2002
| "Tumbling Down"
| —
|
| Miss Fortune
|
"Cold in California"
| —
|
|
2003
| "Going Down" (with Shelby Lynne)
| —
|
| Show
|
2004
| "All Aboard"
| —
| —
| The Duel
|
2006
| "Fairweather"
| —
| —
| Getting Somewhere
|
2007
| "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl"
| —
| —
| Mockingbird
|
2008
| "Dancing Barefoot"
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart * denotes unknown peak positions
|
Guest singles
Year
| Single
| Artist
| Chart positions
| Album
|
US Country
| US
| US AC
|
2002
| "Picture"A
| Kid Rock
| 21
| 4
| 17
| single only
|
2008
| "Days Aren't Long Enough"
| Steve Earle
| —
| —
| —
| Washington Square Serenade
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
- ASong was credited on the charts to Kid Rock with Sheryl Crow or Allison Moorer.
References
- Session Timeout - Academy Awards Database - AMPAS
- Allison Moorer Pays Tribute to Artists Who Inspired Her with 'Mockingbird'