Kelly Willis

 

A native of Lawton, Oklahoma, Kelly Willis was born the youngest of three children on October 1, 1968. Her family moved several times due to her father's job in the army and, after living in North Carolina for some time, the Willises settled down in Virginia.

kelly willis joins the fireballs

Heavily influenced by her mother, who used to sing in local musicals, Kelly became interested in music. One day during a high school visit to the beach, she entered a nearby pay recording booth and sang her own version of Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear." With the demo in hand, Willis impressed her then boyfriend and joined his band at the age of 16.

Before long, Willis was at the forefront of the rockabilly group, which was soon renamed Kelly and the Fireballs. They gained popularity in the late '80s in Virginia and the Washington D.C. area before deciding to move, as a group, to Austin, Texas.

kelly willis signs mca record deal

 

Now performing in an area more readily accepting of their Southern sound, Kelly and the Fireballs landed several high profile gigs in and around Austin.

During one such performance at the Continental Club, country music star Nanci Griffith happened to be in the crowd. She was so smitten by Willis' voice that she immediately called up MCA Records. Only a few months later, Willis had a record deal.

kelly releases well traveled love & bang bang

In 1990, Kelly released her debut album, Well Traveled Love. Though country aficionados welcomed the record, sales did not reflect the acclaim. MCA encouraged Willis to keep plugging away and helped her produce a single for the Thelma and Louise soundtrack.

In 1991, she finished Bang Bang, her second effort. Unfortunately, like the first record, Bang Bang was not a hit. Needing a break from the studio, Willis turned to acting and landed a small part in Tim Robbins' political satire film Bob Roberts.

kelly willis releases self-title

 

In 1993, Willis went back to the drawing board to refocus on music. A self-titled third album hit stores that year, but again, it was not well received. Kelly was quickly discovering that breaking into the country music scene was much harder than she originally thought.

Despite positive reviews and recognition as a beauty -- People magazine included her in its "50 Most Beautiful People" list in 1994 -- Willis just couldn't get recognized. As a result, MCA dropped her from its label.

Now in a transition phase, Willis signed with A&M and recorded four tracks with them, hoping to shop around for a more permanent label. When no company came knocking, Willis began recording without label support.

Her husband, songwriter Bruce Robison, guided her through the process. Eventually, independent label Rykodisc Records took a chance with Kelly.

willis releases easy

 

In 1999, this chance paid back big time. Willis' fifth album, What I Deserve, finally received widespread attention and became the best-selling record of her career. The songs "Not Forgotten You" and "Got a Feelin' for Ya" became hits. She joined the Lilith Fair tour and was also known as a great live performer.

Due to this fame, much anticipation surrounded Willis' next release, Easy, in August 2002. By all accounts the album delivered the goods, thanks mainly to the track "Don't Come the Cowboy With Me, Sonny Jim!" Finally, Kelly was considered a solid country artist with a great voice.

Now, a decade and a half since her first album was released, Willis has decided to slow down a bit. She is concentrating on raising her son Deral and twins Abigail and Benjamin.

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