Alison Krauss - The Bluegrass Queen Redefining American Music

Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler, and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join Union Station, releasing her first album with them as a group in 1989 and performing with them ever since.

Krauss has released 14 albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and sparked a renewed interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards. Platinum-selling Raising Sand (2007) was the first of her two collaborations with English rock singer Robert Plant.

As of 2019, she has won 27 Grammy Awards from 42 nominations, ranking her fourth behind Beyoncé, Quincy Jones, and classical conductor Georg Solti for most Grammy Award wins overall. Krauss was the singer and female artist with the most awards in Grammy history until Beyoncé won her 28th Grammy in 2021. When Krauss won her first Grammy in 1991, she was the second-youngest winner at that time.

On November 21, 2019, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in September 2021.

Early Life

Alison Maria Krauss was born in Decatur, Illinois, to Fred and Louise Krauss. Fred Krauss was a German immigrant who came to the United States in 1952 at age 12 and taught his native language while he earned a doctorate in psychology. He later went into the business of real estate; among the properties he owned was the so-called American Football House, located at 704 W. High St. in Urbana, which was featured on the cover of the first album by emo band American Football. Louise Krauss, an American of German and Italian descent, is the daughter of artists and works as an illustrator of magazines and textbooks. Fred and Louise met while they were studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

After a brief residence in nearby Decatur where Alison was born, the family settled in Champaign, where she was raised with her older brother, Viktor. Krauss's mother played banjo and acoustic guitar, so Krauss was exposed to folk music at home, and she heard rock and pop music on the radio. She liked Gary Numan's synth-pop song "Cars" and rock bands such as Foreigner, Bad Company, and Electric Light Orchestra. Her brother Viktor played piano and double bass in high school, launching a career as a jazz and rock multi-instrumentalist. At her mother's insistence, Krauss began studying classical violin at age five. Krauss was reluctant to spend time practicing, but she continued with classical lessons until she was eleven. Krauss said her mother "tried to find interesting things for me to do" and "wanted to get me involved in music, in addition to art and sports." Krauss was also very active in roller skating, and in her teens, she finally decided on a career in music rather than roller derby.

In mid-1979, Krauss's mother saw a notice for an upcoming fiddle competition at the Champaign County Fair, so she bought a bluegrass fiddle instruction book and the 1977 bluegrass album Duets by violinist Richard Greene. Krauss learned by ear to play several songs from the album, including "Tennessee Waltz," which she practiced on violin with her mother accompanying on guitar. Krauss entered the talent contest in the novice category at the age of eight, placing fourth. (This is where she first met fiddler Andrea Zonn, who won the junior division at age 10.) Krauss investigated the bluegrass genre more thoroughly after this, and she developed a knack for learning complex riffs by ear, quickly turning them into her own version. In 1981–82, Krauss performed with Marvin Lee Flessner's country dance band, in which she fiddled and sang. In September 1983, her parents bought her a custom violin made by hand in Missouri – her first adult-sized instrument. At 13, she won the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship, and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America named her the "Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest." She was also called "virtuoso" by Vanity Fair magazine.

Krauss first met Dan Tyminski around 1984 at a festival held by the Society. Every current member of her band, Union Station, first met her at these festivals.

Career

• 1985–1991: Early Career
  Krauss made her recording debut in 1986 on the independent album, Different Strokes, in collaboration with Swamp Weiss and Jim Hoiles, featuring her brother Viktor Krauss. From the age of 12, she performed with bassist and songwriter John Pennell in a band called "Silver Rail," which later changed its name to Union Station. Later that year, she signed to Rounder Records, and in 1987, at 16, she released her debut album Too Late to Cry with Union Station as her backup band.

• Krauss' debut solo album was quickly followed by her first group album with Union Station in 1989, Two Highways. The album includes traditional tunes like "Wild Bill Jones" and "Beaumont Rag," along with a bluegrass interpretation of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." Krauss' contract with Rounder required her to alternate between releasing a solo album and an album with Union Station, leading to the release of her solo album I've Got That Old Feeling in 1990. This album marked her first entry onto the Billboard charts, peaking in the top seventy-five on the country chart.

• 1992–1999: Rising Success
  Krauss' second Union Station album, Every Time You Say Goodbye, was released in 1992, earning her a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album of the year. She joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1993 at the age of 21, becoming the youngest cast member at that time and the first bluegrass artist to join the Opry in 29 years. In 1994, she collaborated with the Cox Family on a bluegrass album called I Know Who Holds Tomorrow. That same year, she recorded with the band Shenandoah on its single "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart," which brought her to the country music Top Ten for the first time and won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

• Krauss' compilation album, Now That I've Found You: A Collection, was released in 1995, featuring covers of her favorite works by other artists. The album included a cover of Keith Whitley's "When You Say Nothing at All," which reached number three on the Billboard country chart and sold two million copies, becoming her first double-platinum album. Her next Union Station album, So Long So Wrong, was released in 1997 and also won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.

• 2000–Present: Current Career
  In 2001, Krauss released New Favorite with Union Station, which won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. The album was followed by the double platinum live album Live in 2002 and a DVD of the same performance in 2003. In 2004, she released Lonely Runs Both Ways, which became another gold-certified album. Krauss collaborated with Brad Paisley on the single "Whiskey Lullaby," which won the Country Music Association Awards for "Best Musical Event" and "Best Music Video" of the year.

• In 2007, Krauss and Robert Plant released the collaborative album Raising Sand, which won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Returning with Union Station, Krauss released Paper Airplane in 2011, which became her highest-charting album in the U.S. In 2017, she released Windy City, an album of country and bluegrass classics, and in 2021, she announced a sequel album to Raising Sand with Robert Plant titled Raise the Roof.

Reception and Influences

• Krauss' musical influences include J. D. Crowe, Ricky Skaggs, and Tony Rice. Many of her songs are described as sad and often revolve around themes of love, especially lost love. Despite her close involvement with her group and a long career in music, she rarely performs music she has written herself. Krauss has been credited with influencing various "Newgrass" artists, including Nickel Creek, for which she acted as record producer on two of their albums.

Awards and Honors

• Krauss has won 27 Grammy Awards over the course of her career, ranking her fourth on the list of winners of the most Grammy Awards. She has also received numerous other accolades, including International Bluegrass Music Association Awards and Country Music Association Awards. In 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music, and in 2015, her hometown of Champaign, Illinois, designated a street as "Honorary Alison Krauss Way."

Personal Life

• Krauss was married to musician Pat Bergeson from 1997 to 2001, and they have one child, born in 1999.

Discography

Studio Albums

• 1986: Different Strokes (with Jim Hoiles and Swamp Weiss)

• 1987: Too Late to Cry

• 1989: Two Highways (with Union Station)

• 1990: I've Got That Old Feeling

• 1992: Every Time You Say Goodbye (with Union Station)

• 1994: I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (with the Cox Family)

• 1997: So Long So Wrong (with Union Station)

• 1999: Forget About It

• 2001: New Favorite (with Union Station)

• 2004: Lonely Runs Both Ways (with Union Station)

• 2007: Raising Sand (with Robert Plant)

• 2011: Paper Airplane (with Union Station)

• 2017: Windy City

• 2021: Raise the Roof (with Robert Plant)

Krauss continues to be a significant figure in the music industry, influencing countless artists and captivating audiences with her unique blend of bluegrass and country music. Her contributions to the genre and her impressive accolades solidify her status as a true icon in American music.