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Show HE’S 5 FEET 10, writes music,sings, plays guitar and wears a cowboyhat, but Terri Clark isn’t from Nashville. She wasbornin Montreal, grew up BY JAMES BRADY TERRI CLARK Terri told mea great story about her longlost sister: “My mom got pregnantat 16, She and her parents agreed she wasin no Personal: near Calgary and, by her own Born Aug. 5. 1968. in Montreal Quebec Recordings: include Terri Clark 1995: Just the Same. 1996: How | Feel, 1999. position to keep the baby, So she gave her account, was “singing for tips” up for adoption. in Nashville honky-tonks only a few years ago. Today, she’s Y Then, about a yearlater, she married my father, Her heart was so broken over losing herfirst child. And then She had me and mysister and brother. When | was15, she told methat she had had another doing slightly better, with a house in Nashville and three albums out. (How / Feel is the current one.) Since I’m city boy, | asked Terri to define toCareer day’s country music for me. “In the past. “country” used Highlights: to meanfiddlesand steel guiInclude being selected tars.” she explained. “The lines as Top New are blurred now. What happens male Country Artist is. if a Nashvillelabel brings by Billboard outa Nashville artist, they promagazine, 1995; voted moteit on country radio. But Star of I'm experimenting creatively, Tomorrow by with a folk-rock kind of counThe Nashville Network Music try thing. You'vegotto contin City News uegrowing. Therearevery few Awards, 1996. that she'd found herfirstborn, tracing the adoptive family’s name. She was living in Toronto. We flew there to meet her. and it was instant bonding. We criedall weekend and looked at old pictures. She's a mechanical artists who can afford to do the same album every time.” Howdidsheget started? “My indparents were musicians,” saidTerry, and in Montreal there wasalways a guitar around the house. Until | was 13, | was all rock ‘n’ roll. Then onenight my mom was listening to Bar bara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters on the radio, and that led me into thecountry section of the music store. I blossomed into this country-music nerd and joined the Reba McEntire Fan Club, I'd fall asleep, and my mom would come down stairs and take off my car phones andput meto bed.” As an adult in Nashville. Ter ri couldn't sell a song. So she Waitressed to pay the bills and worked in a Western apparel store. Which is whereshestarted wearing a cowboy hit—theonly female country singer who al ways does, they tell me. Why the hat? “Thad big hair then,” Ter ni said, “and wore it in thestore so T could sell morestuff, Then one day I went into the record: ing company wearing a hat and 90 percent of them loved it I didn’t want to do a rodeo queen number with a hat and ruffled dress. I'm atomboy, anyway These days, Terri is teaming Withthe fabulous Mary Chapin Carpenter. Thetwo wroteasin glecalled No Fear which Canadian Terri Cari {s tall, beantifal, wears a cowbey kal aad (s taking oa Nashville. And she jest met ber older sister for the first thas. who| was. So we were able to form a real relationship right from the start. And we shereplied. “I've been ona arned that once she and | horse, but I mM not very good. were both AndI drive Range Rover, not livingin a pickup truck. My lifestyleis Calgary at the sametime, just not really my image, | want to a few blocks go onstage without a band and away, and just sit thereall alone with my never knew it.” acoustic guitar and do things. shouldbe out this winter. So, does this fearless “cow boy” ride horses? “No, I don’t,” WhenI do that, I get a bigger reaction than when I'm with thebi and,” |
