Ashley Monroe

All Music Guide:

Country singer Ashley Monroe was already a seasoned show business veteran when she released her self-titled album in 2007 at the tender age of 19. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Monroe was born into a family with a great love for country music -- she's kin to Carl Smith and members of the Carter Family on her father's side -- and she developed a passion for music at an early age, taking her first piano lessons when she was only seven. At age 11, Monroe won a talent contest in Pigeon Forge, TN (home to Dolly Parton's resort Dollywood), singing Patsy Montana's western classic "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart"; she brought home a $100 prize, and she was soon a regular performer at a theater in Pigeon Forge. However, Monroe's world was turned upside down when her father died in early 2000, and 13-year-old Ashley began writing songs to help her deal with the tragedy. A few years later, Monroe began making trips to Nashville to perform her music in clubs along the fabled Lower Broadway district, and before long she pulled up stakes and moved to Music City. While Monroe's youth led to a certain degree of resistance at record labels and publishing houses in Nashville, her music impressed manager Clarence Spalding, who signed her as a client and began shopping her talents around town. While an initial major-label development deal went sour, in 2006 Monroe's music found an appreciative ear at Columbia Records, and she teamed up with producer Mark Wright (whose clients include Clint Black, Gretchen Wilson, and Los Lonely Boys) to record her first album. An advance single from the album, "Satisfied," didn't perform well on country radio, nor did a second single. Monroe's album -- also called Satisfied -- appeared briefly as a digital release to little attention and all plans for a physical release were scrapped.

All the problems with Satisfied led to Monroe and Columbia separating in 2007. Over the next few years, Monroe worked behind the scenes as both a songwriter and singer, having tunes appear on albums by Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert while often singing sessions at Jack White's Third Man Records. Lambert turned out to be a pivotal connection for Monroe. The two became friends and, along with Angaleena Presley, formed Pistol Annies, whose 2011 eponymous debut became a significant hit. The success of Pistol Annies revived Monroe's solo career. She signed with Warner, teamed with producer Vince Gill, and released the album Like a Rose in March of 2013.

Wikipedia:

Ashley Monroe (born September 10, 1986, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States) is an American country music singer-songwriter. She has released two solo singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The singles "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn) reached No. 43 and No. 37, respectively. Both singles were intended to be released on Monroe's debut album, Satisfied, in 2007, but the album went unreleased. Soon after, Monroe left Columbia Records' roster in late 2007, and Satisfied was finally released on May 19, 2009. In June 2011, Monroe, Miranda Lambert and Angeleena Presley formed a band called Pistol Annies. Monroe's second studio album, Like a Rose, was released on March 5, 2013 and received widespread critical acclaim.

Biography [edit]

Monroe was born on September 10, 1986 in Knoxville, Tennessee. At age 11, she won a talent contest singing "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and found steady work at a theater there. While growing up, her parents played songs by the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, so her country rock roots started early on. Monroe's father died from cancer in 2000, when she was just 13. While still grieving over their loss, Monroe and her mother continued on with their lives and moved to Nashville so she could pursue her career in music.

On the night of Friday, September 14, 2012, Monroe announced on Twitter that she had accepted the proposal of boyfriend (now fiancé) John Danks, starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. The proposal came after the Pistol Annies finished their first show of their headlining tour (no longer tagging along with Lambert's summer tour) and the week of her birthday. Tweeting "I SAID YES! BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!"

Satisfied [edit]

After a year in Nashville, she gained a publishing deal as a songwriter, which then led to her signing to a record contract with Sony Records under John Grady, where she began to record her debut album, Satisfied. In 2006, the title track to the album was released as the first single to country radio. It failed to make the top 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart, however, a second single was released shortly after. "I Don't Want To" was released as the second single, which featured Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn. It initially did well on the charts, charting at No. 37.

Still after two singles, the album still hadn't been released. The label then decided not to release the album until Monroe charted a top 20 single. But, no follow-up singles were ever released. iTunes briefly had the album available in July 2006 but it was removed from the online store by mid-August.

In late 2007, Monroe and Columbia Records parted ways, and Satisfied went without being released. In addition to her own material, she co-wrote Katrina Elam's 2007 single "Flat on the Floor" (which was also recorded by Carrie Underwood on her 2007 album Carnival Ride), as well as Jason Aldean's 2009 single, "The Truth", and Miranda Lambert's 2011 single, "Heart Like Mine."

In April 2009, it was announced on Monroe's MySpace page that Satisfied would be released to digital retailers (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.) on May 19, 2009. The single "I Don't Want To" was not included.

In early 2012 Amazon.com and Spotify began streaming and selling an MP3 track called "Promised Land" that was originally recorded for, but left off of, the "Satisfied" album and now is listed as a Bonus Track.

Ashley Monroe EP [edit]

In late 2009 Monroe posted on her MySpace page that she was independently releasing a new self-titled EP. It would only be sold at the live shows. While she was touring with the Ten out of Tenn artists she realized she had nothing to sell to the fans who loved her sets and she wanted to give them something. This EP contains the tracks "Has Anybody Ever Told You", "Angeline", "Drink for Two", "And You" along with Trent Dabbs collaboration "Everything I Wanted".

Like a Rose [edit]

Ashley Monroe received a record deal with Warner Bros. Nashville and released her second studio album, Like a Rose on March 5, 2013. The album, which was met with widespread critical acclaim, features nine tracks co-written by the singer, one of which is a collaboration with Blake Shelton. "Like a Rose" (the title track) was released to radio as the album's first single on March 4, 2013.

Collaborations [edit]

Trent Dabbs [edit]

In early 2008 Ashley Monroe began collaborating with singer-songwriter Trent Dabbs and creating several demo tracks that appeared on their individual MySpace pages over the course of several months before the www.myspace.com/ashleymonroetrentdabbs page was created. The end result is an EP that has been digitally released on both iTunes and Amazon.

The demo tracks that were available to streams for the Monroe/Dabbs collaboration sessions have been two versions of "Shine" one with Ashley on lead vocals and one with Trent that was then placed on his most recent release.

Other tracks have included "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low [or I'm Staying Low]", "Now That I Know", "When the Day Is Done", "Everything I Wanted" and "Gone".

The official EP track listing however contains only five of these songs: "I'm Coming Over", "Laying Low", "See Right Through" (the only track that never appeared on MySpace), "Now That I Know" and "Gone".

Ashley can also be heard on backing vocals (as well as having writing credits) on Trent Dabbs song "Your Side Now".

Backing Vocals [edit]

Monroe contributed backing vocals on Will Hoge's song "Goodnight/Goodbye" off his 2009 album The Wreckage. The song was released as a soft single in late 2009.

Ashley can also be heard on Cory Morrow's 2007 album Ten Years on the track "More Than Perfect". Andrea Glass's 2008 release Stood Under Stars features her on two tracks "The Price" and "North Wind". Ashley is also featured on the title track of Wade Bowen's If We Ever Make It Home album. Most recently, on a track she co-wrote with Miranda Lambert ("Me and Your Cigarettes" found on Revolution, Miranda Lambert) she is backing vocals. She is also featured in the video for All I Have (Acoustic) starring Mat Kearney and an unreleased version of Fire & Rain (Acoustic) by Mat as well. Ashley is also doing background vocals on the 2011 release of Josh Kelley's "Georgia Clay" album for the track "A Real Good Try". There was also a 2011 video posted on YouTube of Ashley and Michelle Branch singing backing vocals for Chris Isaaks version of "Ring Of Fire" for his upcoming release "Beyond The Sun". Additionally she co-wrote two tracks and provides backing vocals for Vince Gill on "Who Wouldn't Fall In Love With You" and "If I Die".

Jack White's Third Man House Band [edit]

In late-2008, Monroe collaborated with The Raconteurs and Ricky Skaggs on The Raconteurs single, "Old Enough", which was released in bluegrass form, and as a music video.

Monroe contributes backing vocals as a member of Jack White's Third Man House Band, which performed with Wanda Jackson on her newest album, The Party Ain't Over, which was released on January 25, 2011. She is featured on the songs "Rum & Coca-Cola", "Dust on the Bible" and "Teach Me Tonight" alongside Karen Elson, dubbing themselves "The Cherry Sisters" in the liner notes. She is also given credits on the Live At Third Man Records album by Wanda Jackson having been on tour with her as part of the "Cherry Sisters".

Pistol Annies [edit]

Longtime friends, Monroe, Miranda Lambert and newcomer Angaleena Presley debuted their trio girl band Pistol Annies, with their song "Hell on Heels," on April 22, 2011 on CBS' airing of ACM Girls Night Out. The trio surprised the audience in place of Miranda singing with now husband Blake Shelton. The girls, who all met through working in the industry, have dubbed nicknames for themselves via their band name. Lambert serves as "Lonestar Annie," Monroe "Hippie Annie," and Angaleena as "Holler Annie," as she is from the hills of Kentucky. Per Lambert, whether or not the Annies would release an album will "be up to the fans." The single "Hell on Heels" was released for purchase via the Pistol Annies' website on June 12, 2011. The Pistol Annies' album Hell on Heels was released on August 23, 2011. The trio will also be featured on The Chieftain's upcoming release Voice of Ages on the track "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies".

The Pistol Annies' track "Run Daddy Run" was included on the 2012 soundtrack The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond. They have also been featured as backing vocalists on Blake Shelton's track "Blue Christmas" and on Jewel's 2013 Greatest Hits on a new version of "You Were Meant For Me".

The Pistol Annies' second album, Annie Up, was released on May 7, 2013.

Train [edit]

Monroe is featured on the fourth song of Train's 2012 album California 37, a duet titled "Bruises" which was released as a single on November 9, 2012. Monroe also performs in the music video, and is touring with Train on the Mermaids of Alcatraz tour in summer 2013, where she will sing "Bruises" and one or two of her songs from her album.