Sara Evans Popular Books

Sara Evans Biography & Facts

Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress (since 2020), and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the Billboard country songs chart and has sold over six million albums. Nine additional singles have reached the top ten of the Billboard country chart, including "I Could Not Ask for More", "I Keep Looking", and "Cheatin'". Among her top 20 charting singles are "Saints & Angels", "Backseat of a Greyhound Bus", and "As If". She has won accolades from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. She has also been nominated for several more accolades from both associations, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year. Evans grew up in New Franklin, Missouri, and started performing alongside her siblings in The Evans Family Band. The group performed throughout her childhood and early teenage years in her local area. During her teenage years, Evans and her older brother Matt formed their own band before moving to Nashville in 1991 to pursue a country music career. In Nashville, Evans met her first husband Craig Schelske and briefly moved to Aumsville, Oregon, before returning to Nashville. Upon moving back to Nashville, Evans found work as a demo singer, which led to her signing a recording contract with RCA Records. Her first album Three Chords and the Truth was released in 1997. It was followed by No Place That Far (1998), whose second single of the same name topped the Billboard country chart. Evans reached her peak success in the 2000s with the albums Born to Fly (2000), Restless (2003) and Real Fine Place (2005). The discs sold over one million copies each and included the number one country singles "Born to Fly", "Suds in the Bucket" and "A Real Fine Place to Start". In 2006, Evans appeared as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars before subsequently dropping out. Evans took steps back from her recording career to focus on her family life, only releasing a Greatest Hits package in 2008. She re-launched her career in 2011 with her sixth studio album Stronger. It was supported by the two-week number one single "A Little Bit Stronger". After the release of Slow Me Down (2014), Evans left RCA and formed her own record label. In 2017, she released her first album through the label, Words. Evans's music was originally influenced by honky tonk and neotraditional country, but shifted to an increasing focus on country pop ballads after her second album. While critical reception to her body of work has been mixed, many critics have noted the strength and twang of her singing voice. Early life Sara Lynn Evans was born in Boonville, Missouri, on February 5, 1971. She was raised in New Franklin, Missouri by parents Pat and Jack Evans. She was one of seven children (which also included her half siblings after her mother remarried). The Evans family was raised on a 400-acre farm that included several crops and livestock. To make ends meet, her mother became a school bus driver while her father became a pressman for the Columbia Daily Tribune newspaper. Evans's family discovered she had a natural singing ability after she started singing along with her two older brothers who were taking guitar lessons. This prompted Evans's mother to put her siblings into a band which they later called The Evans Family Band. Evans started performing lead vocals in the band when she was six years old. She later learned to perform guitar, mandolin, and drums. Evans was raised on a farm in New Franklin. When she was eight years old, Evans was hit by a car after crossing the highway that faced her family's farm. She was thrown onto the hood of the car and eventually landed in a grassy field along the highway. She had suffered a concussion and a leg injury. Due to the severity of her injuries, Evans was sent to the University of Missouri Hospital, located 30 miles from her hometown. To avoid having a deformed left leg, doctors had to drill pins into Evans's knee. She was unable to move from her hospital bed for six weeks. According to Evans, the accident itself and being tied to the hospital bed resulted in her having post-traumatic stress disorder. "I had severe PTSD and anxiety, but it was the '80s, and I didn't have a name for it," she explained. In 1983, Evans's parents divorced. Her mother remarried in 1985 and the couple had two more children (Evans's half sisters). After her mother remarried, the family moved to a tobacco farm, also located in New Franklin. The Evans Family Band continued performing as well. The group often performed on weekends and later had a manager. When she was about ten years old, Evans recorded a song called "I'm Gonna Be the Only Female Fiddle Player in Charlie Daniels Band". She then traveled to Nashville alongside her manager to promote the song at Fan Fair. Evans later performed on a local program called Country Stampede and briefly formed a band with her brother Matt. In 1989, Evans graduated high school. She accepted a full scholarship to study music at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri. However, she left after one semester once realizing she wanted to pursue a country music career. She returned to her mother's New Franklin farm where she got a job at the Holiday Inn as a waitress. With the money saved from waiting tables, Evans and her brother Matt moved to Nashville in 1991. After moving to Nashville, Evans got a job waiting tables during the breakfast shift at another Holiday Inn restaurant. At the restaurant she would meet her first husband who was also a waiter at the Holiday Inn. The couple started dating and temporarily moved to Aumsville, Oregon, in 1992. In Oregon, she performed billed as Sara Evans & North Santiam. The couple married while in Oregon and spent three years there before returning to Nashville in the mid-1990s. Through her lawyer, Evans got a job as a demo singer. Among the demos she recorded was a cover of Buck Owens's "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail", which was originally intended to be sent to Patty Loveless. Her demo was heard by Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard who was impressed by Evans's traditional country singing style. Howard convinced executives at RCA Records to hear Evans sing. In a live audition for RCA executive Joe Galante, Evans sang three songs. The same day, Evans was offered a recording contract from RCA Records. She accepted and signed a seven-album deal with the label. Career 1997–1999: Three Chords and the Truth and early success Evans quit her job following the signing of her contract. She chose to have her album produced by Pete Anderson, a producer and guitarist best known for his work with Dwight Yoakam. To record the album, she moved to Los Angeles. In July 1997, Three Chords and the Truth was released on RCA. The album's sound centered around traditional honky tonk country and drew critical acclaim. Allmusic's James Chrispell posit.... Discover the Sara Evans popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sara Evans books.