1. Kelly Diane Willis was born on October 2,1968 and is an American country music singer-songwriter, whose music has been described as alternative country and new traditionalist.
17 Facts About Kelly Willis
1. 2.
Kelly Willis began singing when she was nine as a way to comfort herself after her parents divorced.
3.
Kelly Willis spent her middle school years in North Carolina and her high school years in Annandale, Virginia.
4.
Heavily influenced by her mother, who used to sing in local musicals, Kelly Willis became interested in music.
5.
MCA ensured that Kelly Willis was interviewed by several national magazines including unusual venues like Vogue and Mademoiselle.
6.
Kelly Willis appears as the young woman standing in a shallow stream in Dwight Yoakam's video of "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere," as well as a member of Vince Gill's "pickup band" in his Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away video.
7.
Kelly Willis was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist of the year at the 1993 ACM Awards along with Faith Hill and Lari White.
8.
In 1995, Kelly Willis collaborated with Jay Farrar on the song "Rex's Blues", which appeared on the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization.
9.
Kelly Willis continued to pursue her music career after leaving MCA.
10.
Kelly Willis's efforts resulted in the 1999 album What I Deserve, which Willis sold to Rykodisc after finishing the album.
11.
Kelly Willis was a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
12.
In early 2008, Kelly Willis announced she would take an indefinite hiatus from live performances due to family obligations.
13.
Kelly Willis has recently begun to tour outside of Texas again; first she headlined the Northern Rockies Folk Festival in Hailey, Idaho on August 7,2010.
14.
In 2011, Kelly Willis toured the United States with her husband Bruce Robison, performing new songs in preparation for an album with Robison.
15.
In 2018, Kelly Willis released Back Being Blue, her first solo album in more than a decade.
16.
Kelly Willis married high school boyfriend Mas Palermo in 1989, but they divorced in 1991.
17.
Kelly Willis went through in vitro fertilization treatments, and gave birth to son Deral Otis in January 2001.