Pam Tillis

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Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress.

She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis. Originally a demo singer in Nashville, Tennessee, Tillis was signed to Warner Bros.

Records in 1981, for which she released nine singles and one album (that contained none of the singles), Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey.

By 1991, she had signed to Arista Nashville, entering Top 40 on Hot Country Songs for the first time with "Don't Tell Me What to Do", the first of five singles from her album Put Yourself in My Place.

Tillis recorded five more albums for Arista Nashville between then and 2001, plus a greatest hits album and 22 more singles.

Her only number 1 hit on the country charts was 1995's "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)", although 12 other singles made Top 10 on that chart.

After exiting Arista, Tillis released It's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis for Lucky Dog Records in 2002, plus RhineStoned and the Christmas album Just in Time for Christmas on her own Stellar Cat label in 2007.

Her albums Homeward Looking Angel (1992), Sweetheart's Dance (1994) and Greatest Hits (1997) are all certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while Put Yourself in My Place and 1995's All of This Love are certified gold. Besides her own work, Tillis co-wrote and sang on the 1990 Warner Bros.

single "Tomorrow's World", written in honor of Earth Day, and Dolly Parton's 1992 single "Romeo".

She has won two major awards: a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1999 for the multi-artist collaboration "Same Old Train", and the 1994 Country Music Association award for Female Vocalist of the Year followed by the CMA President's Award in 1998.

Tillis has also received two Recorded Event of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Tillis has also earned one of country music's crowning achievements, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry, when she was inducted in 2000, 9 years after making her first appearance as a guest artist in 1991.

She later inducted her father into the Opry in 2007.

Early life

Pamela Yvonne Tillis was born July 24, 1957 in Plant City, Florida. She is the oldest of five children to country singer Mel Tillis and his wife, Doris. Because of her father being a country musician, she spent most of her early life in Nashville, Tennessee. When she was eight, her father invited her to sing "Tom Dooley" onstage at the Grand Ole Opry. She also began taking piano lessons at this age, and taught herself how to play guitar by age 12. At age 16, she was nearly killed in a car accident. She underwent five years of surgery, including facial reconstruction. Pam described her relationship with her father as "strict", and that she often felt "alienated" from him. She also stated that her father disapproved of her musical interests at the time, which included Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles.

Tillis enrolled at the University of Tennessee where she performed in two different groups: a jug band called the High Country Swing Band, and a folk duo with Ashley Cleveland. She dropped out of college in 1976 and moved to San Francisco, California. There she founded a band called Freelight, which played jazz and rock. Tillis also sold Avon products for additional income. She briefly worked as a backing vocalist in her father's road band, but later quit this role over creative differences. Despite this, she sang backup on his 1980 hit "Your Body Is an Outlaw". Mel also hired her to work at his publishing company, which led to her writing Barbara Fairchild's 1978 single "The Other Side of the Morning".

Personal life

Pam Tillis' first marriage was to Rick Mason in 1978. The couple had one son named Ben, with whom Tillis was pregnant when the couple divorced that same year. She told Closer Weekly in 2019 that she divorced Mason due to his alcoholism and her concerns that she "was not ready" to be in a relationship. She assumed custody of Ben after the divorce. As of 2019, Ben works as a wilderness guide.

In 1991 Tillis married songwriter and guitarist Bob DiPiero. He occasionally toured as a member of her road band Mystic Biscuit. DiPiero co-wrote "Blue Rose Is", "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial", and "It's Lonely Out There". In 1996, the couple bought a house in Nashville which was previously owned by Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash prior to those two singers' divorce. Tillis and DiPiero divorced in 1998. In 2019, she told Closer Weekly that the two divorced because she felt that their musical careers were overtaking their personal lives, although she also stated that she still considered DiPiero an "awesome person". Tillis began dating musician, photographer, and record producer Matt Spicher in 2001. The two married in 2009.

Tillis' brother Mel Tillis Jr., often credited as Sonny Tillis, is also a singer and songwriter. He co-wrote Jamie O'Neal's number-one single "When I Think About Angels" along with singles by Clinton Gregory, Tammy Cochran, and Ty Herndon. Mel Tillis died at age 85 in 2017, after which Sonny began touring as a tribute act to him. Mel's widow Doris died at age 79 in 2019.

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Music career

Tillis signed her first recording deal with Elektra Records in 1981. The label's debut single "Every Home Should Have One" was released the same year. "Every Home Should Have One" was a disco song, not her later music. Elektra's first release was this year, but she remained with its parent company, Warner Records. Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey, the latter label's debut album in 1983, appeared on her debut album. Dixie Gamble, the then-wife of record producer Jimmy Bowen, co-produced the album. Jolly Hills Productions, a session singer and Craig Krampf, was the assister. The singles "Killer Comfort" and "Love Is Sneakin' Up on You" were included in the Doll of Cutey book "above and Beyond." Despite the fact that neither single artist charted, the former made a music video that aired on MTV. Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe rated the album two stars out of five, claiming that "Pam Tillis, even in her youth, is a shrewish songwriter with cutting-edge knowledge on the human experience." To make her a carefree New Wave pop star is to undermine what makes her unique in the first place."

Tillis returned to Nashville after remaining her Warner contract, citing dissatisfaction with the pop music she was recording. With "Goodbye Highway," a song she co-wrote with Mary Ann Kennedy and Pam Rose, she made her first appearance on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in 1984. "One of Those Things" (her sequel) did not chart. Janie Fricke would release a version of the song later this year. Following this, there were four other singles that debuted in the lowest regions of the charts between 1986 and 1987. "Those Memories of You," one of these, became a top-five hit for Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. Tillis was dropped from Warner in 1987 after a poor showing in her singles. Despite her lack of commercial success, the Academy of Country Music (ACM) nominated her in 1986 for Top New Female Vocalist. She performed in several nightclubs and in her own local revues, contributing to her own time period. Twang Night (where she performed covers of 1960s country standards) and Women in the Round (where she performed with other female songwriters) were among the Twang Nights. Ashley Cleveland, Tricia Walker, and Karen Staley were among the former featured writers on the website, including Ashley Cleveland, Tricia Walker, and Karen Staley. According to Tillis herself, these revues contributed to her increasing fame around the region. She also boosted her career by performing advertisement jingles for Coca-Cola and Coors beer.

Clive Davis, Arista Records' then-president, announced the establishment of Arista Nashville, the label's country music division. Tillis was one of the first five acts to sign a catalog, alongside Alan Jackson, Lee Roy Parnell, Michelle Wright, and Asleep at the Wheel. Tillis and Kix Brooks (who would later sign to Arista Nashville as one half of Brooks & Dunn) co-wrote the promotional single "Tomorrow's World" on Warner, which was the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day. Highway 101, Lynn Anderson, Vince Gill, Dan Seals, Dan Seals, as well as Brooks and Tillis, were among the twenty different country music acts to participate in the campaign. In May 1990, the song debuted on the Hot Country Songs charts, peaking at 74. Tim Tillis co-wrote Juice Newton's 1989 album "When Love Comes Around the Bend" (later covered by Dan Seals in 1992) and Highway 101's 1990 hit "Someone Else's Trouble Now" ("Someone Else's Trouble Now" (later covered by Dan Seals).

Tillis made her debut on Arista Nashville in late 1990 with "Don't Tell Me What to Do." In early 1991, the Billboard country charts reached its highest level, making it her first successful single release. The song also landed on the top of the old Radio & Records' country music charts. Marty Stuart performed the song on Columbia Records in 1988, but his version was not released until 1992. The song was released in January 1991 as the lead single to her breakthrough album Put Yourself in My Place. The project was co-produced by Paul Worley (a producer and guitarist known for his work with Eddy Raven and Highway 101) and Ed Seay. The album's next single, "One of Those Things," was a re-recording of "One of Those Things," which also reached the top ten on the country charts. After that came the album's title song, which Tillis co-wrote with Carl Jackson. "Maybe It Was Memphis," the album's most popular song, debuted at number three in early 1992. Since being Tillis' signature song, "Maybe It Was Memphis" has since been described as Tillis' signature song. Tillis had originally recorded the album when it was on Warner but did not announce this version at the time. According to Billboard, Arista Nashville executives were initially reluctant to announce "Maybe It Was Memphis" as a single until Tillis was "firmly established" as an artist, owing to the song's more country pop sound. "Blue Rose Is" was Tillis' fifth and final single on the album, which Tillis co-wrote. This song was less popular on the charts. All of the singles off Put Yourself in My Place except "Blue Rose Is" which made top 20 on the Canadian country music charts when RPM first announced it. "Ancient History," another cut from the album, was later released as a single for the Canadian band Prairie Oyster in 1996.

Put Yourself in My Place was given a "B+" rating by Entertainment Weekly, meaning that it "shows how well she can produce smart and sassy country content...and also sell it with a commanding, big voice presence." In a 2007 retrospective of Tillis, Kevin John Coyne wrote, "It's much easier to overlook Put Yourself in My Place when discussing Pam's body of work because of the fact that the music is so good that it will come rather than the album's deficiency." "The album that established Pam Tillis as a performer in her own right has a traditional country base cut featuring bluegrass, folk, and rock," AllMusic's Brian Mansfield said. Tillis was honoured by the Country Music Association (CMA) in 1991 and 1992 for the Horizon Award (now known as the Best New Artist Award). In 1991 and "Maybe It Was Memphis" a year later, the same group nominated her twice in the category Single of the Year: for "Don't Tell Me What to Do" and "Maybe It Was Memphis" respectively. Between 1991 and 1995, she was also nominated by the Academy of Country Music for Top Female Vocalist five times. At the 35th Grammy Awards in 1993, "Maybe It Was Memphis" gave Tillis her first Grammy Award in the category of Best Female Vocal Performance. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) issued a gold medal in June 1992 for sales of 500,000 copies.

Arista Nashville's next album, Homeward Looking Angel, was released in 1992. The lead single, "Shake the Sugar Tree," made it to the top of the country charts for the same year. Both Tillis and Worley enjoyed Stephanie Bentley's vocals on the demo track and decided to keep them on the final album. "Let That Pony Run" by Gretchen Peters' album charted another top-ten hit. "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial," and "Do You Know Where Your Man Is" both reached their lowest chart positions after the event. "Love Is Only Human," a duet with Diamond Rio lead singer Marty Roe was also included in the Homeward Looking Angel. Tillis co-wrote half of the album's songs, including "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" with her then-husband, songwriter Bob DiPiero. "Do You Know Where Your Man Is From," Worley answered with a singing version. In 1995, the album was rated platinum for one million copies. Homeward Looking Angel is rated "C+" by Alanna Nash, who said Tillis' vocals are "irritably in-your-face." AllMusic's Roch Parisien praised the singles' songwriting in particular, calling it a "very good" album.

Tillis was featured in two collaborative singles in 1993: "Romeo" by Dolly Parton and George Jones' "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair." The former was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 2015, while the latter received the Country Music Association's Vocal Event of the Year Award that year. Both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association also nominated her for Female Vocalist of the Year, while "Cleopatra, Queen of Denial" was selected by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association for Video of the Year. Several of Tillis' archived recordings for Warner were assembled into an album titled Collection in early 1994. The singles "There Goes My Love" and "Those Memories of You" were included on the album, as well as the original Warner recordings of "Maybe It Was Memphis" and "One of Those Things" (one of Those Things). Lorrie Morgan's previously unveiled version of "Five Minutes" was also included. In a review for AllMusic, Mansfield found the inclusion of the latter three songs "interesting."

Sweetheart's Dance, Tillis' third Arista album, was released in April 1994. It's been a year since it became her second platinum album. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (now Music Canada) had also designated it platinum (now Music Canada). Tillis said she "wanted to paint a landscape rather than a self-portrait" on her first two albums, rather than on her first two albums. She co-produced for the first time with guitarist and producer Steve Fishell, who also worked with guitarist and producer Steve Fishell. "Spilled Perfume," the album's lead single (which Tillis co-wrote with Dean Dillon) debuted at number one on the charts after its release. The sequel was a recreation of Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk in the Room," which peaked at number two on Billboard and at number one on Radio & Records. This issue featured backing vocals from Mary Chapin Carpenter and Kim Richey. Tillis' only top single on both the Billboard and RPM charts came after it came "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life). "I Was Blown Away," the album's next single, debuted on number 16 before Tillis demanded that it be dropped as a single because the word would be insensitive to listeners following the Oklahoma City bombing. "In Between Dances" replaced it, a top-five hit by year's end, with "In Between Dances" becoming a top-five hit. Bill Monroe, a bluegrass musician, appeared on "British Empire Rock," a sequel to Mel Tillis' "Megatrons Gone" featured bluegrass singer Bill Monroe, as well as Pam's siblings Carrie, Cindy, Connie, and Mel Tillis Jr. on the album's closing track. When celebrating the inclusion of her family on the closing track, Province President John D. McLaughlin called Tillis "clear-eyed and secure." In 1994, the Country Music Association named her Female Vocalist of the Year, and she was nominated in the same category again every year through 1997. At the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in early 1996, "Mi Vida Loca" was named for Best Female Vocal Performance.

Tillis appeared at a benefit concert for Nashville Cares, a local group that promotes HIV/AIDS services. Tillis released All of This Love in late 1995, her fourth disc for Arista and fifth overall. "Deep Down" and "The River and the Highway" were two of the top ten hits for All of This Love. The number 14 "It's Lonely Out There" and "Betty's Got a Bass Boat" were also included on the list, her first Arista single to miss the top 40. She made the album by herself. At the time, Tom Roland of The Tennessean expressed concern for the rarity of female performers in country music, quoting Gail Davies, Rosanne Cash, and Wendy Waldman among the few. Tillis likened her role as an actor to that of a film producer, noting that all of the musicians concerned were supportive. Because the song "The River and the Highway" contrasts how men and women see a relationship, she also considers her role "ironic." All of This Love was rated highly by Billboard, with Tillis "continues to blossom as a singer" as a performer. All of This Love is Tillis' second gold album. Lorrie Morgan and Carlene Carter supported the album while touring with Lorrie Morgan and Carlene Carter.

In 1997, the most popular Hits package was assembled, compiling her most profitable Arista singles to that point. The album contained two new songs, both of which were released as singles. Both "All the Good Ones Are Gone" and "Land of the Living" were among the top-five on the country charts in 1997. At the Country Music Association awards, Music Video of the Year, and Single of the Year were voted Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards, the former was named Song of the Year. In 2001, Tillis' third and final platinum album was released.

In 1998, Tillis released Every Time for Arista Nashville. Tillis did not co-write any of the songs on her previous albums, unlike her previous albums. She told The Tennessean at the time of the album's unveiling that she felt she then-recent separation from Bob DiPiero would result in any song she co-wrote "dark and depressing." Beth Nielsen Chapman, Leslie Satcher, and Eagles member Timothy B. Schmit were among the contributors on the album. Billy Joe Walker Jr., a guitarist and producer, co-produced Tillis' album "We Must Be Thinking Alike," with additional work from Chris Farren on his song "We Must Be Thinking Alike." "I Said a Prayer," Satcher's album lead single, was "I Said a Prayer." This song debuted on the American country charts and ranked seventh on the Canadian country charts, and at number eleven on the American country charts. The album's only other single was the title song. While Tillis' voice and song selection were lauded by Allmusic, Jana Pendragon slammed the "overproduction that characterizes Nashville in the 1990s." Country Standard Time's Joel Bernstein was mixed on the album as well. He thought that "I Said a Prayer" sounded like a "sixties girl group" and that the remainder of the album "lacks her usual playfulness."

Following the introduction of Every Time, Tillis was involved in many collaborative projects. One of these was recording the original song "After a Kiss" from the soundtrack to the 1999 film Happy, Texas. This year, this song debuted at number 50 on Hot Country Songs. She was also one of many artists on the 1999 Columbia Records tribute album A Tribute to Tradition. This year, this song received the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. This year, the Academy of Country Music has also selected this group for Vocal Event of the Year, the year's first nomination to date from the Academy of Country Music. George Jones and Tammy Wynette's 1976 duet "Golden Ring" on Sellers' 1999 album A Matter of Time was covered by her and Jason Sellers. Tillis appeared at many concerts with her father in 1999. Little Jimmy Dickens, a country singer, invited Tillis to join the Grand Ole Opry in 2000. Marty Stuart was inducted into the Army on August 26, 2000. Later that year, she appeared at a service in honor of the Grand Ole Opry's 75th anniversary, which was televised on the former TNN (The Nashville Network). "I Lost It" was Kenny Chesney's 2000 album "I Lost It" featured Tillis on background vocals.

Arista Nashville's parent company, Sony Music Nashville, has postponed the release of Tillis' last Arista album Thunder & Roses. It was scheduled for release in 2000 but it wasn't until early 2001 that it was released. "Waiting on the Wind" was her father's second duet on the album. The pair had performed the song in concert many years ago. With Dann Huff and Kenny Greenberg, Walker and Worley alternated in production duties. "Please" was Thunder & Roses' only chart entry, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard country chart. "Please" by Kevin Oliver of Country Standard Time was "one of those uplifting slice of life anthems that looks fantastic on the radio and connects with women on a level that men may never fully comprehend." He also believes that the album as a whole had a "strong yet deft touch." Tillis herself cited the album as one that would appeal to single women.

Tillis left Arista Nashville in early 2002, citing both the expiration of her deal and her dissatisfaction with Arista executives as reasons for her decision in favour of songs she wanted to hear over songs she wanted to hear. She began recording a tribute album to her father, which consisted of songs he wrote or wrote for other artists. Although she originally intended to record the project on her own, she later joined Epic Records' Lucky Dog branch in 2002. It's All Relative: Tillis Sings Tillis, the tribute album was released by Lucky Dog the same year. The album was produced by Ray Benson, frontman of Asleep at the Wheel. "I Ain't Never" was one of Mel Tillis' number one singles. "So Wrong" by Patsy Cline and Bobby Bare's "Detroit City" were also included in the edition. Dolly Parton performed on a front cover of Mel Tillis' first chart entry in 1958, "The Violet and a Rose." On a cover of "Honey (Open That Door)," a number-one single written by Mel Tillis for Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood and Rhonda Vincent sang backing vocals. Marty Stuart, Delbert McClinton, and The Jordanaires were among the album's other artists. Eli Messinger, a Country Standard Time writer, lauded Pam Tillis' vocal interpretation of her father's songs, naming the collection "heartfelt."

Following another label re-structuring in June 2003, Tillis was dropped from Lucky Dog. Despite all of this, she started performing her own shows in Branson, Missouri, with comedian Yakov Smirnoff's ownership. Both her and her father's hit singles were included on these programs, as well as tales about her childhood. Carrie's sister contributed to these shows by singing backing vocals. Smirnoff had been invited to perform there, but she turned down because it would have a different presentation style than her normal concerts. In particular, the use of a theater allowed her to incorporate costumes into her performances. She continued to perform in Branson in 2004 with Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. Linda Davis was hired by Linda Davis in 2005 as the lead act of an annual Christmas concert at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville. She went on tour at this point, and she's created both a concert DVD and a Christmas album that were exclusive to her shows.

Tillis did not have another album until 2007, when she founded Stellar Cat, her own brand. RhineStoned was her first album for her own label. Leslie Satcher, Lisa Brokop, Matraca Berg, Jon Randall, and Verlon Thompson were among the album's co-writers. "Life has Changed Us Around," John Anderson sang duet vocals on "Life Has Changed Us Around." Despite not officially promoting it as a single, Tillis felt that being on her own label gave her greater creative control than before, including her decision to release the album to Americana music markets and to film a music video for the track "Band in the Window." Gary Nicholson, a singer-songwriter, co-produced the project. Kevin Oliver of Country Standard Time discovered influences of rock music and jazz, saying that the album was "widely varied and enjoyable." Just in Time for Christmas, the Christmas album that was previously only available at her shows, was released later this year. It was a blend of Christmas styles and original content. The Country Music Hall of Fame opened "It's All Relative" in 2007, displaying artifacts from Mel and Pam's musical careers.

Tillis began traveling in 2008 and included Regina, Saskatchewan dates in January. She performed both her and her father's songs, as well as album cuts and new material on this tour. She had no other albums until Recollection, which contained re-recordings of her hit singles from Arista Nashville. She did this after finding how "dated" some of her old songs sounded, and relied on her road band to provide instrumentation. After booking tour dates with Lorrie Morgan, the two performers decided to record Dos Divas in 2013. The collection contained a collection of solo tracks from each artist as well as a number of duets. On a tour called Grits and Glamour, the two bands toured together to promote this album. Come See Me and Come Lonely, a second collaborative album, was released in 2017. The Pam Tillis Trio's acoustic guitarists performed acoustic concerts from this point. After being diagnosed with cancer, Tillis, Morgan, and Terri Clark held a charity concert in 2018 for country singer Anita Cochran. Ashley Cleveland, Tricia Walker, and Karen Staley were among those who voted for Women in the Round in 2017.

Tillis revealed in 2020 that she had been recording a new album. "Looking for a Feeling" was Tillis' album title track on February 28, 2020. The album was released two months later. It features twelve songs, six of which were co-written by Tillis, as well as a review of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' "Dark Turn of Mind." Tillis had been selected for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Kirk Franklin, Brad Paisley, and Shania Twain, but Twain was later named for the award on June 29, 2022.

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