Jann Browne

A singer/songwriter whose eclectic body of work has embraced both retro-styled honky tonk and tough, bluesy lyrical introspections, Jann Browne is an artist with the talent to craft a mainstream success -- and the guts and integrity to walk away from Nashville when she grew uncomfortable with the music industry. Jann Browne was raised in Indiana and developed a taste for country music from her grandparents, who were members of a square dancing troupe that often performed at bluegrass festivals. However, Browne's own musical impulses leaned more toward rock & roll and blues, and as a teenager she began performing with local rock bands. In the late '70s, Browne pulled up stakes and moved to California, where she began writing and performing new songs with a stronger country influence. After a brief stint as a vocalist with Asleep at the Wheel, Browne moved to Nashville, and her material caught the ear of an A&R executive at Curb Records; in 1990, Browne was signed to the label and she released her debut album, Tell Me Why, that same year. Tell Me Why was a surprise success, spawning two hit singles, "Tell Me Why" and "You Ain't Down Home," and earned Browne a nomination as Female Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. However, Browne -- a maverick who felt at home with such off-mainstream country & western artists as Emmylou Harris and Iris DeMent, both of whom have recorded with her -- very soon discovered she had little taste for the politics of the major-label music industry. After her second album, 1991's Only When I Laugh, failed to sell as well as her debut, she opted out of her contract with Curb and moved back to California. Browne still had a substantial audience in Australia and Europe, and in 1995, she recorded her third album, Count Me In, for...