Tiffany is a listener that asked about her favorite from a few years ago, Suzy Bogguss. Tiff, she was a real favorite of mine too. Right up front, if I could pick one artist, to sing one song, that one, would be Suzy Bogguss. She had a nice run from the late 1980's into the 1990's.
She is blessed with perfect pitch - it's a real thing, (click to find out exactly what it is) it's in her DNA and it's darn rare. She knows naturally where the notes are and doesn't slur and slide around with needless unwritten notes to eventually find and lock on to them like many do. She also completely understands too that louder is not better - better is better. She made and makes it look so effortless, it seems everyone could do it. They can't.
Suzy Bogguss moved from her home state of Illinois to Nashville, and landed a singing gig at Dollywood where she became a real favorite performing there. She eventually signed a record deal, really breaking through in 1989 with a terrific album, Somewhere Between. It was a nice mix of country, both traditional and more contemporary styles. The title song was great, and Cross My Broken Heart was a top 20 song. This album shows exactly how versatile she really is. To me, Bogguss was folk, and traditional country at her roots. But her voice was far more refined than most traditionalists.
Drive South - Her Biggest Hit
She went on to record a bunch of great albums, and chart a lot of great songs, Just Like The Weather, Letting Go, Outbound Plane, Hey, Cinderella, Aces, Someday Soon, and of course Drive South which was her biggest charted song at #1. Huge recommendation here - If you want to hear someone sing a whole lot of really great songs with envious versatility, download her Greatest Hits album - one of my favs.
Letting Go - This Was A Real Favorite Of Many
When I worked for KLIK in Jefferson City, Missouri doing the morning show there, I ran a short country music news program live out of Nashville every morning. One week in 1990, Suzy Bogguss guest hosted and I talked with her a lot on the phone and on the air. She was very personable, and a joy. A few months later, I emceed a show of hers at a Statler Brothers concert at the University of Missouri Hearns Center Arena, and she was very generous with her time. We had a nice talk backstage before her show, and even had a snack together in the Green Room. The few times I worked with her, she was a pleasure to work with.
Outbound Plane - Great Song
Suzy Bogguss still makes music, and I'm glad as she is a lot of good things about the music industry. She's very present on social media these days and sings there on a regular basis. She won ACM and CMA awards early on, had Grammy nominations too, and even performed at the White House. She recorded and sang with incredible artists like Lee Greenwood, Alison Krause, Kathy Mattea, Vince Gill and others. In the end, she had a nice career, it was just hard to find the exact place where she fit in.
Aces - I Never Post "Live" Video's - This Shows How Much Of The Real Deal She Was / IS - Live
She chose music carefully with songs that had universal appeal, which I feel was a great decision and one that has become far less prevalent today by many. There was nothing polarizing about a Suzy Bogguss song, it was just well arranged, well produced and well sung. Being honest too, understanding that opera is an extreme talent and ability, so setting that aside, I think Suzy Bogguss may have the best pure singing voice I have ever heard.
Somewhere Between At The Start - Classic Bogguss
If you are too young to remember, she is totally worth a download or two, especially her Greatest Hits album. Google, or YouTube to discover or remember Suzy Bogguss.
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