Jann Browne was selected by The California Country Music Association as "Entertainer of the Year" two years in a row and was a nominee by the Academy of Country Music as "female vocalist" of the year.
Her first album "Tell Me Why" produced two top twenty hits, along with a number one video on CMT.
Jann once toured as female lead singer with Grammy award winning “Asleep at the Wheel” and now her current band takes her around the world.
She is a shining link in the Southern California Americana roots tradition.
Emmylou Harris said: "There's something about the way she sings that is so pure and honest, and her writing is wonderful." Emmylou backed up her quote to the L A Times newspaper, by singing with Jann on her first CD. The song "Mexican Wind", co-written by Jann, became a number one video in the U.S., and was recorded by a variety of international artists.
A Los Angeles Times pop critic named Jann’s 3rd album, "Count Me In" as one of his three favorite albums of the year (along side Johnny Cash and Neil Young). Times critic Mike Boehm placed it first on his list calling it "Cohesive, sumptuously melodic, emotionally vivid, and insightful."
Jann’s song "Trouble's Here" was recorded by country singer Lee Ann Womack, and gave Browne and her co-writer and guitarist, Matthew Barnes, their first gold record.
Her latest album “Buckin' Around” (Jann’s tribute to her friend Buck Owens), was chosen as one of the TOP 30 Albums of Decade by Paul W. Dennis, a “The 9513” contributing writer. (“The 9513” is the web’s premier country music blog, and a go-to resource for thousands of readers in search of the latest country music news and reviews.)
Jann has performed on the “Grand Ol Opry”, CMT, and many other TV and radio shows. She has been featured in “People” magazine and “USA Today”.
The artists that Jann has toured and performed with is a virtual “Who’s Who” of country music history-names such as Dolly, Willie, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, the Judds, Emmylou, and on and on…….
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear one of country music’s true and authentic voices!
Jann Browne: Bio
ABOUT JANN'S ALBUM "BUCKIN AROUND" :
Buck Owens was born in Sherman, Texas; Jann Browne in Anderson, Indiana. They’re both Californians to the core, part of the grand sweep of our history. I say this because I think Jann would look good in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Part of the Grand Sweep of Our History” and also because it is true. Pioneers headed west, and the most pioneering headed west til their feet hit water. As Frank Lloyd Wright put it: “They turned the country up on its side, and everything loose fell into California.” Further east, things were too set, and feisty folk like Buck and Jann were drawn to California, a state that’s had a hot foot since at least World War Two. Audiences here weren’t interested in sitting still to warmed-over music. They expected more, and challenged performers to come up with it. As Buck once explained, “Out here in the western part of the United States, there weren’t any Grand Ole Oprys or schoolhouse shows. Out here they had dances and honky-tonks, and if you couldn’t play music they could dance to, you couldn’t get a job. So I was always accustomed to a lot of beat and driving-type music.” Meaning he rocked. And unlike the Nashville norm of using studio players to tamp down and tart up an artist’s music, Buck recorded with his stage band, resulting in a signature immediacy that served him well through 75 charting singles. He was still driving and twanging right up into the night he died, March 25, 2006. One of the nice things about stardom is you can influence people you never even meet. An even nicer thing about stardom is sometimes you do meet people you’ve influenced--as Buck did with Jann--and get to hear how well that influence turned out. Jann grew up listening to Buck’s records, and the first song she tried to learn on guitar was “Love’s Gonna Live Here.” She’s carved her own niche in country since then, but Buck’s songs have always had a place in her setlists. Even though Nashville was pretty kind to Jann during her early 1990’s foray there—yielding two hit singles—it wasn’t quite her, and she’s been nothing but herself since she returned to the Golden State some years ago, crafting indelibly personal music. You’ll find nothing reverential or rote about “Buckin’ Around,” since that wouldn’t be much of a tribute to an individualist like Buck. Instead, it’s Jann being Jann, as feisty and free as ever, with a great crew buckin’ behind her. - Jim Washburn
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 Red Moon Records, an independent label in Europe (it later received an American release from the independent Cross Three label). The album displayed a rawer sound that had more to do with blues and rock than mainstream country, and while it didn't find a large audience in the United States, it won a number of enthusiastic reviews and re-established Browne as a singer/songwriter with a sharp and distinctive vision. For her fourth album, 2001's Missed Me by a Mile, Browne continued to re-assert her independence by co-producing the album herself, and releasing it in America on her own label, Plan B Records. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
"Here is a woman who sings not like she means it, but like she's lived every last drop of it." ~~~~Holly Gleason, CD Review Magazine
The California Country Music Association selected Jann Browne as "Entertainer of the Year" two years in a row. In 1991, Browne was a nominee by the Academy of Country Music as "female vocalist" of the year. Her first album "Tell Me Why" produced two top twenty hits, along with a number one video on CMT. Jann once toured as female lead singer with grammy award winning Asleep at the Wheel and now her current band takes her around the world. She is a shining link in the Southern California americana roots tradition.
Jann's debut album for Curb Records entitled "Tell Me Why" featured world-class accompaniment from guitarists Alber Lee and James Burton, drummer John Molo of Bruce Hornsby and the Range and John Jorgensen of Elton John's band. It's no surprise that Emmylou Harris is a big Jann Browne fan. "There's something about the way she sings that is so pure and honest, and her writing is wonderful." Emmylou backed up her quote to the L.A, Times by singing with Jann on her first CD. The song "Mexican Wind", co-written by Jann, became a number one video nationwide and was recorded by a variety of international artists.
A shift in musical style led Browne to co-produce her 3rd album, Count Me In, for European label Red Moon Records. ALthough the album was picked up by a stateside label, Browne spent time touring throughout Europe in support of "Count Me In" and "Four on the Floor" which was recorded Live in Berne, Switzerland. The Los Angeles Times pop critic named "Count Me In" as one of the three favorite albums of the year (along side Johnny Cash and Neil Young). Times critic Mike Boehm placed it first on his list callinig it "Cohesive, sumptuously melodic, emotionally vivid, and insightful." The song "Trouble's Here" caught country singer Lee Ann Womack's ear. It gave Browne and her co-writer and guitarist, Matthew Barnes, their first gold record.
Fans will agree it's been a long dry spell waiting for a new CD. "Missed me by a Mile" was her first stateside work since 1996 and received much critical acclaim.
Browne and Barnes now have their own studio, (The Barn) own record label,(plan b records) and are in pursuit of finishing a new album. "Buckin' Around", a tribute album to Buck Owens takes Browne back to her roots. "I cut my teeth on Buck and Don Rich." It was always my favorite albums in my mom's west coast collections. I can remember being around 11 years old and sitting on our front porch swing in Georgetown Kentucky with a guitar, trying to learn "Love's Gonna Live Here." I've incorporated Buck songs throughout my shows for years. I attended Buck's funeral recently. I have the greatest respect for him and his music and the pleasure of hanging around him a few times. He said some nice things about me and my music. Those are things I"ll always remember. I felt very compelled to make an album from a female perspective. There'll never be another Buck and Don. But there can be those of us that thru voice, can keep the torch of their music alive."
As Browne's friend Patty Booker says, "you can almost stick a fork in it", meaning the album should be "done" by Christmas.
Jann Browne sings Buck like no other female vocalist. This, I can assure you!