Kasey Chambers
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Kasey Chambers (born: June 4, 1976) is Australia's most popular country music performer with two successive albums reaching number one on the Australian album charts in 2002 and 2004. Each of her solo albums has achieved platinum status in Australia.
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Dead Ringer band - Early career
Shortly after her birth, her parents Bill Chambers and Diane Chambers took her and her older brother Nash Chambers to the Nullarbor Plain where they earned a living hunting foxes. In the heat of an outback summer, the Chambers family would stay in a small South Australian fishing village. While in the Nullarbor, the Chambers family sang country music songs each night around the campfire.
In 1986, the family formed the Dead Ringer Band with Bill and Diane as the initial members and Kasey and Nash joining the band a year later. By 1992, the band had become full time musicians with Bill Chambers writing many of the band's songs. Bill Chambers wrote a song for Slim Dusty called "Things Just Aren't the Same on the Land" in 1992 which won the "Song of the Year" in the Country Music Awards. Their first album "Red Desert Sky" was released in 1993 on the independent Import Records label.
The Dead Ringer Band signed with EMI Records shortly after and released their second album "Home Fires" in 1995. It contained the single "Australian Song" which topped the Australian country charts and won an Australian ARIA award for Country song of the year in 1996. The band won a Golden Guitar Award at the Tamworth Country Music Festival for "Band of the Year" in 1995 and a Mo Award for best country music group a year later.
The band released Living in the Circle in 1997 and Hopeville in 1998. Kasey Chambers was becoming recognised as a the brightest new face in Australian country music. However, the Dead Ringer Band broke up in 1998 when Bill and Diane Chambers separated with Diane moving to Norfolk Island. The Dead Ringer band collectively earned two ARIA awards and seven Golden Guitars during their career.
Solo success
Kasey Chambers recorded her solo album The Captain on Norfolk Island over a few weeks in late 1998 with Nash Chambers producing the album and Bill Chambers on guitar. US country musicians Buddy Miller and Julie Miller added guitars and vocals to four tracks. The Captain was released in 1999 in Australia and in 2000 in the US. Kasey Chambers won the 1999 ARIA Award for "Best Country Album" for The Captain and a year later she would win "Best Female Artist". The strong word of mouth would eventually lead to The Captain going double platinum in Australia. The Captain would eventually reach the top 50 of the Billboard country albums in 2001 with Chambers touring the US as support act to Lucinda Williams. Subsequently, she supported Emmylou Harris on her Australian tour.
Chambers' second album Barricades & Brickwalls was released in late 2001 debuting at #4 in the ARIA album charts. The record really took off in early 2002 with lead single "Not Pretty Enough" going to #1 on the ARIA singles charts. Chambers became the first and, as of June 2004, only Australian country artist to have a #1 single and album on the charts in that country simultaneously. Subsequent singles "Million Tears" and "If I Were You" also made the Australian Top 40 singles charts in 2002.
While "Not Pretty Enough" eventually went double platinum, Barricades & Brickwalls would achieve sales of 7*platinum in Australia - Chambers had the best selling single and album by an Australian artist in 2002. In the 2002 ARIA Awards, Chambers won "Album of the Year", "Best Female Artist" and "Best Country Album". Barricades & Brickwalls was released in the US in 2002 peaking just outside the top 100 of the Billboard 200 album charts, topping the Billboard Heatseeker Charts and reaching the top 20 of the Billboard country charts. The album also received a generally positive critical response. [1] (http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/chamberskasey/barricadesandbrickwalls/1)
In 2002, Chambers and her partner actor/director Corey Hopper had their first baby Talon Jordi on 22 May. They moved to the Central Coast. She recorded a cover of the Cyndi Lauper song "True Colours" which became the theme song of the 2003 Rugby World Cup and reached the top 5 in Australia in May 2003.
Chambers released her third solo album Wayward Angels in Australia on May 31, 2004. It debuted at #1 on the Australian charts and went platinum in its first week of release. The title song of the album was about her son Talon.
Discography
- Red Desert Sky (1993) with the Dead Ringer Band
- Home Fires (1995) with the Dead Ringer Band
- Living in the Circle (1997) with the Dead Ringer Band
- Hopeville (1998) with the Dead Ringer Band
- The Captain (1999)
- Very Best Of: So Far (2000) the Dead Ringer Band
- Barricades & Brickwalls (2001)
- Wayward Angel (2004)
External links
- Kasey Chambers Home Page (http://www.kaseychambers.com/)
- VH1 Kasey Chambers page (http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/chambers_kasey/artist.jhtml/)
- Kasey Chambers All Music Guide article (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70311071654390588&sql=Bnq5j8qxmbt94/)de:Kasey Chambers