Jo Dee Messina

by Steve Huey
Part of country musics late-90s crop of female crossover stars, Jo Dee Messinas appeal nonetheless remained more with country fans than pop audiences. Messina was born August 25, 1970, in Framingham, MA, and grew up in nearby Holliston. She sang in musical plays starting at age eight but discovered country music at age 12 and got hooked on the likes of the Judds, Reba McEntire, and Dolly Parton. She soon started performing live, and by 16 she was playing local clubs with a rhythm section made up of her brother and sister. At age 19, she moved to Nashville in search of greater exposure and sang regularly for prize money in local talent competitions. One win led to a regular gig on the radio show Live at Libbys, which in turn caught the interest of producer Byron Gallimore, who helped her assemble a demo tape. Gallimore was also working with the young Tim McGraw around the same time, and Messina befriended him. Backstage at one of his concerts, Messina met an executive from his label, Curb, and jokingly suggested that they needed a redhead. Producer James Stroud, who had just heard Messinas demo, stepped up to vouch for her, and she soon wound up on Curb, with Gallimore and McGraw serving as her producers.
Messinas self-titled debut album was released in 1996 and gave her two Top Ten hits in Heads Carolina, Tails California (number two) and Youre Not in Kansas Anymore. The album sold well, setting the stage for Messinas star-making sophomore effort, Im Alright. Released in 1998, it made Messina the first female country artist to score three multiple-week number one hits from the same album: Bye Bye, Im Alright, and Stand Beside Her. She nearly had a fourth, but Lesson in Leavin stalled at number two. Honored by both the CMA and ACM in 1999, Messina staked out even pop-friendlier territory on her third album, 2000s Burn. It became her first number one album, and the lead single, Thats the Way, her fourth number one single. Two more Top Tens followed in Burn and Downtime, and a fourth single, the Tim McGraw duet Bring on the Rain, also topped the charts, helping Burn sell over a million copies. Messina followed it with the holiday album A Joyful Noise in late 2002, and just months later, with only three albums to her credit, Curb released a Greatest Hits compilation. Finally, in 2005, she released her official follow-up to Burn, Delicious Surprise.