|
Section
4: Sonya Isaacs
|
Sonya
Isaacs playing mandolin and singing in concert
|
In
1994, artist manager and publisher Mark Ketchem was
driving through Nashville when he heard Sonya singing
"I Have a Father Who Can" on his car radio.
"It was the best thing I had ever heard, and
I just had to find out who she was… I had to talk to
her," Ketchem relates.
He started calling around and soon located Sonya
and gave her a call, convincing her to come to Nashville
to record a demo for his publishing company.
Soon Sonya was talking with several record
companies who wanted to sign her.
She wanted a contract that would allow her two
important concessions: to be allowed to continue singing
with The Isaacs, and to have the final approval of all
the songs that she sang.
|
It
would be very unusual for an artist just starting on a solo
career to find a record label that would agree to such
conditions, but one
did, Disney's Lyric Street Records.
Sonya signed a contract with them in 1998.
The
family was making frequent appearances on the Grand Ole Opry
television show at that time and it was there that Sonya met
Vince Gill. "I
can remember saying two years before, 'I'm going to sing with
Vince Gill one of these days,'" Sonya remembers.
Vince began bringing her out on the Opry stage to sing
with him on the songs "Go Rest High on That Mountain"
and "Real Ladies' Man." One day he asked her to sing
on his new album, The Key.
For the album, they collaborated writing a song called
"Lived to Tell It All."
After the recording session, Vince called Sonya to thank
her for singing on his record, and she asked him what he thought
about the idea of producing her new album.
To her delight, Vince agreed to do it.
During
the summer of 1998, Vince invited Sonya to become part of his
concert tour, singing background vocals and playing acoustic
guitar and mandolin. Additionally, she dueted with Vince on
songs like "When I Call Your Name" and "I Will
Always Love You." Taking
time off from The Isaacs to travel with Vince was not an easy
decision for Sonya to make, but the family gave her their full
blessing. On the
nights that she was singing with Vince Gill, Becky stepped up to
the plate as lead singer and The Isaacs never skipped a beat.
Sonya
and Vince went into the studio in October and finished Sonya's
album by the end of November.
In addition to Vince Gill's background vocals, Sonya's
self-titled album included guest vocalists Dolly Parton, Steve
Wariner, Jason Sellers, Chely Wright, Joe Diffie, Rodney Crowell
and brother Ben and sister Becky.
Sonya co-wrote half of the songs on the album.
In addition to the first single, "On My Way to
You," she wrote "All I Want to Be Is Yours,"
"Just Go," "I've Forgotten How You Feel,"
"Healing Hands," and "Nothing Between Us."
"I
realize life is short," she says.
"That's why I sometimes wear a little hourglass on a
chain around my neck. It
reminds me that life is short and you can only have an impact on
so many people each day. This
is an opportunity for me to reach so many people with my music.
I feel that opportunity has just knocked on my door and
I've opened it."
We'll
take our cameras to Nashville to record Sonya on stage,
backstage and talking about her roots in bluegrass and her life
with The Isaacs and in country music.
Sonya is a dynamic and personal young lady, photogenic
and attractive. We'll also conduct short interviews with Vince
Gill, Dolly Parton and other Nashville personalities to give a
little glimpse of their feelings for Sonya and her talents.
These are two quotes that have been published by Lyric
Street Records:
-
"If
Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt had a daughter, she would
sound just like Sonya." -- Dolly Parton
-
"Your
voice is like butter." -- Steve Wariner
|
