Alison Krauss
Biography
Alison Krauss helped bring bluegrass to a new audience in the '90s. Blending bluegrass with folk, Krauss was instantly acclaimed from the start of her career, but it wasn't until her platinum-selling 1995 compilation Now That I've Found You that she became a mainstream star. Between her 1987 debut Too Late to Cry and Now That I've Found You, she matured from a child prodigy to a versatile, ambitious, and diverse musician and, in the process, made some of the freshest bluegrass of the late '80s and early '90s.
When she was five years old, Krauss began playing the violin, taking classical lessons. She soon tired of the regiments of classical playing and began performing country and bluegrass licks. At the age of eight, she began entering talent contests in and around her native Champaign, IL. Two years later, she had her own band. In 1983, when she was 12 years old, she won the Illinois State Fiddle Championship and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America named her the Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest. In 1985, Krauss made her recording debut on an album, playing on a record made by her brother Viktor, Jim Hoiles, and Bruce Weiss. The album was called Different Strokes and appeared on the independent Fiddle Tunes label. Later that year, she signed to Rounder Records. She was 14 years old at the time.
Too Late to Cry, Krauss' debut album, appeared in 1987 to very positive reviews. The album was recorded with Krauss' backup band, the Union Station, which featured guitarist Jeff White, banjoist Alison Brown, and bassist Viktor Krauss; the following year, the group won the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America's National Band Championship contest. In 1989, Krauss and Union Station released Two Highways, which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording. Although the album didn't win the award, her next album, 1990's I've Got That Old Feeling, did. The success of I've Got That Old Feeling was unprecedented for bluegrass acts in the '80s and it laid the groundwork for Krauss' breakthrough in the '90s. By this time, Union Station's lineup had more or less settled. It now featured mandolinist Adam Steffey, banjoist/guitarist Ron Block, bassist Barry Bales, and guitarist Tim Stafford; Stafford later left the group and was replaced by Dan Tyminski.
In 1992, Alison Krauss & Union Station released Every Time You Say Goodbye, which featured a typically eclectic array of material. The album appeared in the country charts and Krauss' videos were shown on Country Music Television. I Know Who Holds Tomorrow was released in 1994 and was even more successful. But it was the 1995 compilation Now That I've Found You: A Collection that made Krauss a star. The album reached number two on the country charts and -- even more remarkably -- went into the pop Top Ten and sold over a million copies. Its success confirmed her status as bluegrass' leading light in the '90s.
Krauss & Union Station followed the unexpected success of Now That I've Found You with So Long, So Wrong in spring 1997. Forget About It followed in mid-1999. A year later, Krauss & Union Station joined the likes of John Hartford, Ralph Stanley, and others for the multi-million-selling soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou? A North American tour showcasing some of the album's stellar musicians followed in summer 2002, allowing Krauss and her band's popularity to soar. New Favorite appeared in November and went gold within four months. A live album followed soon after, and in 2004 Krauss released Lonely Runs Both Ways. A Hundred Miles or More, a collection drawn from Krauss' Rounder albums, along with sides recorded for various soundtrack projects and five previously unreleased tracks, appeared in 2007. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Selected Discography

A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection
2007

Forget About It
1999

Now That I've Found You
1995

I've Got That Old Feeling
1990

Too Late To Cry
1987
I am so blessed my wife introduced me to Alison...her voice and music is healing to my soul...could she be an angel in human disguise?
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............ . . . . I believe this young woman to have created some of the best music and lyrics ever to come from this country. She plays and sings like an angel....... . . . . . .
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Allison Kraus is a wonderful artist, she's as good in concert as she is on her CDs. Her voice is so beautiful, she plays the fiddle so well, and all of her collaberatio n s with other artists sound so good. Her band is excellent and very
versatile. She's the best. |
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her voice!.....c e l e s t i a l silk moving to the rhythm of angels' breath......
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I was at MSG in New York City for her concert with Robert Plant. It was a fun, exciting show with an eclectic group of fans, his and her's. She has such a beautiful voice.
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Love her voice. Liked her collaboratio n with Robert Plant. Talk about an Odd Couple...but it worked too. SHe can make anyone sound good!
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She is Absolutely AMAZING!!! I agree with all of you...Sweet beautiful angelic voice, Enough said.
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My Brother-in-l a w says if you could hear Angels Allison is what they
would sound like. I kind of agree with that |
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I agree with everyone here. She has this voice that, when you hear it, you almost want to cry because it is so natural and pure.
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Allison is at the top of my wife and i's bluegrass picks, along with New Grass Revival (i wish they would get back together)
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I discovered Alison's music in the mid-90s with the release of 'Now That I've Found You', and she has been my ABSOLUTE favorite singer ever since - the one whose music I can ALWAYS listen to, no matter my mood. As others have said, she has such a pure and beautiful voice and it is too bad she still isn't receiving the full recognition she deserves ...but eventually she will and I wait patiently for that day when I can say "I told you so"!!
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There's a purity in Allison's voice that sounds like what angels will be like when I get to heaven. Sarah McLaughlin's got that same kind of ethereal quality. I am a HUGE Alison Krauss fan....I know she's grounded in the word and hasn't let all the glitter of winning a slew of Grammys go to her head. She uses her talents as a gift and that's what I love about her. What a joy to hear her sing!@
Charlie Tipton |
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I absolutely love her - absolutely every time I hear her!! The sweetness of her voice never changes, but is a pleasure to hear over and over again. So much talent!!!
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I can honestly say I am a fan of Alison Krauss. I am not a fan of Robert Plant or his songs. I like bluegrass. I am not into classic rock.
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Joseph Campbell said (more or less) the most important part of eternity is here and now. Alison Krauss lets us hear that part of eternity. (frmuseum)
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Alison Krause is the poster child for the very best of bluegrass-if you can listen to her and not be tapping your feet and swaying to the beat,you better check for breathing-ca u s e you're dead!!!
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With her absolutely unique voice, great fiddle skills, and wonderful music choices (what she chooses to record), Alison Krauss is always worthy of a listen.
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Alison Krauss is a true women who knows love, loss, hope, joy, and knows what it means for her eternal progression as a child of God, this is translated in all her music it is almost like parables when she sings you must listen to the words to make sense of the songs. I dearly love Jacobs Dream it tells the story of warnings to children to heed counsel given by parents. Ghost In This House tells the story of women who suffer from love loss due to issues of domestic violence.
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May God Bless You For An Eternal Time To Come And May Your Music Always Enrich Us.
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One of our best musicians of 21st century! What a gift you give us Allison! Thank you for touching my soul.
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Voice like an angel. She and Union Station are as tight a blue grass instrumental group as you will find anywhere.
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Alison does it all. Vocals, instrumental , writer and does it with passion!
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it just dosent get any better than alison. i will love her untill there isno heart. beating
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