Janie Fricke

Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947 ), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, record producer, and clothing designer. Nineteen of her singles placed in the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Nine of these songs reached the number-one spot. She has also won accolades from the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association, and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.

Fricke was born and raised in Indiana. She was surrounded by music from a young age and began performing locally. Fricke attended Indiana University Bloomington, where she participated in the vocal group the Singing Hoosiers. Her participation in the organization led to further opportunities as a commercial jingle singer. She later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where she was hired as part of a background vocal group called the Lea Jane Singers. As part of the quartet, Fricke sang background vocals on songs recorded by country artists in the 1970s. On one occasion, Fricke was asked to sing a solo part on a song by Johnny Duncan called "Stranger". It was released as a single and her uncredited vocal part attracted attention within the country music community. Nashville record label Columbia Records took particular interest in Fricke and signed her to a solo contract in 1977.

Fricke's early material explored diverse styles of music. Unsure of how to identify her material, disc jockeys gave her singles limited airplay. Songs like "What're You Doing Tonight" failed to become major hits, and her producer suggested that she focus on one musical style. With a focus centered on ballads, Fricke's next releases proved to be successful. In 1981, she reached the top 10 of the country charts with the song "Down to My Last Broken Heart". Over the next decade, Fricke had a series of top-10 country singles. Six of these songs reached the number-one spot, including "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby", "Tell Me a Lie", and "Your Heart's Not in It". In the 1980s, Fricke also acted on The Dukes of Hazzard television series and designed belts and other clothing products.

In the early 1990s, Fricke left Columbia Records and signed with the smaller Intersound label. During the early 1990s, the label released three albums of her material, including a collection of gospel songs called Crossroads: Hymns of Faith (1992). At the end of the decade, Fricke formed her own record label and released several albums of material beginning with Bouncin' Back (2000). In 2004, she revived her catalog with a reworking of her former hits on the studio album The Bluegrass Sessions. Fricke has since continued to perform and record, most recently releasing a Christmas collection in 2020 called A Cowgirl Country Christmas.

Early life Jane Marie Fricke was born in South Whitley, Indiana, United States, to parents Waldemar and Phyllis Fricke. Both her parents had an appreciation for music. Her father taught her to play the guitar, while her mother taught her the piano. Her mother often brought home sheet music that Fricke would play and sing. "All I ever wanted to do was sing," she told author Sheree Homer in 2019. Fricke also performed outside the home at school functions. and sang soprano.

During the mid-1970s, Fricke appeared on more than 5,000 records as part of the Lea Jane Singers, making an estimated $100,000 per year. The quartet added backing vocals to the sessions of artists like Lynn Anderson, Elvis Presley and Tanya Tucker. In March 1978, Columbia released her debut studio album Singer of Songs. The disc spawned two more charting singles, including a cover of Hank Locklin's "Please Help Me, I'm Falling (In Love with You)". The cover reached number 12 on the Billboard country chart and number four on Canada's RPM country chart. In her early days at Columbia, Fricke continued providing background and harmony work to other performers. In 1978, she was featured in the background of Charlie Rich's "On My Knees". This time, she was given credit on the single's release. The song later topped the Billboard country chart. Of its three singles, only "I'll Love Away Your Troubles for a While" reached the top 20 in the United States. By this point, Fricke was having challenges establishing a musical identity. With a diverse musical output, disc jockeys were unsure about playing her records. Critics also took notice of her versatality. AllMusic's Jim Worbois commented, "Fricke has a big voice and gives the impression she can do a lot with it. She just never gets around to it on this record. Maybe it's the songs or maybe the arrangements, but she never seems to get into these songs or comes close to putting any emotion in her performances."

1980–1989: Commercial peak Fricke's uncertainty with her musical direction prompted producer Billy Sherrill to suggest that Fricke choose one style to record. In 1980, she started focusing on ballads and teamed with producer Jim Ed Norman. He produced her next single "Down to My Last Broken Heart". It climbed to the number-two spot on the Billboard and RPM country charts. which became her first to chart the Billboard country albums survey. The album was a collection of ballads recorded in a country two-step style. The disc's title track became a top-five single on the American country songs chart in 1981. The disc climbed to number 10 on the Billboard country chart, her highest-charting LP yet. A duet with Larry Gatlin titled "From Time to Time (It Feels Like Love Again)" made the top 40 of the Billboard country chart. It included her next number-one single "Your Heart's Not in It", In describing the project's material, Fricke told the Chicago Tribune, "They have more of a medium beat and basic country feel. We even use a steel guitar on a couple of them.". The album spawned the top-five American and Canadian country songs "She's Single Again", "Easy to Please", and the title track. Kurt Wolff of Country Music: The Rough Guide noticed a "bluesier and almost gutsier vocal sound" on the disc. The album became her first to reach the top of the Billboard country LP's chart. Its lead single "Always Have, Always Will" reached number one in the United States and Canada. Her 1987 album After Midnight was her second to feature her new last name. It was also her second produced by Norro Wilson. The record's lead single was a cover of the Rusty Draper pop hit "Are You Satisfied". It became her last to reach the Billboard country top 40. In 1992, Fricke signed with the smaller Intersound label. Her first Intersound release was a 1991 eponymous studio record. The project spawned the single "I Want to Grow Old with You". It was her final single to make a major chart appearance, reaching number 74 on the RPM country survey. Fricke's final Intersound/Branson release was 1993's Now & Then. The album was a revisited collection of Fricke's catalog in which she re-recorded her most well-known material.

In the new millennium, Fricke launched her own record label titled JMF. For the first time in her career, she promoted and sold the album entirely through the internet. In 2002, Smith Music released Fricke's first live album titled Live at Billy Bob's Texas. The project was recorded at a dance hall in Fort Worth, Texas called "Billy Bob's", which first opened in 1981. The disc was sold exclusively on television and was promoted in partnership with the Dodge automotive company. The Bluegrass Sessions gathered a group of bluegrass pickers and session musicians who were often used in the genre. The project was released on DM Records in 2004. In 2012, it was re-released on New Music Deals and retitled as The Country Side of Bluegrass. Both bluegrass collections received mixed reviews from writers and journalists. AllMusic's Greg Adams gave The Bluegrass Sessions 4-1/2 out of five stars and praised its overall quality: "[Her biggest hits] adapt so well to the bluegrass treatment that traditionalists may prefer the remakes over the originals, especially since the arrangements hew closely to a traditional bluegrass sound with acoustic instrumentation, fiddles, and banjo." Meanwhile, NPRs Ken Tucker found her voice to have aged, but still had emotional depth. "Janie Fricke uses the urgency she feels to sustain her career to flood her bluegrass with compelling emotion," he concluded.

In 2008, Fricke returned to her own music label to release a studio album of new country recordings titled Roses & Lace. In the years that followed, she spent time touring and working on other projects outside of music. The disc featured a lead single composed by Fricke titled "The Followers".

Musical styles and voice

Fricke's musical style is rooted in the country genre. During her career, Fricke shifted between different styles as she worked with different producers. Her early Columbia singles were geared towards classic country, but she shifted towards country pop and adult contemporary with songs like "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy", "Tell Me a Lie", and "If the Fall Don't Get You". Writers have described her style in terms of likability. Authors Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann explained in 2003, "Janie was the sweet, smiley-voiced singer of likeable radio hits who tried to vamp up her image with flashy costumes and bouncy choreography. When the dust settled, she was still a sweet singer of likeable radio hits." AllMusic's Mark Deming remarked, "Though her most popular songs were rooted in country, she also had a gift for pop songs, and she could incorporate adult contemporary sounds into her recordings and still let her personality shine."

Other career ventures In the 1980s, Fricke began taking career opportunities outside of music. In 1984, she started designing belts and clothes. Fricke's apparel was featured in several department stores during the decade. In regards to her different ventures she commented, "I am not a goal-setter. I would never do that. I just like to work hard and take it like it comes. Everything will work out for the best." Also in 1984, Fricke guest starred in one episode of The Dukes of Hazzard. She played the role of Ginny, a jewel thief who hid money in the dashboard of a getaway car that was later to become the General Lee. In 1985, Fricke established the Janie Fricke Scholarship at Indiana University to benefit gifted students in the School of Music. The scholarships are open to active members of the Singing Hoosiers vocal ensemble who demonstrate financial need. She has also participated in the Country Music Hall of Fame Fundraising Campaign with other artists such as Naomi Judd and Gretchen Wilson.

Personal life Fricke has been married twice. She began dating Johnny Rodriguez's road manager Randy Jackson in the early 1980s. Jackson proposed to Fricke over the telephone through a radio program. In September 1982, she wed Randy Jackson in a small ceremony at her mother's farm in South Whitley, Indiana. Hours after their wedding, Fricke gave a free concert to 7,000 fans at a local Indiana festival. Jackson later became Fricke's manager. The pair later divorced, and she remarried musician Jeff Steele in 1995.

DiscographyStudio albums'''Singer of Songs (1978)Love Notes (1979)From the Heart (1980)Nice 'n' Easy (1980)I'll Need Someone to Hold Me When I Cry (1980)Sleeping with Your Memory (1981)It Ain't Easy (1982)Love Lies (1983)The First Word in Memory (1984)Somebody Else's Fire (1985)Black & White (1986)After Midnight (1987)Saddle the Wind (1988)Labor of Love (1989)Great Movie Themes (1991) Janie Fricke (1991)Crossroads: Hymns of Faith (1992)Now & Then (1993) Bouncin' Back (2000)Tributes to My Heroes (2003) The Bluegrass Sessions (2004)Golden Legends: Janie Fricke (2006) Roses & Lace (2008) A Cowgirl Country Christmas'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

Academy of Country Music Top New Female Vocalist

20th Annual Grammy Awards Best Female Country Vocal Performance – "What're You Doing Tonight"

Vocal Duo of the Year – (with Johnny Duncan)

Music City News Country Best New Female Vocalist of the Year

Female Vocalist of the Year

28th Annual Grammy Awards Best Female Country Vocal Performance – "She's Single Again"

1987 American Music Awards of 1987 Favorite Country Female Video Artist