Sweetheart's Dance (CD - 1994)

Personnel includes: Pam Tillis (vocals); Greg Leisz (acoustic & electric guitars, steel guitar, dobro); Dan Dugmore (acoustic & electric guitars, steel guitar); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); rent Mason, George Marinelli, Bob DiPiero (guitar); Paul Franklin (lap steel guitar); Rob Hajacos, Sam Bush (fiddle); Steve Nathan (piano); Willie Weeks (bass); Milton Sledge (drums, percussion); Harry Stinson (percussion, background vocals); Mary Ann Kennedy, John Jorgenson, Suzi Ragsdale, Liana Manis, Vicki Hampton, Cindy Tillis Westmoreland, Connie Tillis Howden, Carrie Tillis (background vocals).

"Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)" was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Although Pam Tillis had been recording and writing songs for herself and others since the 1980s, this 1994 album was her breakout hit, featuring the top-selling country singles "Spilled Perfume," "Mi Vida Loca,", and a cover of Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk in the Room." After this, Tillis was considered a ceertified star and hit-maker, and enjoyed a successful string of gold and platinum albums, number one singles, and even acting roles in films.

From the rootsy, revved-up, Tex-Mex flavored "Mi Vida Loca" to the final bluegrass barnstormer "'Til All The Lonely's Gone," Pam Tillis' SWEETHEART DANCE is a passionate link between the earthiness of traditionalism and the spunk of new country.

The varied package of SWEETHEART'S DANCE includes a two-stepping shuffle ("They Don't Break 'Em Like They Used To"), a captivating waltz ("Sweetheart's Dance"), an intelligent ballad ("In Between Dances"), even a countrified remake from the '60s British invasion ("When You Walk In The Room").

Themes are rooted in everyday experiences and deep emotions. Whether it's a bittersweet conversation between the two old friends of "Calico Plains" or the get-on-with-your-life advice of "Spilled Perfume," Tillis' voice is an encyclopedia of life's twists and turns.

The emotional highpoint of the album is the family affair co-written by Tillis and her husband, featuring her superstar dad Mel, the Tillis siblings, bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, and fiddler Sam Bush.

Possessing one of the most distinctive voices in country, filled with tangy twang and vibrant vulnerability, Tillis surprised no one by winning the coveted 1994 Country Music Association's "Female Vocalist Of The Year" award. minimize