Alison Krauss | |
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Krauss at MerleFest, 2007
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Background information | |
Born |
Decatur, Illinois, United States |
July 23, 1971
Genres | Bluegrass, country, adult contemporary, R&B, pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, producer, bandleader |
Instruments | Vocals, violin, piano, mandolin |
Years active | 1984–present |
Labels | Rounder, Capitol Records |
Associated acts | Dan Tyminski, Robert Plant, John Waite, Rhonda Vincent, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Ron Block, Nickel Creek, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Kenny Rogers, Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes, The Cox Family, Barry Bales, Yo-Yo Ma |
Website | alisonkrauss |
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS), and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989.
She has released fourteen albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and helped renew interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, an album also credited with raising American interest in bluegrass, and the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards.
As of 2016, she has won 27 Grammy Awards from 42 nominations, tying her with Quincy Jones as the most awarded living recipient, second only to classical conductor Georg Solti, who holds the record for most wins with 31. She is the most awarded singer and the most awarded female artist in Grammy history. At the time of her first, the 1991 Grammy Awards, she was the second-youngest winner (currently tied as the ninth-youngest).
Alison Maria Krauss was born in Decatur, Illinois, to Fred and Louise Krauss. Her father was a German immigrant who came to the United States in 1952 and taught his native language. Her mother, of German and Italian descent, is the daughter of artists. Krauss grew up in the college town of Champaign, home to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She began studying classical violin at age five but soon switched to bluegrass. Krauss said she first became involved with music because "[my] mother tried to find interesting things for me to do" and "wanted to get me involved in music, in addition to art and sports". At the age of eight she started entering local talent contests, and at ten had her own band. At 13 she won the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship, and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America named her the "Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest". She was also called "Virtuoso" by Vanity Fair Magazine.