Shelby Lynne
(born Shelby Lynn Moorer
, October 22, 1968, Quantico, Virginia) is an American country music singer, songwriter and actress.
|
SHELBY LYNNE TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
|---|
| Little Big Town, Wynonna Judd & Shelby Lynne Tickets 7/31 | Jul 31, 2025
Thu, 7:00 PM |  | | Little Big Town, Wynonna Judd & Shelby Lynne Tickets 8/1 | Aug 01, 2025
Fri, 7:00 PM | | | Little Big Town, Wynonna Judd & Shelby Lynne Tickets 8/2 | Aug 02, 2025
Sat, 7:00 PM | | | Little Big Town, Wynonna Judd & Shelby Lynne Tickets 8/14 | Aug 14, 2025
Thu, 7:00 PM | | | Little Big Town, Wynonna Judd & Shelby Lynne Tickets 8/15 | Aug 15, 2025
Fri, 7:00 PM | |
|
Biography
Early life
Shelby Lynne grew up in
Frankville, Alabama, near
Chatom, Alabama, where she attended Washington County High School. Her father was a local bandleader and her mother a harmony-singing teacher, and as children, she and her younger sister
Allison Moorer — later a country recording artist in her own right — sometimes joined their parents on-stage to sing along. When Lynne was 17, while the family was living in the small town of
St. Stephens, Alabama, Lynne's father, an abusive
alcoholic, shot and killed her mother and then himself.
[1]
The sisters briefly lived with an aunt until Lynne turned 18, whereupon she married a friend from home. The marriage lasted only a year. Lynne began supporting herself and her sister by playing music in local clubs and eventually the two moved to
Nashville. Lynne appeared on
TNN's
Nashville Now
in 1987, and soon landed a recording contract with
Epic Records.
Early career
Lynne's first recording for Epic was a duet with
George Jones, "If I Could Bottle This Up", which became a top-50 hit in 1988. Epic teamed Lynne with producer
Billy Sherrill for her 1989 debut album
Sunrise
. The follow-up, 1990's
Tough All Over
, took more of a mainstream country direction, and 1991's
Soft Talk
found Lynne moving into slick
country-pop.
Lynne placed several songs on the country charts during this period, but none managed to break into the top 20. Critics generally regarded her as a promising talent, and she won the
ACM's Top New Female Vocalist in 1990.
However, she was tiring of the lack of control she was afforded over her image and musical direction. She split from Epic and signed with the smaller
Morgan Creek label, debuting with 1993's
Temptation
, an exercise in
Bob Wills-style
Western swing and
big band jazz. The label folded not long after, and she moved on to
Magnatone for 1995's
Restless
, which marked a return to contemporary-style country. Afterward, Lynne disappeared from recording for several years.
Breakthrough
Lynne moved to Palm Springs in 1998 and released the confessional and eclectic
Rhythm and Blues album
I Am Shelby Lynne
in 1999 (released in US in 2000) to wide critical acclaim; on the strength of the album Lynne won a
Grammy award for "Best New Artist", despite the fact that she had been recording and releasing records for more than ten years (which she referred to in her acceptance speech).
Her 2001 follow up album,
Love, Shelby
featured a slicker, more pop-influenced sound. This album was a moderate commercial success but received mixed reviews. In 2003, Lynne released the critically-acclaimed
Identity Crisis
produced, engineered, and mixed by
Bruce Robb (producer) in association with Bruce Robb Productions. Though not a commercial success, many magazines rated the album among the best of 2003. 2005's
Suit Yourself
has also been well received by critics. Lynne's most recent album -
Just a Little Lovin'
, released on
January 29,
2008 — is a tribute to singer
Dusty Springfield, which has garnered favorable press as well.
Additional projects
Lynne was a part of the high-profile gathering of artists at
Radio City Music Hall in
New York City who paid tribute to
John Lennon, an event broadcast in October 2001 on
The WB as
Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music
. In the concert, Lynne performed Lennon's song "Mother".
In 2002 she sang a duet with Raul Malo (The Mavericks) On his first solo-album called Today. The song is titled "Takes Two To Tango".
Shelby guests on three songs on her sister
Allison Moorer's live album 'Show', released in
2003.
In 2004, Lynne was featured in a duet version of
alternative rock band
Live's song "Run Away." This rendition can be found on the band's
greatest hits compilation
Awake: The Best of Live
.
Lynne portrayed Carrie Cash in the 2005
Johnny Cash biographical film,
Walk the Line
. Two years later in 2007, Lynne appeared in an episode of the
Showtime original series
Head Case
with
Alexandra Wentworth. Also in 2007, she performed background vocals on
Marc Cohn's fourth album,
Join the Parade
, and contributed to "Forever Cool," a 2007 album from Capitol/EMI featuring contemporary artists in duets with the late
Dean Martin. Alongside
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Lynne performed a duet of one of Martin's best known tunes, "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You".
In addition to work on her own most recent album, Lynne wrote "She Knows Where She Goes", one of the songs featured on
Allison Moorer's 2008 album,
Mockingbird
. The album overall focuses on the works of various female singer-songwriters, including Lynne,
June Carter Cash,
Gillian Welch and others.
Lynne also joined the 9th annual
Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Lynne guest-starred on Army Wives in August 2009 playing a "forgotten" country singer who returns to Roxie's bar.
Personal life
When Lynne was questioned about her personal life in a January 2008 interview she said "its not anybody's business... People are going to come up with whatever they want to come up with on their own; I don't have to make announcements".
Discography
Studio albums
| Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| Label
|
| US Country
| US
| US Heat
|
| 1989
| Sunrise
| 61
|
|
| Epic
|
| 1990
| Tough All Over
| 31
|
|
|
| 1991
| Soft Talk
| 55
|
|
|
| 1993
| Temptation
| 55
|
| 21
| Morgan Creek/Mercury
|
| 1995
| Restless
| 72
|
|
| Magnatone
|
| 1999
| I Am Shelby Lynne
|
| 165
| 18
| Mercury/Island
|
| 2001
| Love, Shelby
|
| 109
| 1
| Island
|
| 2003
| Identity Crisis
|
| 160
| 5
| Capitol
|
| 2005
| Suit Yourself
|
|
| 11
|
| 2008
| Just a Little Lovin'
|
| 41
|
| Lost Highway
|
Compilation albums
| Year
| Album
| Label
|
| 2000
| This Is Shelby Lynne: The Best of the Epic Years
| Epic
|
| Epic Recordings
|
| 2006
| The Definitive Collection
| Mercury
|
Singles
| Year
| Song
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| US AC
| CAN Country
|
| 1989
| "Under Your Spell Again"
| 93
| —
| —
| Single only
|
| "Hurtin' Side"
| 38
| —
| —
| Sunrise
|
| "Little Bits and Pieces"
| 62
| —
| 85
|
| 1990
| "I'll Lie Myself to Sleep"
| 26
| —
| 37
| Tough All Over
|
| "Things Are Tough All Over"
| 23
| —
| 19
|
| 1991
| "What About the Love We Made"
| 45
| —
| 86
|
| "The Very First Lasting Love" (w/ Les Taylor)
| 50
| —
| 41
| Soft Talk
|
| "Don't Cross Your Heart"
| 54
| —
| 95
|
| 1993
| "Feelin' Kind of Lonely Tonight"
| 69
| —
| —
| Temptation
|
| "Tell Me I'm Crazy"
| —
| —
| —
|
| 1995
| "Slow Me Down"
| 59
| —
| —
| Restless
|
| "I'm Not the One"
| —
| —
| —
|
| 2000
| "Leavin'"A
| —
| —
| —
| I Am Shelby Lynne
|
| "Gotta Get Back"
| —
| 26
| —
|
| 2001
| "Killin' Kind"
| —
| —
| —
| Love Shelby
|
| 2002
| "Wall in Your Heart"
| —
| 22
| —
|
| 2003
| "Telephone"
| —
| —
| —
| Identity Crisis
|
| "Lonesome"
| —
| —
| —
|
| 2005
| "I Won't Die Alone"
| —
| —
| —
| Suit Yourself
|
| "Go with It"
| —
| —
| —
|
| 2007
| "Anyone Who Had a Heart"
| —
| —
| —
| Just a Little Lovin
|
Guest singles
| Year
| Song
| Artist
| US Country
| Album
|
| 1988
| "If I Could Bottle This Up"
| George Jones
| 43
| Friends in High Places
|
| 1990
| "Tomorrow's World"
| Various artists
| 74
| Single only
|
| 2003
| "Going Down"
| Alison Moorer
| —
| Show
|
| 2004
| "Run Away"
| Live
| -
| Birds of Pray
|
- A "Leavin'" peaked at #71 on the Canadian RPM
Adult Contemporary chart.
References
- Shelby Lynne broadens style, spreads 'Love' by Matt Wolf, Cavalier Daily Staff Writer from The Cavelier Daily Friday, November 16, 2001. Accessed Sept. 13 2007
- Independent Music Awards - 9th Annual Judges
- MicControl
- Top40-Charts.com