Pam Tillis is at her biggest career turning point since 1991 debut Put Yourself in My Place (Arista). April 17, Mel Tillis’ daughter releases Rhinestoned, the first disc on her own Stellar Cat label.
“My deal with Arista was my first in Nashville, and I had so much freedom,” she recalls. “It was a real unusual situation for a new artist. They trusted my instincts and let me fly.”
The results speak for themselves. Tillis recorded six No. 1 singles and 14 Top 10 hits, racking up two Grammys, more than 5 million albums sold, and the Country Music Association’s 1994 Female Vocalist of the Year award. Then things at Arista changed.
“I found myself in business with people who saw things a little differently than I did, and it wasn’t the best place for me artistically,” says Tillis. “I had that taste of freedom and found I wasn’t happy without it.”
Always the maverick, Tillis has some interesting opinions on what’s happening in Nashville these days: “For a while I was in tune with country radio. I’m not ashamed of it. It was a good time, and it brought me an audience.”
However, “I’m not compelled to listen to country radio these days,” she admits. “I still wave the banner for writers in Nashville, and there are unbelievable players here. But sometimes the music sounds so calculated.”
Tillis is thrilled to play SXSW.
“It’s the kind of thing that I need these days to keep me revved up creatively,” she says. “I like to be in the trenches with everybody else.”
This article appears in March 16 • 2007.