On this day (September 28) in 1975, Mandy Barnett was born in Crossville, Tennessee. She found her passion for singing in childhood. She followed that passion to Nashville, where she gained recognition for her timeless vocal style. Before recording her debut LP, she took the lead role in Always…Patsy Cline. She remains the only actress to portray the country legend on the Ryman stage.
Barnett was ten years old when she won Best Country Act at Dollywood. Then, her mother started taking her to Nashville. Eventually, Jimmy Bowen took notice. Her vocal style, reminiscent of Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, and Webb Pierce, helped her land a deal with Asylum Records. While preparing to record her debut album, she became the star of a jukebox musical celebrating Cline.
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According to AllMusic, Barnett landed the lead role in Always…Patsy Cline. She portrayed the tragic country legend on the Ryman Auditorium stage four nights a week for 26 weeks. She also appears on the show’s original cast soundtrack album.
“To be able to portray someone that I admired so much was just really a dream come true,” she told Music Row. “It was so amazing to do that and to work with Gaylord, the Ryman, and all of the great musicians and people that come together for it. We really assembled a great group of people,” she added. She also noted that she never imagined she would become the star of a theatre production. Barnett just wanted to start her recording career. “It was just the timing, where I was in my life, and who it was about. All those things matter, and all those things came together to be the perfect fit for me.”
Mandy Barnett’s Recording Career
Mandy Barnett didn’t have to wait much longer to start her recording career. Two years after she took the role of Patsy Cline, she released her self-titled debut album. Three years later, in 1999, she returned with I’ve Got a Right to Cry. She has since released seven more LPs. Her latest, Every Star Above, a collection of covers of songs included on Billie Holiday’s Lady in Satin, dropped in 2021.
[RELATED: Mandy Barnett Adapts Iconic Billie Holiday Album With ‘Every Star Above’]
She has also appeared on several film and TV soundtracks and the SpongeBob SquarePants album Best Day Ever.
Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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