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Jessi Colter
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Jessi Colter (born Mirriam Johnson, May 25, 1947) is an American country music artist who is best known for her collaboration with her husband, country singer and songwriter Waylon Jennings and for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa".
Jessi Colter was one of the few female artists to emerge from the mid-'70s "outlaw" movement.
After meeting her future husband, Colter pursued a career in country music, releasing her first studio LP in 1970, A Country Star Is Born. Five years later, Colter signed with Capitol Records and released her first solo single, "I'm Not Lisa" which topped the country charts and reached the Top 5 on the Pop charts.
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Encyclopedia
Jessi Colter (born Mirriam Johnson, May 25, 1947) is an American country music artist who is best known for her collaboration with her husband, country singer and songwriter Waylon Jennings and for her 1975 country-pop crossover hit "I'm Not Lisa".
Jessi Colter was one of the few female artists to emerge from the mid-'70s "outlaw" movement.
After meeting her future husband, Colter pursued a career in country music, releasing her first studio LP in 1970, A Country Star Is Born. Five years later, Colter signed with Capitol Records and released her first solo single, "I'm Not Lisa" which topped the country charts and reached the Top 5 on the Pop charts. In 1976 she was featured on the the collaboration LP, Wanted: The Outlaws, which became an RIAA-certified Platinum album, and helped her become one of the few female outlaw country stars.
Early life
Colter was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Colter was raised in a strict Pentecostal home.
Her mother was a Pentecostal preacher and her father was a racecar driver. At age 11, Colter became the pianist at her her church.
While still a teenager, Colter left Phoenix, and toured with guitarist, Duane Eddy, whom she had met through her sister, Jessi who was the wife of country singer, Cowboy Jack Clement. In 1962, Colter married Eddy and began to tour with each other throughout Europe before settling in Los Angeles, California in 1962. While still married to Eddy, Colter was a songwriter under her married name, "Mirriam Eddy," writing songs for Don Gibson, Nancy Sinatra, and Dottie West.
In 1968, Colter moved back to Arizona. A year later, she met and married Waylon Jennings.
At this same time, Colter adopted her stage name, "Jessi Colter," named in honor of her great-great-great uncle, Jesse Colter And
Colter then moved to Nashville, Tennessee with Jennings.
Music career
Early music career: 1970 – 1974
In 1970, Jennings and Colter sang duet on two Top 40 country chart hits which also helped Colter gain a recording contract with RCA Records the same year. She released her debut album, A Country Star is Born on RCA, with Jennings and Chet Atkins co-producing
The album was not successful and did not make an impact on the country music market. It was Colter's only album for RCA, and she left the label soon after. However, her face appears on several Jennings record covers from this period.
Breakthrough success: 1975 – 1979
In 1975, Colter was signed with Capitol Records. On the label, she released her debut single, "I'm Not Lisa." The song was Colter's breakthrough single, reaching #1 on the Billboard Country Chart and also peaked at #4 on the Billboard Pop Chart, becoming a crossover hit in 1975. Her second album titled, I'm Jessi Colter was also released that year, and debuted at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart and #50 on the Billboard 200. The follow-up single from her album, "What's Happened to Blue Eyes" was also very successful, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Country Chart and #57 on the Pop Chart. The single's B-side, "You Ain't Never Been Loved (Like I'm Gonna Love You)" charted among the Top Pop 100 also in 1975. Colter could follow-up her success on the Pop charts, because she was not able to chart among the Pop Top 40. That year, Colter launched her own nationwide tour at the Los Angeles Civic Center. In 1976, Colter released her second and third Capitol studio albums, Jessi and Diamond in the Rough. Both albums were as successful as Colter's 1975 album, both debuting at #4 on the Top Country Albums chart. The lead single off of her Jessi album, "It's Morning (And I Still Love You)" was a Top 15 country hit in 1976. Her second album that year, Diamond in the Rough produced only one charting single, "I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name sales. The album consisted of recordings by each of the featured artists. The album included the which was re-released that year and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Country Chart. For the remainder of the decade, Colter toured with her husband Waylon Jennings and released her studio album, Mirriam in 1977. She then released her next album, That's the Way a Cowboy Rocks & Rolls the following year. Her success began to decline through the remainder of the decade, with her final two albums of the decade not producing any Top 40 country hits.
Later music career: 1980 – 2002
In 1981, Colter and her husband returned to release a duet album entitled, Leather and Lace.
The album's first single, "Storms Never Last," was written by Colter,
and the second single, "/ "I was also a major hit in 1981,
peaking at #10 on the Billboard Country Chart. The album was certified Gold in sales by the RIAA that year, Colter's second RIAA-certified album to date. [[Stevie Nicks]] wrote the title track of the album, however after receiving word that Colter and Jennings might divorce, released her own version of the song as a duet with [[Don Henley]], which peaked at #6 on Pop chart, also in 1981.
Also in 1981 Colter released her final studio album on Capitol records, Ridin' Shotgun,, which also spawned Colter's last charting single on the country charts, "Holdin' on." As the decade progressed, Colter's success began to decline. She released in album in 1984 on the Triad label titled, Rock and Roll Lullabye, produced by [[Chips Moman]].
However, in the later years of the decade, she decided to let her recording career decline in order to help take care of and nurse her husband through his [[drug abuse]] and various medical problems. She remained active during this time.
In the early 90s, she focused her attention towards performing and released an album and a home video titled, jessi colter guest appearance who recited some of his poetry for the video.
In 2000, Colter performed on Jenning's live album Never Say Die, which was released two years before his death.
In 2002, Waylon Jennings passed away.
Return to music: 2006 – present
In 2006, Colter returned to recording with a new studio album released off the Shout! Factory label, Out of the Ashes.
Out of the Ashes was Colter's first studio album in over twenty years. The album was produced by Don Was and reflected on Jenning's passing away. Her late husband, Waylon Jennings had an unused vocal that was featured on the track, "Out of the Rain." Colter and son, Shooter, are featured on the track "Please Carry Me Home." Shooter helped Colter make the album.
The album was given many positive reviews, including Allmusic, which gave the album four out of five stars in 2006.
Out of the Ashes was her first album since 1981 to chart on the Top Country Albums chart, peaking at #61.
In 2007, Colter recorded a duet version of her 1975 hit, "I'm Not Lisa" with Deana Carter on her 2007 album, The Chain. Also included as a duet partner on the album was Colter's son, Shooter.
Colter currently lives on her ranch in rural Arizona and is planning another record, allegedly to be produced by son Shooter Jennings, who, himself, has released several albums including, Put the O back in Country and Electric Rodeo.
Personal life
Colter has been married twice. Her first marriage to guitarist, Duane Eddy, lasted for five years between 1963 and 1968
whom she married at her mother's church in Arizona. Her second, in 1969, was to Waylon Jennings.
In the early 80s, Colter and Jennings nearly divorced due to his addictions to drugs and other forms of substance abuse.
Their union produced one child, Waylon Albright Jennings. Not to be confused with his father, he was given the nickname "Shooter". Shooter Jennings is a musician himself, who has been a recording artist since 1997 when he founded the California-based rock band, Stargunn. Since 2005, he has been a semi-successful solo country music artist.
Discography
See also
External links
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