Rhonda Lea Vincent is a
bluegrassBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
singer, songwriter,
mandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
player,
guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, and
fiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
player.
Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades. She achieved success in the bluegrass genre in the 1970s and '80s, earning the respect of her mostly male peers for her mastery of the progressive chord structures and multi-range, fast paced vocals intrinsic to bluegrass music.
Biography
Vincent was born in Kirksville, Missouri, on Friday, July 13, 1962. She is the oldest of three children, and the only daughter of Johnny and Carolyn Vincent. Her younger brother, Darrin, is a member of the bluegrass group
Dailey & VincentDailey & Vincent is an American bluegrass music group composed of Jamie Dailey Darrin Vincent , Christian Davis , Joe Dean, Jr. , Jeff Parker and BJ Cherryholmes . Former fiddle player Jesse Stockman left the band in early August 2011 due to a wrist injury...
. Rhonda's musical career started when her father bought her a snare drum for her sixth birthday. She played in Queen City, Missouri, in her family's group, The Sally Mountain Show. Rhonda, then age eight, started playing mandolin. She soon excelled and began guitar lessons at ten years old. During her high school and college years, she continued to play in bluegrass groups, but she truly wanted to make it big. In 1985, young Rhonda was involved in A TV series called "You Can Be A Star" that ran on TNN for many years. After winning the competition, she was signed to a recording contract; her first professional performance was with country singer and Grand Ole Opry star Jim Ed Brown. In the 1990s Vincent branched out into mainstream country music but did not enjoy the success anticipated there. With the release of her album
Back Home Again in 2000, she returned to bluegrass with the goal of expanding both the musical reach and the accessibility of the genre. Since then she has seen her popularity and acceptance rise and has received acclaim from several music-industry groups. The
International Bluegrass Music AssociationThe International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
(IBMA) accorded her its Female Vocalist of the Year award for the years 2000 - 2006, plus IBMA Entertainer of the Year in 2001. The Society for Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) designated her its Entertainer of the Year for 2002 - 2006 inclusive. She also performs with her band, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.
Vincent married Herb Sandker in 1984. They have two daughters, Sally (b. 1986) and Tensel (b. 1988). On June 8, 2010, Sally wed her mother's fiddle player, Hunter Berry, in Greentop, Missouri, after an eight-year relationship with him. Sally and her younger sister Tensel have since performed with their mother and with Berry, and have begun their own group named Next Best Thing.
On February 19, 2010, Vincent parted from
Rounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
, after ten years with the label. Vincent released her debut album on her own label on September 21, 2010.
Taken was released on Upper Management Music and debuted at the top of the Top Bluegrass Albums chart.
On June 7, 2011, Vincent and country legend
Gene WatsonGary Gene Watson is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1982 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature song "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has notched six number ones, 23 top tens and over 75 charted singles.-Biography:Watson...
released a duet album on Upper Management entitled
Your Money and My Good Looks. The album entered the U.S.
Billboard Top Country AlbumsThe Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
chart at number 71.
Gospel DVD
In an interview with television station
KTVOKTVO is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Honey Lands area of Northeastern Missouri and Southeastern Iowa. Licensed to Kirksville, Missouri, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter northwest of Downing, Missouri along US 136...
announced that she and her band had recently filmed a live, all-Gospel, DVD at a church in her hometown of Greentop, Missouri. The DVD is expected to be released in early 2012.
Studio albums
Collaboration albums
Compilation albums
Holiday albums
Singles
Featured singles
Music videos
| Year |
Video |
Director |
| 1993 |
"I'm Not Over You" |
|
| 1994 |
"What Else Could I Do" |
|
| 1995 |
"What More Do You Want from Me" |
R. Brad Murano/Steven T. Miller |
| 1998 |
"I Sang Dixie" |
|
| 2002 |
"I'm Not Over You" |
Warren P. Sonoda |
| 2003 |
"You Can't Take It With You When You Go" |
Brent Hedgecock |
| "If Heartaches Had Wings" |
Deaton-Flanigen Productions Deaton-Flanigen Productions is a music video directing duo composed of Robert Deaton III and George Flanigen IV. The two have directed multiple music videos, primarily in the field of country music...
|
| 2005 |
"I've Forgotten You" |
Brent Hedgecock |
| 2006 |
"Heartbreaker's Alibi" |
Trey Fanjoy Trey Fanjoy is a country music and pop music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH-1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV.-Music videos:...
|
| 2008 |
"I Gotta Start Somewhere" |
Dallas Henry |
Awards
IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association)
- Recorded Event of The Year – Clinch Mountain Country, 1999
- Recorded Event of the Year, 2001
- Entertainer of the Year 2001
- Recorded Event of the Year – Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers
At the Grammy Awards of 2004, Livin', Lovin', Losin won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and James Taylor and Alison Krauss won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for their duet on "How's the World Treating You"...
, 2004
- Song of the Year – Kentucky Borderline, 2004
- Female Vocalist of the Year, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
External links