Sara Evans photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Such accomplishments have been a dream come true for the Booneville, Missouri native. One of seven children, Sara began singing country music with her family's band when she was five-years-old. By the time she was 16, she landed a gig singing regularly at a club in Columbia, Missouri. Of course, Nashville is Mecca for all aspiring country artists and Sara made her way to Music City determined to realize her dreams. She got her first break when legendary songwriter Harlan Howard heard her amazing voice and tapped her to sing his demos. A deal with RCA Records followed soon after.
Produced by Pete Anderson, her debut disc, Three Chords and the Truth, earned praise from critics, but it was her second disc, No Place That Far, that brought Sara the commercial success to match the critical acclaim. Her next album, Born to Fly spawned four hit singles, which are included on Greatest Hits—"I Could Not Ask for More," "Saints and Angels," "I Keep Looking," and the title track.
"It was the first time I ever wrote with Marcus Hummon," Sara recalls of penning "Born To Fly." "It was basically a biography of my life on the farm--talking to a scarecrow and dreaming. I had such huge dreams of doing something that nobody where I came from did."
Sara says "I Keep Looking" is another song that captures who she is and what she's really about. "That song was more about me just wanting to express my true nature, how I am as a person," she relates. "I'm totally that way. I keep looking forward and asking how to make things better. What can I do next?"
Always looking to stretch herself artistically, Sara has continued to develop her gift as a songwriter. Her fourth album, Restless, spawned the hit "Perfect," which she penned with Tom Shapiro and Tony Martin. The album also featured one of Sara's signature hits, the high-spirited "Suds in the Bucket." She followed "Restless" with "Real Fine Place," which served up four hits singles--"Cheatin'," "You'll Always Be My Baby," "Coalmine," and the title track, which spent two weeks at No. 1.
Writing and recording four new songs for the greatest hits package—songs strong enough to fit comfortably alongside her already impressive body of work—was a challenging task, but Sara is pleased with the outcome. "I could only choose four songs," Sara says of rounding out the collection with new tunes, "but they are exactly the songs that this project needed."
"As If" is a buoyant exploration of budding romance, written by Sara, Shanks and Hillary Lindsey. "We wrote 'As If' on the very first day," Sara says of working with Shanks, whom she met at the 2006 ACM Awards, following her female vocalist win. Her collaboration with the award-winning producer proved very fruitful. She and Shanks co-wrote with Aimee Mayo on two new tunes that made it onto Greatest Hits—"Love You With All My Heart" and "Pray for You." Sara, Shanks, Lindsey, and Sara's brother Matt penned "Some Things Never Change."
"Love You With All My Heart" is a sexy number that finds Sara tapping into her sultry side. "This song is just about being in a new relationship. This song is all about attraction, really nothing else," says Sara. "We wrote the song when Aimee was huge pregnant and it's funny because when I was huge pregnant, she and I wrote another passionate song called 'Secrets That We Keep'."
