Martina McBride (born Martina Mariea Schiff, July 29, 1966 in Sharon, Kansas) is an American country music singer.
Early life
Martina Schiff grew up on a dairy farm outside of Sharon, Kansas with her parents Daryl and Jeanne Schiff, her two brothers, Steve and Martin, and her sister Gina. She discovered country music through her father, who led a local band called the Schifters. The band rehearsed every week in the family’s house. When she was 7 and little brother Marty was 5, they joined the group. By her teen years, she was singing and playing keyboards with the Schifters playing small gigs at weddings, dances, VFW halls, and American Legion posts. Her mother Jeanne ran the soundboard. Her father Daryl led the band, played guitar and sang. Martina played keyboards and sang. Her brother Marty played guitar and steel. Martina played with the band every Saturday night until she graduated from high school. After high school she gigged around Kansas with several different bands. Her small-town upbringing was highlighted by her high school graduating class only having nine other students.
She was married May 15, 1988 to sound engineer John McBride. She and her husband then moved to Nashville in 1990 where they both took jobs touring with Garth Brooks (Martina sold T-shirts). Eventually she got a recording contract with RCA Records. She also toured with Tim Mcgraw and was a back-up singer for him.
Career success
Martina McBride released her honky tonk-flavored debut album The Time Has Come in 1992. Her first big hit was the single “My Baby Loves Me” from her more pop-oriented second album, 1993’s The Way That I Am. She became even more visible in 1994 with the crossover success of her anti-domestic violence anthem “Independence Day”, also from this album.
In 1995 McBride released the album Wild Angels; “Safe in the Arms of Love” and the title track were country hits, later being her first #1 hit. Her 1997 album Evolution sold over two million units, and included an adult contemporary crossover hit in “Valentine” as well as four number one or number two country hits. The album Emotion came out in 1999; “I Love You” was a big hit in both country and adult contemporary circles. So was the socially conscious “Love’s the Only House”, a trend that would continue with 2003’s “This One’s for the Girls”, which would become the theme song for the 2005 NCAA Women’s Basketball championship tournament.
This was followed by the hit singles “How Far” (written by fellow country singer Jamie O’Neal) and “God’s Will”.
As of 2005 McBride is generally recognized as one of the top female singers in popular music; with her strong and pure soprano voice she has been labelled “the Céline Dion of country music.” Also in 2005 she released a 18-track cd of classic country music standards, which landed at #1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart in its opening week and received much critical acclaim for its authenticity towards traditional country.
She is a four-time Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year winner (a record she holds with Reba McEntire), three-time Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year winner and a Grammy Award winner. She performed The Star-Spangled Banner at Game 3 of the 2004 World Series. She is also left-handed.
“Independence Day” is used as the introductory music for Sean Hannity’s popular talk radio show. McBride has appeared at benefit events organized by Hannity, but has declined to take an active political stance. McBride has performed free for fans, such as in a July 3, 2004 show in Owensboro, Kentucky to celebrate the grand opening of the new Independence Bank headquarters.
McBride gained additional visibility during the 2005 season of American Idol, as eventual winner Carrie Underwood declared McBride to be her favorite singer, performing several of her hits in the competition and putting “Independence Day” on her first single.
Source: Wikipedia
