Brandy Clark
Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, the Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Musgraves.[2] She debuted as an artist in her own right in 2013 with her album 12 Stories and has released four additional studio albums. Clark is a sixteen-time Grammy Award nominee, including the 2015 Best New Artist award, and won the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year as a co-writer on "Follow Your Arrow".[3] In 2023, Clark and frequent collaborator Shane McAnally wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Shucked, earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.
Brandy Clark
Brandy Lynn Clark[1]
October 9, 1975
Morton, Washington, United States
Singer-songwriter
Vocals, guitar, piano
2005–present
Early life[edit]
Brandy Clark was born in Morton, Washington, a logging town of 900 people in the shadow of Mount Rainier. As a child in the 1980s she was influenced by the country-pop and traditional country music artists she heard her parents and grandmother play, like Barbara Mandrell, Ronnie Milsap, Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn. Clark cites the Patsy Cline movie "Sweet Dreams" as one of her biggest early influences.[4]
Clark began playing guitar at nine years old and sang in school musicals, also writing songs. She obtained a basketball scholarship at Central Washington University, but later moved back home, obtaining an associate degree from a community college. Still a teenager, she joined the music business program at Belmont University, and moved to Nashville in 1998.
At Belmont she took guitar lessons again and joined a band with her mother and a friend. She studied commercial music and was chosen to perform in the school's "Best of the Best Showcase". Upon graduation, Clark got a job with Leadership Music which led to her eventual publishing deal.
Critical reception[edit]
Clark's song "Stripes" received favorable reviews from critics. Ben Foster of Country Universe praised the track:
"As the first radio bid from an exceptionally talented singer-songwriter, "Stripes" does not disappoint. It's an ambitious, energetic debut single that makes the prospect of a full-length Brandy Clark album even more enticing." Foster rated the song an A.[17]
Music roots publication Engine 145 described her as "one of the most talented songwriters on Music Row, and she proves she is as talented a performer as she is a writer." 12 Stories received a 4.5-out-of-5 rating.[18]
Americana and Roots music blog Twang Nation placed 12 Stories at the top spot of its best of 2013 "Cream of the Crop".[19]
NPR music critic Ann Powers named the album her favorite of 2013. Powers noted that others share her sentiments, writing, "the top honor on many critics' lists is going to Clark, a storyteller of the highest caliber."[20]
The Los Angeles Times wrote that Clark's 2017 release Live from Los Angeles is "smart to the core."[21]
Your Life Is a Record has been described as "the best-sounding album that she’s released."[22] The New Yorker wrote about the album saying, "No One Is Writing Better Country Songs than Brandy Clark Is".[23] Writing about her 2023 self-titled album, NPR described Clark's voice as "a powerful, agile instrument that she wields masterfully".[24]
