Trisha grew up on a farm in Monticello, Georgia, a small town about an hour's drive from Atlanta, Macon, and Athens. Her father, a retired banker, and her mother, a retired schoolteacher, now run Trisha's fan club from there.

By the time Trisha was five or six years old she was a big Elvis fan and through high school she absorbed musical influences from all directions, including the country artists of her parents' record collection, southern rock on the radio and school musicals and choral groups.

In 1985, midway through college, Trisha transferred to Nashville's Belmont University music business program. She worked her way up on Music Row, starting as an intern at MTM Records, then moving to the front desk. Gradually she began singing demos for songwriters-an experience that she would draw heavily on when it came time to pick songs for her own recordings. Soon she moved on up to the background vocals on master sessions.

Finally she enlisted the support of producer Garth Fundis to put together a showcase performance, and she was signed to MCA. Trisha's 1991 single debut, "She's In Love With The Boy", found a new youthful market for country music that the industry was not yet aware of, and it shot up the charts, spending two weeks at #1.

It was the first of four hits from her album, Trisha Yearwood, which went to #2 and was certified double platinum for two millions copies sold. She won new artist awards from the Academy of Country Music, the American Music Awards and Pollstar (a concert industry award).

From her first record, audiences knew there was something special about her performance. She would later sum it up in a Billboard interview: "I just flat out love to sing. . . If you really feel it, other people will hopefully feel it too. But even if nobody's listening, I will do it forever".