Where to Begin?

It was Thanksgiving 2003 in my mom's garage the first time any of us knew my then 12 year old daughter was blessed with the gift to sing. My husband and I set up the karaoke after we had recovered from eating so much earlier that afternoon. With family gathered around the borrowed church tables and chairs, we each were to have a turn at trying to out perform the other with our vocal selections. Now mind you, we all had at one point and time been involved with our church choirs and a few of us could actually carry a tune. Other than that, no professionals were in the house....or so we thought.

Up to sing were my niece and my daughter, both girls approaching their teens and at the time infatuated with the Dixie Chicks. They had decided to sing "There's Your Trouble" while the rest of the family was busy chit-chatting. I don't think any of us recall when the music actually started since we were deep in our own conversations but we all stopped talking and looked to see who was singing when we heard one of the girls had taken over as a soloist. It was my daughter! OMG! I'm here to tell you that every person there sat with mouths wide open! She had the attention of everyone there, including the men who had previously snuck off to watch the football game on TV.

My mom turned to me and said, "You've got to do something with her! She has a very special gift." Now I have to say prior to that moment, I was the one family member that was always asked to sing requests. After hearing my daughter sing, my thoughts were confirmed that I would no longer be the one in the singing spotlight. My mom laughingly said to me, "Well, your days of singing are over. Everybody will want to hear Ash instead." Although you might think my feelings would've been hurt by that statement, they weren't. I was as proud as a peacock!

The following week I just couldn't get over the sound of Ashleigh's voice and what my mom had said to me. I sat down with Ashleigh and we discussed in great length her goals and dreams for the future. I didn't want to talk her into something she was not interested in and I sure didn't want anyone to think I was "pushing" my own dreams of singing professionally onto my daughter. Now I can sing but I'm the average "Joe Blow" you would hear at weddings and church. I have always known that I didn't have what it would take to make it in the music industry. Ash on the other hand, well, she has that extra special "umph" that is needed to be a successful artist. It was later agreed that we would seek a vocal coach for her. This was not going to be easy since we live about an hour or so from a major city but I knew that God had plans for Ash and we'd work something out.

We started looking in our local telephone book for any ads for vocal coaches or music teachers but none that appealed to us at the time. After an extensive internet search, we finally found a vocal coach approximately 90 miles away and applied. A few days later we received word that Ashleigh had been accepted as a student and her first lesson would be conducted the following week. Oh how excited we all were! Could it be that my little girl was going to be the next country music star? Well...not so fast.

Thank you so much for reading my first blog postPlease join me again as I continue my blog on "A Country Music Star in the Making." I'll try to bring you along with me on the rollar coaster ride of a lifetime! Until tomorrow...stay safe!