Rhonda Vincent: Difference between revisions

|origin = [[Greentop, Missouri]], U.S.

|instrument = {{hlist|Vocals, |[[mandolin]], |guitar, |[[fiddle]]}}

|genre = {{hlist|[[Bluegrass music|Bluegrass]], |[[Country music|country]], |[[Gospel music|gospel]]}}

|occupation = {{hlist|Musician, |songwriter}}

|label = {{hlist|[[Rebel Records|Rebel]], |[[Giant Records (Warner Bros. subsidiary label)|Giant]], |[[Rounder Records|Rounder]], |Upper Management Music}}

Vincent was born in [[Kirksville, Missouri]], on July 13, 1962, and raised in nearby [[Greentop, Missouri]]. She is the oldest of three children, and the only daughter of Johnny and Carolyn Vincent. Her brother Darrin is a member of the Award-winning bluegrass group [[Dailey & Vincent]]. Her youngest brother Brian played with the family group, but is now a top executive with the Bimeda Corporation. A fifth-generation musician, Rhonda's musical career started at age five when she sang gospel songs with her family's band, which was later known as the "Sally Mountain Show".<ref>Craig Morrison, "Vincent, Rhonda" in Kristin N Burns, ed. ''Women and Music in America since 1900: an Encyclopedia''. Westport, Ct .& London: Greenwood. 2002 {{ISBN|978-1573563093}} vol.2 p. 661</ref> Her father bought her a [[snare drum]] for her sixth birthday. At age eight, Vincent started playing [[mandolin]]. She later added [[fiddle]] to her list of instruments at 12. In an interview with ''Ingrams'' magazine, she said, "Dad used to pick me up after school, and Grandpa would come over and we played until after dinner almost every night. There wasn’t a lot going on in Greentop, but it was always hopping at the Vincent house."<ref name="Boone">{{cite web|last=Boone|first=Dennis|url=http://www.ingramsonline.com/Apr_2012/50Missourians/Missouriansnew13.php|title=50 Missourians you should know|publisher=Ingrams magazine. Volume 38, No.&nbsp;4|date=April 2012|access-date=June 21, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512231421/http://www.ingramsonline.com/Apr_2012/50Missourians/Missouriansnew13.php|archive-date=May 12, 2014}}</ref> Vincent recorded her first single, a version of "[[Mule Skinner Blues]]", in 1970. The family, including the younger brothers when they were old enough to play instruments, traveled and performed extensively across the [[Midwest]] in the 1970s and early 1980s. Except for living in [[Texas]] for a short time in 1974, and two summers (1977, 1978) spent employed as musicians at [[Silver Dollar City]] in [[Branson, Missouri]], the Vincent family used the Greentop area as home base.<ref>Janie Shriver & Jennie Higgins, ''It's a Family Affair''. Published in ''[[The Chariton Collector]]'' magazine, Spring 1982. Pg. 30–31</ref> The Vincent children all attended [[Schuyler County, Missouri|Schuyler County R-1]] schools, and following high school Vincent later attended [[Truman State University|Northeast Missouri State University]], majoring in accounting.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

Vincent’s life of music evolved into a successful career in bluegrass music after being discovered by Grand Ole Opry Star Jim Ed Brown, and later spending what she calls her musical college years recording for Giant Record. She learned about the music business from Nashville’s best like James Stroud, Jack McFadden, and Stan Barnett. Even while Vincent was still performing regularly with the Sally Mountain Show, she released her first solo album ''New Dreams and Sunshine'' in 1988. In 1985, Vincent had competed in the TV series ''You Can Be a Star'' on the original version of [[The Nashville Network]]. After winning the competition, she was signed to a recording contract; her first professional performance was with country singer and [[Grand Ole Opry]] star [[Jim Ed Brown]]. In the 1990s Vincent branched out into mainstream country music, releasing a pair of albums on the [[Giant Records (Warner)|Giant Records]] label, but did not have success there.

With the release of her album ''Back Home Again'' in 2000, Vincent returned to bluegrass with the goal of expanding both the musical reach and the accessibility of the genre. The [[International Bluegrass Music Association]] (IBMA) accorded her its Female Vocalist of the Year award for the years 2000 – 2006, plus IBMA Entertainer of the Year in 2001. The Society for Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) designated her its Entertainer of the Year for 2002 – 2006 inclusive.<ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/vincent_rhonda/bio.jhtml|title=Rhonda VH1 Vincent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030818170009/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/vincent_rhonda/bio].jhtml |access-date=July 13, 2024|archive-date=August 18, 2003 }}</ref> She also performs with her band, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.

On February 19, 2010, Vincent parted from [[Rounder Records]], after ten years with the label.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1632264/rhonda-vincent-leaves-rounder-records.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222122732/http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1632264/rhonda-vincent-leaves-rounder-records.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 22, 2010|title=CMT : News : Rhonda Vincent leaves Rounder Records|publisher=CMT News|access-date=February 19, 2010}}</ref> Vincent released "Taken", her debut album on her own label Upper Management Music on September 21, 2010. Featuring special guests like long-time friend [[Dolly Parton]], [[Richard Marx]] and [[The Lewis Family|Little Roy Lewis]], the album entered the [[Top Bluegrass Albums]] chart at No.&nbsp;1.<ref name="Rhonda Vincent biography">{{cite web|url=http://www.rhondavincent.com/|title=Rhonda Vincent biography|publisher=Vincent official website|access-date=June 19, 2012}}</ref>

On June 7, 2011, Vincent and country legend [[Gene Watson]] released a duet album on Upper Management entitled ''Your Money and My Good Looks''. The album entered the U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Billboard charts|Top Country Albums]] chart at number 71.

On April 1, 2017, Vincent's duet with a fellow country singer [[Richard Lynch (musician)|Richard Lynch]] was released as a track on Lynch's album "Mending Fences".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Papadatos|first1=Marcos|title=Review: Richard Lynch back with new country single 'Cut And Paste' |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/music/review-richard-lynch-back-with-new-country-single-cut-and-paste/article/489310|website=Digital Journal|date=April 2017 |access-date=April 2, 2017}}</ref>

In 2008, Vincent's band performed at Centennial Hall in [[London, Ontario]], at a concert organized by the Thames Valley Bluegrass Association.<ref>''Strings'', newsletter of the Pineridge Bluegrass Folklore Society, June 2008</ref>

Vincent married Herb Sandker on Christmas Eve, 1983.<ref name="Rhonda Vincent fact sheet"/> While it might have been more convenient to be based out of someplace like [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], Vincent chose to remain close to her Missouri roots: "My husband and I made the decision early on. I loved being in my home area. My parents are there, our relatives are there. We wanted to raise our children there. So I made the decision to commute."<ref name="Boone"/> For a period of time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they owned, and Sandker managed, a popular restaurant in Kirksville, Missouri, called Bogies. <ref>{{cite web|last=Righi |first=Len |url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2000-06-09-3304169-story.html |title=Home on the Web: Rhonda Vincent Turns to the Internet to Bond With Traditional Bluegrass Fans |website=MCall.com |date=June 9, 2000 |access-date=May 29, 2022}}</ref>

Vincent's elder daughter Sally wed her mother's fiddle player, Hunter Berry, in Greentop, Missouri, in 2010. Younger daughter Tensel married her mother's dobro player, Brent Burke, in 2013. Sally and Tensel have since performed with their mother, and have begun their own group with their husbands named Next Best Thing.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lawless |first=John |url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/the-next-best-thing/ |title=The Next Best Thing |website=Bluegrasstoday.com |date=August 4, 2008 |access-date=March 10, 2020}}</ref>

Since 1987, Rhonda and the entire Vincent family have hosted a large yearly bluegrass festival on land just west of [[Queen City, Missouri]]. The Sally Mountain Bluegrass Festival is traditionally held around theJuly 4th of July4, and attracts music fans from across the U.S. and the world.

To date, Vincent and her band, The Rage, are the most awarded band in bluegrass history. To date, they have won one [[Grammy Award|Grammy]], nineteen [[International Bluegrass Music Association|IBMA Awards]] (including the top Entertainer of the Year honor in 2001 and consecutive Female Vocalist of the year wins between 2000 and 2006) and eighty nine SPBGMA Awards.

| 1974 || [[Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America]] || Single of the Year || Muleskinner Blues || {{Won}}
|-
| 1999 || [[International Bluegrass Music Association]] || Recorded Event of the Year || Clinch Mountain Country || {{Won}}

| 2018 || [[60th Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]] || rowspan=2| [[Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album|Best Bluegrass Album]] || ''[[All the Rage (Rhonda Vincent album)|All The Rage: Volume One]]'' || {{won}}

* ''Missouri Walk of Fame'' 2012 inductee<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cherryblossomfest.com/pages/2012.html|title=Inductee list|publisher=Cherry Blossom Festival|year=2012|access-date=April 29, 2012}}</ref>

* Bluegrass Star Award, Inaugural Recipient (October 16, 2010), presented by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation of Dallas Texas. The award is bestowed upon bluegrass artists who do an exemplary job of advancing traditional bluegrass music and bringing it to new audiences while preserving its character and heritage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bluegrassheritage.org/bluegrass-star-award/|title=Bluegrass Heritage Foundation official website|website=Bluegrassheritage.org|year=2010|access-date=December 28, 2015}}</ref>

* [http://www.rhondavincent.com/ Official website]

*{{AllmusicAllMusic|class=artist|id=p703}}

[[Category:American femalewomen country singers]]

[[Category:LivingGrammy peopleAward winners]]

[[Category:SingersSinger-songwriters from Missouri]]