From her earliest years in the small town of Jacksonville, Texas, Lee Ann Womack immersed herself in country music. Her father was a part-time disc jockey who frequently took her to the studio and let her pick out records for him to play. (Bob Wills, Ray Price and Glen Campbell were her favorites.) At home, young Lee Ann would lie between the stereo speakers and -- when the weather conditions were right -- absorb the music beaming in from the Grand Ole Opry. Instead of taking her senior trip with the rest of her class, she bargained with her parents for a visit to Nashville, where she toured Music Row and watched TNN tapings.

Initially, Womack studied music at South Plains Junior College, in Levelland, Texas, one of the first schools to offer a degree in bluegrass and country music. She quickly became a member of the school band, Country Caravan, and toured with it throughout the Southwest and Southern California. Subsequently, she enrolled in Belmont University's Music Business program in Nashville, which enabled her to intern in the A&R department at MCA Records. In 1990, she moved to Nashville permanently.

During her stay at Belmont, Womack got married, became a mother and stayed home for a couple of years. Then she began doing showcases around town and singing demos for other songwriters. She also began to concentrate more on her own songwriting. "At one showcase," she says, "somebody from Tree [Publishing] came out to hear me. He asked for a tape of my songs that I'd demoed. Then, he gave the demo to [producer and songwriter] Don Cook, who actually signed me to Tree."

As a staff writer for Tree since 1995, Womack has co-written with such heavyweights as Bill Anderson, Sam Hogin, Ed Hill and her producer, Mark Wright. Anderson has recorded one of their joint-compositions and one of Womack's songs earned a spot on her own debut album.

In early 1996, Womack signed as an artist with Decca Records, the legendary label of Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline, Webb Pierce, Loretta Lynn and many other of her musical heroes.

And don't let it ever be said that hard work doesn't pay off. Since her debut album was released, Lee Ann has garnered numerous nominations and awards, including the 1998 American Music Award for favorite new country artist. She has been a CMA, ACM and TNN Music City News nominee and was named one of Country America's Top 10 New Stars of 1998. Her debut album reached gold status and produced her first No. 1 single, "The Fool."

In addition to accepting awards, Womack has also been busy touring. By the end of 1998, she had done nearly 100 shows, working with the likes of George Strait, Randy Travis and Alan Jackson.

One reason Womack sings country music so well is that she relates to it so instinctively. She understands that the most memorable country songs are woven from melancholy and are meant to give voice to those who feel emotionally mangled by life.