Alison Krauss Biography

Fiddle player and singer Alison Krauss began releasing bluegrass records in 1987, and by 2005 she had won 20 Grammy awards — more than any other female recording artist in history. Krauss was 16 when she released her first record, Too Late to Cry. She has since alternated releases as a solo artist and with her backing band, Union Station. Her 1995 release Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection demonstrated her range as a vocalist and brought her mainstream success; the album also won four Country Music Awards. She recorded three tracks for the soundtrack to the Coen brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and was featured in a documentary about the music from that film, Down From the Mountain (2000), and the success of both films helped make her the best-known contemporary bluegrass artist in the United States. Her albums include New Favorite (2001); So Long So Wrong (1997); I’ve Got That Old Feeling (1990); and Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004). Her songs include “When You Say Nothing At All,” “The Lucky One” and “You Will Be My Ain True Love,” a duet with Sting that was nominated for an Oscar (from the 2003 film Cold Mountain). Krauss has collaborated with other musicians and singers from across genres– from Willie Nelson to Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant — and has also produced several records, including Reba McEntire‘s 2001 song, “Sweet Music Man.” Her 2007 album with Plant, Raising Sand, won Grammys as both album and record of the year.