Biography

Deana Carter has always been the most successful when she was given the most freedom. And she's never had as much room to be herself and to do things as she wished as on The Story of My Life, her first album since moving to Los Angeles and signing with Vanguard Records.

"I got tears in my eyes the first time I listened back to the final version of this record," Carter says. "All I could think was, finally I got to make a record exactly the way I would if it was left totally up to me. There was no input from record companies or producers or anyone. Frankly, it's what I wanted to do from the start. I followed my instincts this time 100 percent, and it was an awesome experience."

Sounds like it, too. Open-hearted and vulnerable, yet full of wit and mischief, The Story of My Life is the sound of a true artist - one with a distinct voice, lyrical ideas and musical style.  "I like for there to be a couple of moments on an album where someone says, ‘Did she just say what I think she did?' I love that. If I get to do what I want to do, like I did on this record, then there's going to be some surprises."

Carter started her career with more freedom than most artists usually receive, and the results made her one of the breakout stars of the late ‘90s. She co-produced (but was not given credit) her debut album, Did I Shave My Legs for This?, which included the award-winning hit "Strawberry Wine" - a teen coming-of-age song unlike anything on the radio before or since. But once she achieved such success, she lost her freedom. Everything she released in subsequent years involved battles with record label executives over direction, production and song selection.

"The reaction was, ‘OK, Deana, that was cool and successful, but now let's reel it back in,'" she says of her past experiences. "I didn't understand it, because I did my best work when left to myself. But once you become successful, everyone has an idea of what you should do. Nashville has a formula, and it works a lot of the time, but it wasn't right for me. They're afraid to step outside the box - even though, with me, my success came because I was outside of the box to begin with."

With Vanguard Records, Carter found a record label that understood her creative desires. "No one at the record label heard a note until the album was finished," Carter explains. "I've never had that happen - never even close. It says so much about their faith in the artist. So this album is a leap of faith in a lot of ways, most of all for me."

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