Mandy Barnett

Mandy Barnett
Background information
Born	September 28, 1975 (1975-09-28) (age 33)
Origin	Crossville, Tennessee, USA
Genre(s)	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1995-present
Label(s)	Capitol, Asylum
Associated acts	Patsy Cline, Kyle Lehning

Amanda Carol "Mandy" Barnett (born September 28, 1975 in Crossville, Tennessee) is a country music singer and stage actress. In her musical career, she has released three albums and charted three singles on the Billboard country charts. Her highest-charting country single is "Now That's All Right With Me", which reached #43 in 1996. Barnett has also held the titular role in the musical Always… Patsy Cline, a musical based on the life of Patsy Cline.

Early life

Born Amanda Carol Barnett, she was the only child of Betty and Dan Barnett (who worked respectively as a bookkeeper and contractor). Barnett began her musical career by singing in church at the age of five. Her mother encouraged her by booking singing engagements wherever people would listen: bowling alleys, VFW halls and political rallies (notably for Lamar Alexander and future Vice President Al Gore, Jr.. When there was no venue, she would perform in parking lots. By age nine, her father financed a professionally recorded gospel music album. The following summer, she had joined a summer theatre cast at Dollywood and shared the stage with Dolly Parton herself. It was during her two years at Dollywood that she won a talent contest that included making a demo in Nashville.

Nashville

During the trip to Nashville, Betty Barnett worked to get her daughter a spot on "Midnight Jamboree" radio show, which aired after the Grand Ole Opry program on WSM-AM. Opry star George Hamilton IV was also a guest on the program. She was soon signed by producer Jimmy Bowen. The then 12-year-old Barnett earned a lot of industry buzz after her debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, covering Patsy Cline's "Crazy."

Bowen's career transitioned from label to label at the time. Each time, he took Barnett with him, and despite constant training and development funding, no album ever resulted. Barnett graduated from high school in 1993 and headed back to Nashville full-time to seek her fortune, though Capitol Records dropped her that December.

In 1994, she auditioned for Always… Patsy Cline and took the role of Patsy Cline in the musical. It played nightly at the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry where Cline herself had sung, and Barnett performed to sold-out crowds for two years. In 1996, she was signed to Asylum Records, releasing her self-titled debut album. Produced by Kyle Lehning, it was led off by the single

She toured nationally in 1997 and reprised her role in Always... Patsy Cline for a short time and she contributed performances to two film soundtracks before releasing her next album in 1999 on Sire Records, I've Got A Right to Cry, produced by the man who had made Patsy Cline herself a star, studio legend Owen Bradley. He died mid-way through the project and his brother Harold Bradley took over production duties. It would be released soon after Bradley's death. Reviews of I've Got A Right To Cry were strong, including raves in Rolling Stone, but sales disappointed, and Barnett was dropped from Sire. She has not recorded since

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest singles

Guest appearances

Recordings with other artists

Videos

References

• Official site
• Production site
• CMT
• Biography on Countrypolitan.com