Representative Albums: "Trouble Free," "Timeless and True Love," "A Dream Come True"
Representative Songs: "Lonesome Wind Blues," "You're in My Heart," "I Do My Cryin' at Night"
Biography
Bluegrass vocalist and fiddler Rhonda Vincent began her professional music career at the age of five, playing drums with her family's band, the Sally Mountain Show. She picked up the mandolin at eight and the fiddle at ten, performing with the family band at festivals on weekends. After appearing on TNN's nationally televised You Can Be a Star program in her mid-twenties, Vincent struck out on her own, singing with the Grand Ole Opry's Jim Ed Brown, eventually leading to a deal with Rebel Records. Her work with Brown and her Rebel recordings caught the attention of Giant Nashville's president, James Stroud, who signed Vincent to record two contemporary country albums. After her time at Giant, she moved to Rounder Records, and demonstrated her passion for the traditional music she grew up with, on Back Home Again. A car accident in December 1999 kept her from a planned trip to Nashville for auditions, so she hired her band (unusually named the Rage) through the Internet. Rhonda Vincent and the Rage have been gaining popularity at bluegrass festivals since their formation, playing hard-driving, high-energy contemporary bluegrass music. Her 2001 album The Storm Still Rages was nominated for seven International Bluegrass Music Association awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year, while fiddle player Michael Cleveland and banjo player Tom Adams earned nominations in their respective instrumental categories. A three-year unbroken string of IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards led to the 2003 release of One Step Ahead, another tour, and another well-deserved showering of critical praise. Recorded in front of a hometown crowd in St. Louis, Ragin' Live arrived in 2005, followed by All American Bluegrass Girl in 2006, Good Thing Going in 2008, and Destination Life in 2009. ~ Zac Johnson, All Music Guide
Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades. She achieved success in the bluegrass genre in the 1970s and '80s, earning the respect of her mostly male peers for her mastery of the progressive chord structures and multi-range, fast paced vocals intrinsic to bluegrass music.[2]
In the 1990s she branched out into mainstream country music but did not enjoy the success anticipated there. With the release of her album "Back Home Again" in 2000, she returned to bluegrass with the goal of expanding both the musical reach and the accessibility of the genre. Since then she has seen her popularity and acceptance rise and has received acclaim from several music-industry groups. 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.[3] She also performs with her band, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.
Vincent married Herb Sandker in 1984. They have two daughters, Sally (b. 1986) and Tensel (b. 1988). She is the sister of bluegrass performer and producer Darrin Vincent (Kentucky Thunder, Dailey & Vincent).
At the end of the 2008 year, two members of the Rage, Kenny Ingram and Darrell Webb, announced that they were leaving the group. It is unknown right now why.
