Alison Krauss Biography

Alison Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass/country singer and fiddle player. Krauss entered the music industry at a young age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time on her brother's album at fourteen. Krauss signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album at sixteen in 1987. Krauss was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss & Union Station (AKUS), and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989. Since then Krauss' contract has dictated that she rotate between releasing albums solo and with Union Station.

She has thus far released more than ten albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and has been credited with helping to usher in a new interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Some of her soundtrack performances have led to further notability including the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, an album also credited with raising American interest in bluegrass; and on the Cold Mountain soundtrack, which ultimately led her to perform at the Academy Awards. Over the course of her career she has won twenty Grammy Awards—more than any other female artist and tied for seventh-most of all artists—along with numerous other awards.

Alison Krauss was born in Decatur, Illinois, but was raised in Champaign, Illinois. She began studying classical violin at five years old but soon switched to bluegrass. Krauss said she first became involved with music because her "mother tried to find interesting things for [me] to do" and "wanted to get [me] involved in music, in addition to art and sports." At age eight she started entering local talent contests, and at ten she had her own band. At twelve she won the Texas State Fiddle Championship, and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America named her the Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest. Krauss first met Dan Tyminski around 1984 at a festival held by the Society. Interestingly, every current member of Union Station first met Krauss at these festivals.

Krauss made her recording debut in 1985 on her brother Viktor Krauss' independent album, Different Strokes. She performed with John Pennell, bassist and songwriter, from the age of twelve in a band called "Silver Rail". Pennell later formed Union Station and Krauss joined at his invitation, replacing their previous fiddler Andrea Zonn. Pennell remains one of her favorite songwriters and wrote some of her early work including the popular "Every Time You Say Goodbye." Later that year she signed to Rounder Records and in 1987, at sixteen, her debut album Too Late to Cry was released with Union Station as her backup band.

The following is a summary of Alison Krauss' albums, singles, and their respective performances on major music charts.