Catherine Britt was born December 31, 1984 in Newcastle, Sydney, Australia. The youngest of four children, Catherine has three older brothers. Her country music-loving father, Steve Britt, says Catherine became hooked on country music after she saw the movie Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), the biopic of Loretta Lynn's life, when she was very young. When she was a child she also listened to Dolly Parton and Hank Williams albums as her mom, Ann Britt, drove her to school each morning.
catherine britt records in the pines
As a child she derived inspiration from those country stars and emulated their writing styles, with a specific focus on Hank Williams. At 11, her career jump-started when her parents took her to see a Bill Chambers concert.
She surprised and delighted Chambers by requesting an obscure song and was invited onstage to sing with the band. Her musical abilities awed Chambers and he invited her to continue playing more gigs with his band. In 1999, she recorded her first EP, produced by Chambers, titled In The Pines.
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At 14, the single "That Don't Bother Me" from the EP made the Australian country music charts. She continued to tour and in 2001, at age 16, privately released her first full-length album, Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures. The album was a mix of original songs (written between the ages of 14 and 16) and covers by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Fred Eaglesmith, among others.
In 2002, the album was officially picked up by ABC Records and was given extensive radio promotion in Australia.
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That same year, Elton John toured Australia and heard her album while shopping in a local record store. Her album impressed him, causing him to extol her virtues to the press throughout his tour. Catherine received an invitation to attend Elton John's concert in Sydney, where he offered to help her get noticed in America.
A week later, RCA Records brought Catherine and her family to Nashville where she got to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. She later signed with RCA. Over the next two years Catherine divided her time between America and Australia, padding her musical knowledge and touring.
She was nominated for Country Album of the Year at the 2002 ARIA awards. In November and December of 2002, she was invited to perform as a special guest on the Australian leg of Chris Isaak's tour. She impressed Isaak so much, he insisted she perform a duet with him for an encore every night of their tour.
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In 2004, at age 19, she went back into the studio to produce her second album, Too Far Gone. The album featured collaborations with Elton John, Kenny Chesney and Hank Williams' legendary pedal-steel guitarist, Don Helms.
Also in 2004, RCA released the first single from the album, "Upside Of Being Down." The album was officially released in early 2005.
Catherine is slated to perform at Nashville's Australian Festival in September 2005.
She is currently doing promotional touring in the USA and recently completed a photo shoot with FHM. When not touring, Catherine loves to write songs and spend time with her family.
Source: http://www.askmen.com/women/singer_250/288c_catherine_britt.html
