Biography Part One: The Origins Of Shania Twain

Putting aside her inclination to bare her navel (a no-no in Music City USA), the Canadian-born singer can lay claim to the title of most successful crossover artist in country music history . Not only do her singles regularly invade both the pop and country charts, but she's among the elite few Nashville artists to nab a cover on Rolling Stone (Tanya Tucker managed to do so in 1974, Garth Brooks in 1993). Moreover, diehard traditionalists notwithstanding, Twain's five-year recording career has seen her garner enough country music awards to fill the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Even the name "Shania" the origin of which lies in the language of the Ojibway Indian tribe translates roughly into the phrase,

"I'm on my way."

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Born August 28, 1965, in Windsor, Ontario, Eileen "Shania" Twain and her four siblings were reared in Timmins, Ontario (located some 500 miles north of Toronto), by her mother Sharon and adoptive father Jerry Twain. A forester and prospector by trade (and an Ojibway Indian himself), Jerry Twain rarely had steady work, and the family's financial circumstances were often dire. Music, if not money, was a constant in the household, and as a toddler Twain delighted in the songs of Waylon Jennings, Tammy Wynette, and Willie Nelson, as well as in those of various pop artists of the day. She showed promise as a singer even as a pre-schooler, and by the time she was 8, she was playing guitar, writing songs, and performing publicly , often roused from sleep by her parents to perform at local watering holes after 1 a.m., when the minor was allowed on liquor-serving premises.

Pinning much hope on her daughter's talents, Sharon Twain encouraged Shania's aspirations throughout her high school years, and the fledgling singer-songwriter divided her summers between working at McDonald's, helping her father, and fronting Top 40 cover bands. Upon graduating, she headed to Toronto to pursue music more seriously. In 1987, however, Twain's world was shattered by tragedy when both her parents were killed in a car crash. Returning home to care for her younger siblings, she began supporting the household by singing and dancing at Ontario's Deerhurst Resort, where the experience of combining music with theatrical performance helped her develop a feel for showmanship that would later be put to good use.

Twain continued to write during this period, and her first manager eventually succeeded in persuading a representative of Mercury Records in Nashville to listen to her demo tape. Impressed by Twain's compositional skills, the executive signed the young singer, who was then still known as Eileen Twain. Stating that her first and last names didn't flow well together, he also urged her to change her surname. Considering such an alteration an insult to her father's memory, Twain instead opted to change her first name, settling on the Ojibway moniker so well known today.

In a bittersweet twist of fate, Twain's first album featured only one of her original songs. Released in early 1993, the self-titled debut garnered little attention. Fortunately, however, after seeing her midriff-baring video for the song "What Made You Say That," veteran rock producer Robert "Mutt" Lange determined he had to meet the woman behind the navel.

Lange whose credits include albums by AC/DC, Def Leppard, the Cars, and Bryan Adams began work with Twain on her second album in late 1993. In December of that year, the pair sealed their futures together in a more fundamental way: they got married. Though some have speculated that Twain saw in Lange her own personal Svengali (interestingly, she counts Bo Derek no stranger to Svengali-types among her closest friends), all evidence indicates that the two are deeply in love. Of course, love didn't prevent the couple from ratcheting Twain's career up into the stratosphere.

Shania 2

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