Alison Krauss

Fiddle player and singer Alison Krauss began releasing bluegrass records in 1987, and by 2005 she had won 20 Grammy awards -- more than any other female recording artist in history. Krauss was 16 when she released her first record, Too Late to Cry. She has since alternated releases as a solo artist and with her backing band, Union Station. Her 1995 release Now That I've Found You: A Collection demonstrated her range as a vocalist and brought her mainstream success; the album also won four Country Music Awards. She recorded three tracks for the soundtrack to the Coen brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), and was featured in a documentary about the music from that film, Down From the Mountain (2000), and the success of both films helped make her the best-known contemporary bluegrass artist in the United States. Her albums include New Favorite (2001); So Long So Wrong (1997); I've Got That Old Feeling (1990); and Lonely Runs Both Ways (2004). Her songs include "When You Say Nothing At All," "The Lucky One" and "You Will Be My Ain True Love," a duet with Sting that was nominated for an Oscar (from the 2003 film Cold Mountain). Krauss has collaborated with other musicians and singers from across genres-- from Willie Nelson to Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant -- and has also produced several records, including Reba McEntire's 2001 song, "Sweet Music Man."

Extra credit: Krauss joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1993... She signed with the small independent label Rounder Records when she was a teenager and has been with them ever since... Her album Lonely Runs Both Ways won three Grammys, for best country album, best country instrumental ("Union House Branch") and best country song ("Restless")... Union Station member Dan Tyminski did George Clooney's vocals in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?... In 2003 she won a Grammy with James Taylor for "How's The World Treating You"... Her 2007 album with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, debuted as number two on Billboard's top 200 chart, just behind Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride.