Catherine Britt

Catherine Elisabeth Britt (born 31 December 1984) is an Australian country music artist who has had success in both her native Australia and in the United States.

Catherine Elisabeth Britt was born on 31 December 1984 in Newcastle.

Her father, Steve Britt, is a school counsellor and her mother, Anne, is a teacher-librarian; they have three older sons.

Steve has a vast collection of records, especially material by country music artists.

From the age of ten Britt was singing in her home drawing inspiration from Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams.

Britt was a reluctant music student, "I got singing lessons for a while and hated it ... I hate people telling me what to do with my music and stuff. They used to tell me to sing all this Natalie Imbruglia stuff so I quit them. I had guitar lessons from the same guy and he taught me the basic Chords and I gave that up once I knew all the basic Chords, thinking that will do me."

Her first effort at song writing, "Guardian Angel", occurred when she was 11, she later recalled, "it was pretty bad".

In the following year her parents took her to meet Australian country musician, Bill Chambers, who invited Britt on stage to duet on "T. B. Blues", a cover version of Jimmie Rodgers' original.

A week later Britt sang solo at a Merle Haggard tribute concert in Sydney presented by Chambers.

She started her career in Newcastle in 1999, she moved to Nashville from 2002 to 2008 and then returned to Australia.

In 1999 Britt independently released her debut four-track extended play, In the Pines, which was produced by Chambers – she was aged 14.

It included the track, "That Don't Bother Me!", co-written with Chambers' daughter, Kasey – who also provided backing vocals.

Britt preferred to write on her own, however, she enjoyed working with Kasey "because we were such great friends, and we knew each other and we knew we both were coming from the same place when it came to music."

Britt issued her first studio album, Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures, on 16 May 2001, also independently and produced by Bill Chambers.

It contained "a half-dozen originals, as well as covers of [Williams] and [Haggard]".

She then signed to ABC Music/ABC Country to re-release the album on 11 March 2002.

In May Elton John, who was touring Australia, heard her album; he met Britt and recommended her to industry contacts in the United States.

Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures appeared on the ARIA Country Chart in July that year, peaking at No. 18.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2002 Britt received her first nomination for Country Album of the Year.ARIA Music Awards for Catherine Britt:

Late in 2002 Britt, for three weeks, supported the Australian leg of a tour by Chris Isaak.

Her backing band included Kurt Bailey on drums and Ben Conicella on bass guitar.

Britt attended the Country Music Awards of Australia, held in Tamworth, in January 2003 and told Debbie Kruger of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) of her writing process for the album, "The way I write songs is a bit strange ... I just sit down and it'll be five minutes, and the song will just come out on paper, and then I'll have to look back on it and go, 'Right, does this make sense?' I hardly ever change my words, ever, I always just write them down and that's it. That real five-minute rush, I guess."

For some lyrics she would check with her parents "I really didn't even know what it meant. And that happens a lot of the time for me, I have to go to Mum and Dad and say, 'Does this make sense?' And every time it does."

Brendan Hutchens of TV series, George Negus Tonight, interviewed Britt for "Episode 5", broadcast on 5 March 2003.

She described touring with Isaak "It's been great, he's been kind to me and his whole band's really good to me, so it's better than I thought".

Britt has had three singles in top 40 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with "The Upside of Being Down", her highest, peaking at No. 36 in 2004.

In 2004, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and was soon signed to RCA Nashville for international releases.

Her US debut single, "The Upside of Being Down", peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs in August that year.

In July 2005 Britt and John released a country music duet, "Where We Both Say Goodbye", which was co-written by Britt with Jerry Salley.

The single entered at No. 49 on the Hot Country Songs – John's first appearance on that chart.

Britt has released seven studio albums in Australia, where all seven have appeared on the ARIA Albums Chart, Too Far Gone (16 January 2006), Little Wildflower (14 January 2008), Catherine Britt (28 May 2010) and Always Never Enough (10 August 2012).

All five albums have been nominated for ARIA Music Awards in the category, Best Country Album.

Britt's second album, Too Far Gone, was released in Australia on 16 January 2006.

It had been recorded in Nashville with Chambers co-producing with Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, George Jones, Jamie O'Neal).

Session musicians include Kenny Chesney on backing vocals, Stuart Duncan on fiddle and mandolin, Mark Fain on upright bass, Paul Franklin on steel guitar, Rob Ickes on dobro, Brent Mason on guitars (acoustic, electric), Dave Pomeroy on bass guitar, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, John Wesley Ryles on backing vocals, Bruce Watkins on acoustic guitar and Glenn Worf on bass guitar.

In Australia the album reached No. 47 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 3 on the related Country Chart.

Tim Noel of comcast.net opined "may not be strong enough to share with your friends as far as an introduction to [Britt]. There is some strong material here such as 'Swingin' Door' and 'Poor Man's Pride', but it's filled with mediocre stuff that sounds like late 90s material... I know Britt has a more rocking side that should hopefully come out in her upcoming [album]."

At the Country Music Awards of Australia Britt has won four Golden Guitar trophies, Female Artist of the Year for "What I Did Last Night" (2009), "Charlestown Road" (2013) and "Boneshaker" (2016), and Single of the Year for "Sweet Emmylou" (2011).

Britt married her then-partner, James Beverley, in October 2013; the couple have two children.

Britt was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2015; she underwent surgery and chemotherapy.