The Nineteen Nineties ushered in a golden age of nation music, with stars like Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Religion Hill and Tim McGraw hitting mainstream audiences and bringing the style to new heights.
The last decade additionally noticed a country-pop crossover with hits like LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Stay”, in addition to the rise of arena-style live shows and theatrical performances à la Garth Brooks.
Whereas a seemingly fixed stream of nation artists launched music nicely into the following decade, a handful disappeared from the scene altogether and left to dwell quiet lives away from their adoring followers.
Be a part of HELLO! as we discover a few of these artists who surprisingly disappeared from public life.
Ricochet
This nation band was shaped within the early ’90s and consisted of Heath Wright on vocals and guitar, Jeff Bryant on drums, Junior Bryant on the fiddle and mandolin, Greg Cook dinner on bass and vocals, Teddy Carr on metal guitar and Eddie Kilgallon on keyboard and vocals.
The group hailed from Oklahoma and launched their self-titled debut album in 1996 a 12 months after signing with Columbia Information. Their hit tune “Daddy’s Cash” shot to primary on the Billboard Scorching Nation Songs chart.
Ricochet’s mix of conventional nation and up to date sound introduced them success, and so they adopted their first album up with Blink of an Eye in 1997.
Over time, a number of band members left for varied causes and so they largely pale into obscurity, although they proceed to tour and launch music at this time, granting them an enduring presence within the trade.
Ricky Van Shelton
The Virginian native rose to fame within the late ’80s and early ’90s after shifting to Nashville to pursue a rustic music profession in 1984. He signed a cope with Columbia two years later and went on to launch 9 albums till his retirement in 2006.
Identified for his chart-topping singles like “Any individual Lied”, “Life Turned Her That Approach” and “I will Depart This World Loving You”, Ricky loved immense acclaim on the peak of his profession and achieved platinum standing for 4 of his albums.
His success started taking a flip within the mid-’90s with the rise of a up to date nation sound. He continued to launch music, together with a gospel album, till 2006, when he introduced that he was formally retiring.
Lila McCann
Lila regarded poised to grow to be a star within the ’90s with hits like “Down Got here a Blackbird”, “I Wanna Fall in Love” and “With You”. Initially from Washington, she grew up following her father’s nation music band round and sometimes becoming a member of them on stage.
After years of performing domestically, she launched Lila in 1997 and have become the identify on everybody’s lips with the highest-selling debut album for a rustic artist that 12 months.
She then launched 1999’s One thing within the Air, which was licensed gold; Lila adopted that along with her third album, Full, earlier than parting methods along with her label. The star signed with one other label and launched a string of singles earlier than leaving in 2008 and going unbiased.
Regardless of showing in a slew of TV exhibits like Walker, Texas Ranger, Lila largely disappeared from public life within the ’00s and pursued a pictures profession as an alternative. She launched an EP in 2017, Paint This City, marking her return to the scene, however has since grow to be an actual property dealer and married her spouse in 2019.
Tracy Byrd
Tracy rose to fame within the early ’90s because of his conventional nation sound and hits like “Holdin’ Heaven”, “Watermelon Crawl” and “The Keeper of the Stars”.
Born and raised in Texas, Tracy launched his self-titled debut album in 1993 and went on to drop ten studio albums all through his prolific profession. 4 of his albums hit gold certification, whereas one obtained a double-platinum honor.
After having fun with modest success within the ’00s, he went on hiatus between 2010 and 2013 to be along with his household and relaxation after years of touring.
Tracy returned to the scene in 2016 with All American Texan, which helped to re-establish his presence within the trade. He has a number of upcoming live shows scheduled within the US amid his tour and enjoys a loyal fan base.