Coming Soon!
Cherry Sisters of Music City, Diane Vanette’s soon to be released book reveals this intimate insider’s experience as a solo musician and vocalist who successfully navigated a career in the heady days of Nashville’s 1970s and 1980s recording era.
If you listened to almost any music recorded in Nashville in the 1970s and 1980s then you know The Cherry Sisters. They were the backup vocalists for virtually everyone and were recruited into projects by almost every producer working at the record labels at the time.
Their story, and that of the unsung massively talented studio musicians and vocalists, sound technicians, producers, photographers and people who together made Nashville into Music City is the world that Diane Vanette details in the upcoming book, Cherry Sisters of Music City.
Cherry Sisters – the real story of Music City
Cherry Sisters of Music City tells the real story of the early days of Music City as the well heeled of Nashville realized that the industry was here to stay. Nashville was a relatively small town in those days with Vanderbilt University as a growing academic and healthcare influence and Music Row at its campus border bringing stars and wannabe stars to the heart of the city.
Underpinning the business model of the recording industry was a relatively small cadre of studio musicians and backup vocalists who showed up on time, could read charts in a hurry, would take direction from producers, and could lay down a track in just a few takes.
This is the story of three single women who became the elite of Nashville backup vocalists, who moved from the studio to do live performances with the stars and who almost became stars themselves. And it is also the story of the musicians and producers and songwriters who made Music City the destination for recording work of all types, because the work ethic was strong, the talent was enormous, and the creativity enabled artists to find their voices.
Diane Vanette writes the story of Cherry Sisters and the unlikely journey that has lasted more than 50 years.
Cherry Sisters sang back up for dozens of stars from the 1970s-1990s. Here are a few of them…
Dolly Parton • John Denver • Kenny Rogers • Charlie Pride • Randy Travis • George Burns • Helen Reddy • Gene Cotton • Charlie Rich • Ray Stevens • Jerry reed • Michael Johnson • Mary MacGregor • Debby Boone • George Strait • Ronnie Milsap • Lee Greenwood • Anne Murray • Crystal Gayle • Reba Mc Entire • Dwight Yoakam • Johnny Mathis • Steve Wariner • Jericho Harp
Meet the author, Diane Vanette…
Diane Vanette beat her twin brother into the world by a few minutes. And, frankly, she never slowed down.
Growing up in smaller communities in Pennsylvania, her father, a physician, and her mother working as his practice nurse, moved the family to Nashville when she was starting high school. Her love of music and her activity playing piano, flute and singing in her church choir made the move to Nashville a little less hard for the teenage Diane.
She found a home in the Marching Band and her high school made the trip to the mecca of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Neighbors in her area of Nashville included Grand Ole Opry performers and studio musicians. And, in the small-town world of 1960s Nashville she would come to know her neighbors and they influenced her decision not to follow her parents into healthcare, but to chart a course in music, enrolling in the George Peabody Music School, which has since become a part of Vanderbilt University.
In the 1960s, the tiny campus music school was in a refurbished house on 16th Avenue South. Two blocks toward town were every recording studio the growing Music City had to offer. Diane had only to walk down the street to find herself in the heart of the record business. While she briefly followed an opportunity with Nashville’s Symphony and after turning down a teaching position in the public schools, Diane launched herself into the world of studio musician and singer.
Cherry Sisters of Music City… Almost Stardom
By the early 1980s the Cherry Sisters were the most sought-after backup vocalists around Music Row. By then, Nashville had embraced the music industry and Music City was the destination for stars of all genres and Cherry Sisters were along for that ride.
They were also noticed by Fred Foster, the CEO of the giant recording company, Monument Records. Monument, home to names like Kris Kristofferson, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and was recognized as a creative space in the industry.
Fred signed the Cherry Sisters, and they went to famed Muscle Shoals where they laid the tracks for what was supposed to be the debut album. The dream of stardom would end very suddenly with the political scandal that rocked Tennessee in 1983 with the bankruptcy of former Gubernatorial hopeful, Jake Butcher and his brother, CH Butcher with the collapse of United American Bank. The bank failure and fraud that caused it to bankrupt many Tennesseans and Tennessee businesses. Monument Records was one of the casualties.
With the dream of becoming the staring band dashed, Sheri would move to New York and earn a degree in special education, becoming a teacher in New York and later Florida, Lisa continued with studio work on her own, but found success as a Cantorial Soloist at Congregation Micah, and Diane found her roots in healthcare after all, earning a Master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling and working as a Therapist in Los Angeles.
Cherry Sisters reunited many times over the past 30 years as friends, to work on recording projects together and share life changes over time. It is an abiding friendship forged in the very heady years of Nashville’s early days as Music City.
