She was first attracted to country in the music of Alabama and Hank Jr. as well as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. She appeared in local plays and musicals as a girl, and by 16 she had a band that included her sister on bass and her brother on drums. She performed in clubs throughout the Northeast, booking shows and hauling gear, with a work ethic she inherited from her single-parent mother. At 19, she loaded a car and headed to Nashville, where she entered talent contests and got a regular gig on Nashville's "Live at Libby's" radio show. Producer Byron Gallimore heard her and began working with her, introducing her along the way to another struggling newcomer named Tim McGraw. Jo Dee was signed, then dropped, by one major label before, at a backstage meeting at Fan fair, she met and charmed a Curb Records executive and got a record deal there.
Gallimore and McGraw produced her early albums, and Jo Dee gained attention with "Heads Carolina, Tails California" and "You're Not In Kansas Anymore" from her first. The second, I'm Alright, with its back-to-back-to-back chart-toppers "Bye Bye" (ASCAP's Song of the Year), "I'm Alright" and "Stand Beside Me," made her a star. It went double platinum and was nominated for Album of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. Jo Dee won the ACM's Top New Female Vocalist award, the CMA Horizon award and the nod for Most Played Country Female of 1999 from Billboard. The follow-up, Burn, entered the Country Albums chart at #1, went platinum and earned two Grammy nominations. Hits like "Lesson in Leavin'," "Because You Love Me," "Downtime," "Bring On The Rain," "That's The Way" and "My Give A Damn's Busted" would cement her reputation as one of country's most loved and enduring hit-makers. Along the way, Jo Dee earned a well-deserved reputation as a great live performer, and she became one of the first women of country to mount a major headlining tour.
Jo Dee's drive is evident in her personal life as well. A dedicated runner, she has completed two marathons and is training for a third.
"On the road, I'll get up and run, and since my steel player is training with me we run together," she says. "Then I go to the gym and lift weights, have lunch, do the sound check and then my meet and greet, do the show and get to bed as early as I can. No staying up late partying!'"
