Her first gig was in front of her mom, with an upright sweeper as a mic. She wrapped a towel around her head (because she *needed* "long brown hair" for this gig.) As a young singer, LeighAnne wished to mimic Marie Osmond as she entertained her mother. But, her mom told her to always be her. That has stayed with her ever since.
About singing country music, LeighAnne says:
"My parents were really good about making sure my sister and I were well
traveled. They believed that traveling
allowed you to see how other people lived…it taught us empathy…it taught us
ambition. We traveled several times a
year and my dad had an 8 track cassette player that played Tammy/George Loretta/Conway….Lynn Anderson, LindaRonstadt…Willie Nelson, Don Williams and The Statler Brothers (who I loved with
all my heart) I was allowed to sing from
the backseat, as long and as loud as I wanted to, and my dad spent a lot of
time encouraging me from the front seat. I loved to hear stories about country
artists in the 50’s and 60’s and the kinds of lives they led…My dad always
encouraged me to read peoples stories. I
spent a lot of time in that back seat, listening to music and reading anything
I could get my hands on...
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