Terri Clark Biography

Terri Clark Biography

Terri Clark (born Terri Lynn Sauson, August 5, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. Starting with her 1995 debut single "Better Things to Do", Clark has charted several singles on both the U.S. and Canadian country music charts, in addition to releasing six studio albums and a Greatest Hits compilation.  Terri's grandparents Ray and Betty Gauthier were both noted Canadian country musicians, and her mother belonged to the folk scene. Terri's parents divorced (her father is Les Sauson) when she was young and her mother re-married. This is where "Clark" comes from. From a young age, Terri wore cowboy outfits, a trait she retained into later years. After graduating high school, she moved from Medicine Hat, Alberta to Nashville in 1987, where she got her start playing at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.  In 1994, Terri received a record deal from Mercury Records. Released in 1995, "Better Things To Do" was her first single. It reached #3 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in the United States, as well as on RPM's Country Singles chart in Canada. Her debut album, Terri Clark, released in the same year, achieved gold status and contained a few songs she had composed herself. Both "When Boy Meets Girl" and "If I Were You" also charted in the Top 10, the latter becoming Terri's first #1 single in Canada.  Her second album, 1996's Just the Same, sold even better than her first work. In the USA as well as Canada, it went platinum. The first two singles, "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" and "Emotional Girl," reached the Top 10 in the U.S. and #1 in Canada. Terri released her third album, How I Feel, in 1998. The album contained her first American #1 single, "You're Easy on the Eyes," which also went to #1 in Canada. Fearless was Terri's fourth album, released in 2000. While the album was a success in Canada, the highest charting single in the United States was "A Little Gasoline," which peaked at #13. Terri's fifth album, 2003's Pain to Kill, brought her back to the American Top 5 when "I Just Wanna Be Mad" peaked at #2. "I Wanna Do It All" also reached #3. Terri released her Greatest Hits 1994-2004 the following year. The only single released from the collection, "Girls Lie Too," went straight to #1 in the United States. Terri became the first Canadian female to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on June 12, 2004. Currently she is the only Canadian female member. Only one single from 2005's Life Goes On reached the U.S. Country charts, "She Didn't Have Time." Her contract with Mercury Records expired in March 2006, after seven albums.  In 2008, Mercury Records released The Definitive Collection. This CD featured 18 of Terri's biggest hits, spanning her 10 year career on the label.  In 2007, Terri signed with BNA Records. Her first album for BNA, My Next Life, was scheduled to be released on April 29, 2008, but was delayed. The current single and title track to the new album, "In My Next Life" was released to radio on November 19, 2007.