Mary Chapin-Carpenter
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Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958) is an American
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
and
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
. Carpenter's first album, 1987's ''
Hometown Girl Hometown Girl may refer to: * Hometown Girl (album), a 1987 album by Mary Chapin Carpenter * Hometown Girl (song), a 2016 song by Josh Turner See also * Hometown Girls (disambiguation) {{dab ...
'', did not produce any charting singles. She broke through with 1989's '' State of the Heart'' and 1990's '' Shooting Straight in the Dark''. Carpenter's most successful album is 1992's ''
Come On Come On ''Come On Come On'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on June 30, 1992. It rose to No. 11 on the '' Billboard's'' Country Albums chart and No. 31 on the ''Billboard'' ...
'', which accounted for seven singles and was certified
quadruple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in the United States for shipments of four million copies. Her follow up album, ''
Stones in the Road ''Stones in the Road'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on October 4, 1994. It became Carpenter's first album to reach No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Country Albums chart, an ...
'', appeared two years later and won Carpenter the
Grammy Award for Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music ge ...
, while going double platinum for shipments of two million copies. After a number of commercially unsuccessful albums throughout the first decade of the 21st century, she exited Columbia for
Zoë Records Zoë Records is an independent record label that is a part of the Rounder Records group. Zoë predominantly distributes albums by folk rock and alternative pop artists. Artists who have released albums on the label include Mary Chapin Carpenter, ...
. Her first album for this label was 2007's '' The Calling''. She recorded several albums for Zoë until launching her own Lambent Light label in 2015. Carpenter has won five
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, from 18 nominations, including four consecutive wins in the category of
Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had s ...
between 1992 and 1995. She has charted 27 times on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Hot Country Songs charts, with her 1994 single " Shut Up and Kiss Me" representing her only number-one single there. Her musical style takes influence from contemporary country and folk, with many of her songs including
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
themes. While largely composed of songs she wrote herself or with longtime producer John Jennings, her discography includes covers of
Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...
,
Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...
, and
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
, among others.


Early life

Mary Chapin Carpenter was born February 21, 1958, in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
. Her father, Chapin Carpenter Jr., was an executive for ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine. When she was 12 years old, the family moved to
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan, and lived there for about two years, as her father was looking to begin an Asian edition of ''Life''. Her mother, Mary Bowie Robertson, was a
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
singer and guitarist. As a child, Carpenter learned to play her mother's
ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
and
classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...
in addition to writing songs. She was also inspired by her seventh-grade science teacher, who was a guitarist as well. After her family moved to
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, in 1974, Carpenter played folk venues in the area. She attended
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
, from which she graduated with a degree in American civilization. She began performing
cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...
s at the folk venues, but by 1981 she had added original material. She befriended John Jennings, a songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer. The two began collaborating and put together a demo
cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...
of several of Carpenter's songs which she sold at concerts.


Musical career


19871991: Early years with Columbia Records

Jennings had originally planned to sign Carpenter to an independent label, but the owner of a Washington, D.C. nightclub submitted some of Carpenter's demos to a representative of
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
' Nashville division. This led to her signing with that label in 1987, only two days before she was slated to sign the contract with the other independent label. Columbia released her debut album ''
Hometown Girl Hometown Girl may refer to: * Hometown Girl (album), a 1987 album by Mary Chapin Carpenter * Hometown Girl (song), a 2016 song by Josh Turner See also * Hometown Girls (disambiguation) {{dab ...
'' in 1987. The label hyphenated her first name as "Mary-Chapin" to indicate that it was a
compound given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
and lessen the possibility of her being referred to as just Mary. Her albums would continue to punctuate her name in this fashion until 1994. Of the ten songs on ''Hometown Girl'', Carpenter wrote or co-wrote eight. The two exceptions were "Come On Home" and a cover of
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
' "
Downtown Train "Downtown Train" is a song by Tom Waits released on his album ''Rain Dogs'' in 1985. The promo video for the song was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, and features boxer Jake LaMotta and Neith Hunter. Rod Stewart version Rod Stewart recorded ...
". She had also recorded John Stewart's "
Runaway Train A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds d ...
" with the intent of including it on the album, but Columbia removed this song because
Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...
had also recorded it and wanted to issue it as a single. Jennings played guitar, synthesizer, piano, bass guitar, and
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
on the album, while
Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player, composer, guitarist, and mandolinist whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Mu ...
contributed on fiddle and
Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020) was an American bluegrass guitarist and singer. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the In ...
on acoustic guitar. Musician Jon Carroll played piano and also provided percussion by shaking a
Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina (food), farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat berry, wheat kernels instead of gr ...
can. While the album did not produce any charting singles, it received
word of mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
attention in folk music circles, which led to her being booked to perform at the
Philadelphia Folk Festival The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. The four-night, three-day festival is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Folkson ...
in addition to serving as an opening act for
Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
. Because of her first album's commercial failure, Carpenter sought to make her next one more appealing to country radio. She charted for the first time in early 1989 with " How Do", which ascended to number 19 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts. The song served as the lead single to her second Columbia album, '' State of the Heart''. The album charted three more singles between 1989 and 1990. First was " Never Had It So Good", a song which Carpenter wrote with Jennings. By the end of 1989, this became her first top-ten hit on ''Billboard''. After it were " Quittin' Time" (co-written by
Robb Royer Robert Wilson Royer (born December 6, 1942, in Los Angeles) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the soft rock band Bread from 1968 to 1971. While he was with the band, they had a #5 UK/#1 US hit single wit ...
and
Roger Linn Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer of electronic musical instruments and equipment. He is the designer of the LM-1, the first drum machine to use samples, and the MPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development of hip hop ...
) and " Something of a Dreamer", which Carpenter wrote by herself. William Ruhlmann of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
thought that Carpenter was "still in transition" between the folk influences of her debut and the more mainstream country sounds of her later albums. She won Top New Female Vocalist from the
Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...
in 1989. At the
33rd Annual Grammy Awards The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 20, 1991. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Quincy Jones was the night's biggest winner winning a total of six awards including Album of the Year. Performer ...
in 1991, "Quittin' Time" was nominated for a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for
Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had s ...
. Her third Columbia album was 1990's '' Shooting Straight in the Dark''. Its first single release was her own composition " You Win Again". After it was a cover of
Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...
and the Blue Caps' " Right Now". Both of these cuts achieved top-20 peaks on Hot Country Songs upon release. "
Down at the Twist and Shout "Down at the Twist and Shout" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Mary Chapin Carpenter. It celebrates the Bethesda, Maryland, dance and music venue Twist & Shout. It was released in June 1991 as the third single from t ...
", which featured instrumentation from
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...
band
BeauSoleil Beausoleil, beau soleil or variants may refer to: * Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes, a town in southern France, adjoining the Principality of Monaco * Beausoleil, New Brunswick, a community in Canada * Beausoleil, a rural hamlet in the municipality of ...
, peaked at number two in 1991. Released last from the album was the top-20 hit " Going Out Tonight". Folk singer
Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early life Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in Vermillion, South Dakota, and ...
, a frequent collaborative partner for Carpenter, sang duet vocals on the closing track "The Moon and St. Christopher". Don Dixon played bass guitar and sang backing vocals on the "Right Now" cover, and
Matt Rollings Matt Rollings is a Grammy Award-winning American composer, keyboard player and record producer. Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, Rollings has worked with many artists, not all country. Rollings won the 'Best Traditional Pop ...
contributed on piano. Jennings continued to serve as producer in addition to playing several instruments and contributing backing vocals. Jim Bohen of the
Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
, ''Daily Record'' thought that the album was more upbeat than its predecessors, citing "You Win Again" and "Down at the Twist and Shout" as examples. Mike DeGagne of AllMusic thought that the involvements of BeauSoleil and Colvin helped expand Carpenter's sound; he also praised her lyrics on "Halley Came to Jackson" and her vocal delivery on "What You Didn't Say". "Down at the Twist and Shout" accounted for Carpenter's first Grammy Award win in 1992, in the category of Best Female Country Vocal Performance; the song was also nominated that year for
Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, unless the artist is also the songwriter. There have ...
. The same year she won Top Female Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music. The
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...
(CMA) awarded her Female Vocalist of the Year in both 1992 and 1993.


19921995: ''Come On Come On'' and ''Stones in the Road''

''
Come On Come On ''Come On Come On'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on June 30, 1992. It rose to No. 11 on the '' Billboard's'' Country Albums chart and No. 31 on the ''Billboard'' ...
'', Carpenter's fourth Columbia album, was also her most commercially successful. A decade after its 1992 release, it was certified quadruple platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), honoring shipments of four million copies in the United States. It also charted a total of seven singles between 1992 and 1994. First among these was "
I Feel Lucky "I Feel Lucky" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Mary Chapin Carpenter. It was released in May 1992 as the first single from the album ''Come On Come On''. The song reached number 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Countr ...
". Upon its release to country radio, it achieved a peak of number four on Hot Country Songs. The song was also a crossover hit in Canada, reaching top five on the country charts and number sixteen on the Adult Contemporary charts (both then published by ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
''). The next release from the album was " Not Too Much to Ask", a duet with
Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...
. Following this was a cover of
Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...
' 1989 single "
Passionate Kisses "Passionate Kisses" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 1989 as the fourth single from her third album, ''Lucinda Williams'' (1988). The song was famously covered by Mary Chapin Car ...
". In addition to becoming a top-five country hit, Carpenter's rendition of the song went to number 57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 11 on the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
charts, her first entry on either. In 1993, Carpenter joined other female country singers including
Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...
and
Kathy Mattea Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reac ...
for a television special on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
titled ''The Women of Country''. The next single off ''Come On Come On'' was " The Hard Way", followed by a cover of
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
' " The Bug". After it came the top-ten hits "
He Thinks He'll Keep Her "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Mary Chapin Carpenter. It was released in December 1993 as the sixth single from the album ''Come On Come On''. The song peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billbo ...
" and " I Take My Chances". Carpenter co-wrote "I Feel Lucky", "Not Too Much to Ask", "He Thinks He'll Keep Her", and "I Take My Chances" with
Don Schlitz Donald Allen Schlitz Jr. (born August 29, 1952) is an American songwriter who has written more than twenty number one hits on the country music charts. He is best known for his song " The Gambler" (Kenny Rogers), and as the co-writer of " For ...
, and wrote "The Hard Way" by herself. ''Come On Come On'' accounted for a number of Grammy Award wins and nominations for Carpenter. "I Feel Lucky" and "Passionate Kisses" won in the category of Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1993 and 1994 respectively, while "The Hard Way" was nominated by the same association for Best Country Song. Like its predecessor, ''Come On Come On'' featured several musical collaborators. Colvin provided backing vocals on "The Hard Way", "Passionate Kisses", and the title track, with the
Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duet (music), duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in Primary school, elementary school and began performing together as Secondary school, hig ...
also appearing on the former. In addition, Rosanne Cash provided vocals to "Rhythm of the Blues". Former
Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...
member
Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)
played drums on three tracks. David Browne of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' thought the album had more "edge and directness" than its predecessors, and thought that the lyrics had a theme of "women caught between tradition and contemporary roles who realize that the solution lies with their own inner resolve". Later in 1994, Carpenter released ''
Stones in the Road ''Stones in the Road'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on October 4, 1994. It became Carpenter's first album to reach No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Country Albums chart, an ...
''. Upon its release, it became her only one to reach number one on the ''Billboard''
Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...
charts. Likewise, the lead single " Shut Up and Kiss Me" became her only number one on Hot Country Songs. Follow-up " Tender When I Want to Be" peaked at number six, but the next two singles were less successful. "
House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...
" peaked at 21, while "Why Walk When You Can Fly?" became her first to miss top 40 entirely. ''Stones in the Road'' was certified double platinum for American sales of two million copies. Carpenter wrote every song on the album by herself. Among the contributing musicians were drummer
Kenny Aronoff Kenneth D. Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including the Rolling Stones, the Smashing ...
and keyboardist
Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...
. "Shut Up and Kiss Me" and "Tender When I Want to Be" both featured backing vocals from
Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...
, while
Lee Roy Parnell Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American country music, country and blues musician. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Cou ...
played
slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...
on both the former and closing track "This Is Love". The title track was inspired by her memories of seeing
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...
's funeral procession when she was young. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Thom Jurek stated that "Carpenter cut back on the number of hooks in her melodies, creating a palette that required closer listening to appreciate". He compared "Tender When I Want to Be" to the work of
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
, and considered "John Doe No. 24" and "The End of My Pirate Days" "moodier" than her previous works. ''Stones in the Road'' won Carpenter her first
Grammy Award for Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music ge ...
at the
37th Annual Grammy Awards The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song ...
. At the same ceremony, "Shut Up and Kiss Me" won Best Female Country Vocal Performance and was nominated for Best Country Song, thus meaning that Carpenter won the former award in four consecutive years. She also received her first nomination outside the association's country music categories that year, when "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" was nominated for
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
.


19961999: Continuation of Columbia years

In 1996, Carpenter recorded a song titled "Dreamland" for a multi-artist album of
lullabies A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural know ...
called ''Til Their Eyes Shine: The Lullaby Album''. The same year
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
published the song's lyrics in a children's book also titled ''Dreamland'', with illustrations by Julia Noonan. All profits from sales of the book were donated to the Institute for Intercultural Understanding, a children's advocacy group. Her last studio album to be released in the 1990s was 1997's '' A Place in the World''. As was the case with ''Stones in the Road'', she wrote every song on the album by herself. Carpenter told Russ DeVault of ''The Atlanta Constitution'' (now ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'') before the album's release that she wished she had more time to record the album because she "likes to tweak things". She also stated that the title track represented a "sense of identity" and "search for fulfillment". Lead single " Let Me into Your Heart" made number eleven on the country music charts. Three singles followed"I Want to Be Your Girlfriend", "The Better to Dream of You", and "Keeping the Faith" but these three were considerably less successful. "Let Me into Your Heart" accounted for a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, her last in that category. Jurek wrote that the album "doesn't offer the deep reflective rewards of ''Stones in the Road'', nor is it quite as kinetic as ''Come On Come On''". Despite this, he thought that it was "well-crafted" and considered "Let Me into Your Heart" to have influences of
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
. After this album, Carpenter stated that she began to feel "malaise" toward the pace of her career. As a result, she deliberately scheduled fewer touring dates to allow herself more time spent with family and friends. She also expressed disdain toward ''A Place in the World'', as she felt her management had pressured her into making a "commercially viable" album instead of letting her choose songs she wanted to record. As a result, she hired a new manager, Ron Fierstein, who at the time was also serving in this capacity for Colvin. Fierstein was supportive of Carpenter's decision to slow the pace of her career, and encouraged her to focus on touring and selecting songs until she felt she was ready to make another album. In 1999 she released her first
greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
album '' Party Doll and Other Favorites''. Unlike most greatest hits packages, this consisted mostly of live recordings curated from various concerts and television appearances throughout the 1990s. It also included new studio recordings, which Carpenter and Jennings produced with
Blake Chancey Blake Chancey (born September 11, 1962) is an American record producer and music business executive, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly an executive vice president and chief creative officer for Sony Music, he later formed a ...
. The title track was a cover of
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
's "Party Doll", from his 1987 album ''
Primitive Cool ''Primitive Cool'' is the second solo album by English singer Mick Jagger, released in 1987. As the follow-up to Jagger's 1985 album '' She's the Boss'', ''Primitive Cool'' was another attempt by Jagger to become a solo star. Background Follow ...
''. Two of the new recordings, " Almost Home" and "Wherever You Are", were issued as singles, with the former becoming her last top-40 country hit. Eli Messinger of
Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as ...
thought that the more up-tempo tracks such as "Down at the Twist and Shout" and "Shut Up and Kiss Me" showed "just how much fun Carpenter can be", while overall praising the album for including the majority of her hit singles.


20002004: Departure from Columbia

Her next Columbia album was 2000's '' Time* Sex* Love*''. Lead single "Simple Life" accounted for her last chart entry to date, peaking at number 53 on Hot Country Songs. According to Carpenter, the
asterisk The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
s in the title represented an abbreviation of its full name: "Time is the great gift; sex is the great equalizer; love is the great mystery". This was a response that Jennings had to Carpenter when she stated that those three concepts were all represented in the album's lyrical content. Carpenter recorded the album at
AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...
, a studio in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
owned by
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...
. Chancey once again assisted her and Jennings on production duties. She wrote every song on the album, collaborating with
Kim Richey Kimberly Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Richey was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on December 1, 1956. She grew up in Kettering, Ohio, graduating from Fairmont East High school in 1973. Career Riche ...
,
Gary Burr Gary Burr (born 1952 in Meriden, Connecticut) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, primarily in the country music genre. Many of the songs he has written have become Top-10 hits, the first of which was " Love's Been A Litt ...
, and Jennings on some tracks. She also said that unlike with ''A Place in the World'', she wanted to focus on making an album that she enjoyed, instead of attempting to find songs which would be successful at radio. Throughout 2000 and 2001, she toured in both the United Kingdom and the United States, with
Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...
joining her for the latter.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of AllMusic said of the album that it "found Carpenter departing somewhat from her country-inflected sound and ruminating on relationships and career from a distinctly middle-aged perspective". John Kenyon of the
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...
''Gazette'' thought the album was well-produced but considered it too long and lacking in musical variety. During this album's corresponding tour, Carpenter underwent
arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgery, surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted in ...
for a knee injury and thus had to perform most of the concerts while seated. She also told Dave Scheiber of the ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...
'' that while the album's songs were positively received in concert, she was disappointed by the lack of radio play and questioned whether she still considered herself a country artist. In 2002, Carpenter joined Emmylou Harris,
Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirit ...
, and
Patty Griffin Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patricia She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ...
in a benefit concert for Campaigning for a Landmine Free World, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of
landmine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...
s left behind in former war zones. This concert was held at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...
. She was also named by
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
as the head of their Build Project, which employed women to build houses for the homeless across the United States. Her contract with Columbia ended with her eighth studio album, 2004's ''
Between Here and Gone ''Between Here and Gone'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Nashville on April 27, 2004. It reached No. 5 on ''Billboard's'' Top Country Albums chart, although the album itself p ...
''. Before its release, she stated in an interview with
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
(NPR) that the title track was inspired by the death of songwriter
Dave Carter Dave Carter (August 13, 1952 July 19, 2002) was an American folk music singer-songwriter who described his style as "post-modern mythic American folk music". He was one half of the duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, who were heralded as the ne ...
."Mary Chapin Carpenter: A Thanksgiving Special"
''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'',
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, November 25, 2004 (Carpenter states: "Actually, I wrote this song after I learned about the passing of an extraordinary musician by the name of
Dave Carter Dave Carter (August 13, 1952 July 19, 2002) was an American folk music singer-songwriter who described his style as "post-modern mythic American folk music". He was one half of the duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, who were heralded as the ne ...
. He was a visionary songwriter, he was part of a duo called, Carter and Grammer...")
Other songs on the album were inspired by the emotions Carpenter felt after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. For this album, Carpenter chose session pianist Matt Rollings to produce, as she wanted to achieve a different production style than John Jennings offered. Despite this, Jennings still played several instruments on the album. Other musicians included
Mac McAnally Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American singer-songwriter, session musician, and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his sing ...
,
Stuart Duncan Stuart Ian Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school ...
, and
Viktor Krauss Viktor Krauss is an American musician who plays acoustic and electric bass. He has released solo albums and has worked as a sideman with many musicians, including his sister, singer and fiddler Alison Krauss. Music career Krauss was born to Fre ...
. The album's cover art was painted by
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
-based painter Donna Mintz, who gave the original art to her as a gift and stated that she often listened to Carpenter's albums for inspiration. Jurek thought the album was "a sophisticated but very accessible recording, pleasant in its tempos and in its lush presentation."


20072014: Zoë Records

After leaving Columbia Records, Carpenter signed with the independent
Zoë Records Zoë Records is an independent record label that is a part of the Rounder Records group. Zoë predominantly distributes albums by folk rock and alternative pop artists. Artists who have released albums on the label include Mary Chapin Carpenter, ...
(a division of
Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...
) in 2006. Her first release for the label was 2007's '' The Calling''. While it accounted for no charting singles, the release reached number ten on the ''Billboard'' country albums charts. It was also nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1991 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. As ...
in 2007. Once again she wrote the entire album by herself and co-produced with Rollings. Jurek thought the album had stronger
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
influences than its predecessors due to a heavier use of electric guitar and drums, while saying of the album's lyrics that she "has a hell of a way of looking at life from all sides". Shortly after the album's release Carpenter was hospitalized for a
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...
, which forced her to cancel all concert dates that year. After being released from the hospital on April 27, 2007, she issued a statement on her website saying she was recovering and planned to tour again in 2008. Once she had recovered she began work on '' Come Darkness, Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas'', her first album of
Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
. This was released in 2008. For this project, Carpenter covered tracks by
Robin and Linda Williams Robin and Linda Williams are a husband-and-wife singer-songwriter folk music duo from Virginia. They met in South Carolina in 1971, and began performing in 1973. The Williamses started appearing on Garrison Keillor's ''A Prairie Home Companion ...
and the Red Clay Ramblers. She also included renditions of the carol "
Once in Royal David's City Once in Royal David's City is a Christmas carol originally written as a poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in her hymnbook ''Hymns for Little Children''. A year later, the English organist Henry Gauntlett d ...
" and the African-American spiritual "
Children, Go Where I Send Thee "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" (alternatively "Children, Go Where I Send You" or variations thereof, also known as "The Holy Baby", "Little Bitty Baby", or "Born in Bethlehem") is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Among the many d ...
", in addition to a number of songs she wrote herself. Jennings returned as producer for this project. She stated that the two intentionally sought to make the recording "spare", and thus did most of the songs with Jennings playing various acoustic instruments and Jon Carroll on piano. She continued to record for Zoë Records throughout the 2010s, with her next project being '' The Age of Miracles'' in 2010. Many of the songs on this album were inspired by the emotions she felt after suffering her embolism, particularly the impact it had on her touring and recording career at the time. In particular, she stated that the track "Iceland" represented the "feelings of loss and darkness and disconnection" she felt while hospitalized, and closing track "The Way I Feel" was about the "resilience" she felt after successfully recovering. Rollings co-produced and contributed on piano and
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
, while
Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...
played
steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...
and
twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...
. The album also featured duets with
Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...
and
Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...
. Mark Deming of AllMusic wrote that the album was "a literate and thoughtful set of songs that speak to the concerns of the heart and soul with equal portions of compassion and intelligence", although he thought it might not appeal to fans of Carpenter's more up-tempo work such as "Shut Up and Kiss Me". Jonathan Keefe of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' was less favorable toward the album, praising the lyrics of the title track and "I Put My Ring Back On" but overall criticizing the album's sound as "a pedestrian, coffeehouse blend of hushed acoustic strumming." In July 2010, Carpenter performed "I Feel Lucky" at the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
before doing a concert at the
Tennessee Performing Arts Center The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is located in the James K. Polk Cultural Center at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It occupies a city block between 5th and 6th Avenues North and Deaderick and Union Streets. ...
to promote ''The Age of Miracles''. Throughout mid-2011, she toured across the United States in support of this album. ''
Ashes and Roses ''Ashes and Roses'' is the 12th studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released on June 12, 2012 by Zoë Records, her fourth album released under the Zoë label. Produced by Carpenter and Matt Rollings, the album cont ...
'' followed on Zoë in 2012. Two personal life events influenced this album's songs: the death of her father, and her divorce from her husband.
James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...
provided duet vocals on the track "Soul Companion". Jurek called this project "the most confessional record of her career" and praised the use of Hammond organ and mandolin in the production. Allison Stewart of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' wrote that it had "woeful and beautiful coffeehouse folk songs, decorated with sparing, almost offhanded instrumentation that’s often limited to guitars and pianos." Keefe was less favorable toward the project, criticizing Carpenter's "hushed" vocal tone and the lack of hooks. Her next project was 2013's '' Songs from the Movie'', a collaboration with composer and conductor
Vince Mendoza Vince Mendoza (born November 17, 1961) is an American composer, music arranger and conductor. He debuted as a solo artist in 1989, and is known for his work conducting the Metropole Orkest and WDR Big Band Köln, as well as arranging music f ...
. This consisted of orchestral re-recordings of existing songs in her catalog. After this album's 2014 release, she performed selections from it with the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...
at the
Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...
festival in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland. Writing for Country Standard Time, Jeffrey B. Remz thought the album needed "a bit more energy" and "veers decidedly towards the precious and pretty side, but sometimes a bit too much so." In 2014, Carpenter's touring schedule included a mix of orchestral performances comprising selections from ''Songs from the Movie'', as well as acoustic sets featuring Jon Carroll, multi-instrumentalist John Doyle, and opening act
Tift Merritt Catherine Tift Merritt (born January 8, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven studio albums, two for Lost Highway Records, two for Fantasy Records, and three for Yep Roc Records. Early life and education Me ...
.


2015present: Albums on Lambent Light

After leaving the Zoë label, she began recording her next album in 2015 with production work from
Dave Cobb Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is an American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Take That, Rival ...
. This album, '' The Things That We Are Made Of'', was released in 2016 via Carpenter's own Lambent Light Records label, with distribution rights by
Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American music marketing, distribution and management company for independent artists, based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland and is distributed by The Orchard. In 20 ...
. In addition to producing the album, Cobb played guitar,
Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...
, and
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
. "Something Tamed Something Wild" was selected as the lead single. Carpenter promoted the album with a number of dates throughout 2016, starting with a concert at
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax County, ...
in Washington, D.C., that July. Carpenter said that she intentionally intended for her vocal tracks to be "imperfect", and that she had difficulty "relinquishing control" of production duties. She also said that some of the songs were inspired by her walking her dog through the
Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...
. Prior to the album's release, NPR streamed it online through its First Listen program. Scott Stroud of
The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...
described Cobb's production as "elegant" and considered it well suited to Carpenter's voice; he also thought that Carpenter's lyrics showed an "unexpectedly poignant turn of phrase". Also in 2015, longtime collaborator John Jennings died of
kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...
. Next on Lambent Light was 2018's '' Sometimes Just the Sky''. This album consisted of re-recordings of tracks from each of her previous albums, as well as the title track, the only original composition. English record producer
Ethan Johns Ethan Thomas Robert Johns (born 1969 in Merton, London) is an English record producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Johns has worked with artists including Robert Vincent, Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Paul McCartney, ...
produced the project, in addition to selecting all of the musicians except for Carpenter's touring guitarist Duke Levine. The musicians recorded the project at
Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World R ...
, owned by
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
. After its release, she embarked on a tour throughout mid-2018 in support. Following this project, she and Johns began work on another album. However, production was put on hiatus in early 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In response, Carpenter began streaming live acoustic performances online. The second project with Johns, '' The Dirt and the Stars'', was released in August 2020. Also in 2020, she returned to the Wolf Trap where, without an audience present, she performed a 26-song solo acoustic set. This set was recorded as an album and DVD release titled '' One Night Lonely'', which received a
Grammy Award for Best Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Folk Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the folk genre. Honors in several ...
nomination. Once COVID-19 restrictions subsided across the United States, she announced plans to tour with Colvin in 2021. Due to a shoulder injury, she canceled these tour dates and did not begin touring again until 2022. Her tours in this timespan included a number of songs from ''The Dirt and the Stars''. Carpenter's next album was released in January 2025. Titled '' Looking for the Thread'', it is a collaboration with Scottish folk singers
Julie Fowlis Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1979) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life Fowlis was born and grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gàidhealtachd, Gaelic-s ...
and
Karine Polwart Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised fo ...
. She had met the two at the Celtic Connections music festival in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, and Fowlis and Polwart agreed to collaborate because they were fans of Carpenter's music. Carpenter released a new album on June 6, 2025, titled ''Personal History'', via Lambent Light/Thirty Tigers.


Collaborations and other works

Carpenter has appeared on a number of works by other artists. One of her first guest appearances was on the Indigo Girls' 1990 album ''
Nomads Indians Saints ''Nomads Indians Saints'' is the third studio album by Indigo Girls, released in 1990. It was reissued and remastered in 2000 with three bonus tracks. Track listing #"Hammer and a Nail" (Emily Saliers) – 3:50 #"Welcome Me" (Amy Ray) – 4:36 # ...
'', where she provided vocals to the track "Hammer and a Nail". She did likewise to Colvin's "Climb on a Back That's Strong" and
Radney Foster Radney Muckleroy Foster (born July 20, 1959) is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recordi ...
's " Nobody Wins", both from 1992. A year later, she joined
Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...
, Kathy Mattea,
Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...
, and
Pam Tillis Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the eldest child of country singer Mel Tillis. After recording unsuccessful pop material for Elektra Records, Elektra ...
on
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
's single "
Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...
". This song was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do ...
in 1994. Another collaboration with Colvin, "One Cool Remove", was released as a single from Colvin's 1994 album ''
Cover Girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph is used for the front cover of magazines. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a person making a single, casual appearance on the cover of a magaz ...
''. This rendition was a charted single for both artists in the United Kingdom a year later. Also in 1994, Carpenter and
Kim Richey Kimberly Richey (born December 1, 1956) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Richey was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on December 1, 1956. She grew up in Kettering, Ohio, graduating from Fairmont East High school in 1973. Career Riche ...
sang backing vocals on Tillis' cover of
Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers; August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster who has had many hit song credits beginning in the 1960s, as both a singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-son ...
's "
When You Walk in the Room "When You Walk in the Room" is a song written and recorded by Jackie DeShannon. It was initially released as a single on November 23, 1963, as the B-side to "Till You Say You'll Be Mine". It was re-released as an A-side in September 1964, and lat ...
", a single from the album ''
Sweetheart's Dance Sweetheart's Dance is the fourth studio album by American country music singer Pam Tillis, released on April 26, 1994, via Arista Records. It is her highest ranking album on the Billboard charts, at number 6. This album produced five singles: " ...
''. In 1996, she sang a cover of
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
's " Grow Old with Me" on the multi-artist tribute album '' Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon''. This rendition peaked at number 17 on the Adult Contemporary chart. She sang the song "Dead Man Walking (A Dream Like This)" for the
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
of the 1996 movie '' Dead Man Walking''. A year later, she covered
Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
's " I'll Never Fall in Love Again" for the soundtrack of the movie ''
My Best Friend's Wedding ''My Best Friend's Wedding'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass who also produced. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett. ''My Best Friend' ...
''. Carpenter also appeared on bluegrass musician
Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...
' only charted single "It's Only Love", from his 1998 album ''Crown of Jewels''. In 2002, she joined
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...
and Emmylou Harris to cover
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
's " Flesh and Blood" for the tribute album '' Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash''. This track received a nomination for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the
45th Annual Grammy Awards The 45th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003, at Madison Square Garden in New York City honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002. Musicians' accomplishment ...
. Carpenter is credited as a writer on a number of songs for other artists. These include
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
's "
Sally's Pigeons "Sally's Pigeons" is a pop song by Cyndi Lauper that was featured on her 1993 album '' Hat Full of Stars''. It was released as the album's second single in some countries, and as its third in others. The song was inspired by the story of a childh ...
",
Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd, known simply as Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964), is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 s ...
's " Girls with Guitars", Trisha Yearwood's " Where Are You Now", and
Terri Clark Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark (born August 5, 1968) is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...
's "
No Fear No Fear is an American lifestyle clothing brand that was created in 1989 by Mark Simo, Brian Simo and Marty Moates. No Fear Inc. products are sold at various retail stores and company-owned stores. There are also energy drinks under the same ...
".


Musical style

Carpenter's music is defined by her
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
influences and lyrical focus. Erlewine wrote that Carpenter "found favor on country radio in the 1980s and '90s by taking her emotionally intelligent songs to a mass audience." Of her 1980s albums, he stated that "Country radio was hesitant to play her soft, folky,
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
material, but she received good reviews and airplay on more progressive country stations, as well as college radio". In the ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music'', Colin Larkin noted the use of electric guitar in her more upbeat material such as "Passionate Kisses" and "The Hard Way", while also referring to "House of Cards" as "thought-provoking". He also stated, "she, together with the likes of Trisha Yearwood,
Suzy Bogguss Susan Kay Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She began her career in the 1980s as a solo singer. In the 1990s, six of her songs were Top 10 hits, three albums were certified gold, and one album ...
, and Kathy Mattea, has brought fresh melody to an old and sometimes predictable genre." Larry Katz of the ''
Red Deer Advocate The ''Red Deer Advocate'' is a twice-weekly newspaper in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. It publishes Wednesday and Saturday and is owned by Black Press. History The newspaper was first established in 1901 as the ''Red Deer Echo'', changing its n ...
'' contrasted her with Yearwood and Wynonna Judd, noting that unlike those artists, Carpenter usually wrote her songs herself instead of relying on Nashville-based songwriters. Alanna Nash of ''Entertainment Weekly'' thought that by being a graduate of an
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
college, Carpenter "seemed the least likely female to go the distance on the country charts". Similarly, Katz thought that her upbringing was atypical of country music, which is more commonly associated with demographics pertaining to the rural
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
. Nash also noted the difference between "decidedly noncountry themes like Halley’s Comet and the spiritual life of old shirts" in contrast to her more up-tempo material such as "Down at the Twist and Shout". In a review of ''Stones in the Road'' for the same publication, Browne contrasted that album with ''Come On Come On'', saying of the latter that "her square-jawed voice, leaner lyrics, and the sturdy-as-a-wooden-fence folk rock combined to make a deserved ..reakthrough." He also said of her writing style that Carpenter "sounds like someone who sits down and thinks about it — a lot — before committing it to song. Not since the heyday of
Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...
has a singer-songwriter been so damn reasonable." Mike DeGagne of AllMusic said of Carpenter's lyrics that she "portray maturely the perils of romance and heartbreak from a female perspective". Writing for ''
American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...
'', Deborah Evans Price noted themes of feminism due to many of her songs being about single women attempting to overcome setbacks in her life; of this, Carpenter stated that "I've just been kind of writing for me." Similarly, Nash stated that many of the songs on ''Shooting Straight in the Dark'' featured women protagonists who "take matters into their own hands". Eli Messinger of Country Standard Time described her singing voice as having "empathic clarity and force", particularly on "Passionate Kisses" and "He Thinks He'll Keep Her". He also stated that the former song had a theme of "desire", and the latter a "call to self-fulfillment". Keefe found influences of folk and
country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...
in her 1990s albums, but thought that much of her work in the 21st century was "mixed" due to a lack of uptempo material and lyrical themes which he considered too similar to each other. He described the stronger tracks on these albums as appealing to
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
formats.


Personal life

Carpenter was unmarried for most of her recording career. In a 1994 profile, Dana Kennedy of ''Entertainment Weekly'' referred to Carpenter as "a spokes-singer for the thirtysomething single woman". On June 1, 2002, she married Timmy Smith, a
general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...
then working in
Batesville, Virginia Batesville (also Mount Israel or Oliver's Store) is an unincorporated community in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. Its elevation is . History Batesville was founded as Oliver's Store sometime around 1760 at the crossroads of two exi ...
. Actress
Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek, numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including ...
and singer
Dave Matthews David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is an American musician and the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved frequently between South Africa, ...
were in attendance at the wedding. By 2007, the couple lived on a farm outside
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
. The couple divorced shortly before the release of ''Ashes and Roses'' (2012), at which point Carpenter continued to live on the farm. That album's track "What to Keep and What to Throw Away" was inspired by her divorce from Smith. Carpenter was the author of four columns in ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'' from December 2008 to March 2009, in which she discussed topics related to music and politics. Ben Walsh of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' cited this, along with her involvements in various charities, as examples of Carpenter's
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
political leanings. Relatedly, she told ''
The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...
'' in 1995 that she considered herself to be politically liberal; she also stated that "it seems as if the
Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
co-opted the entire country music community. In fact, a lot of country artists are Democrats."


Awards

Carpenter has won five
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, three Academy of Country Music awards, and two Country Music Association awards.


Discography

Carpenter has released seventeen studio albums between 1987 and 2025. ;Studio albums *''
Hometown Girl Hometown Girl may refer to: * Hometown Girl (album), a 1987 album by Mary Chapin Carpenter * Hometown Girl (song), a 2016 song by Josh Turner See also * Hometown Girls (disambiguation) {{dab ...
'' (1987) *'' State of the Heart'' (1989) *'' Shooting Straight in the Dark'' (1990) *''
Come On Come On ''Come On Come On'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on June 30, 1992. It rose to No. 11 on the '' Billboard's'' Country Albums chart and No. 31 on the ''Billboard'' ...
'' (1992) *''
Stones in the Road ''Stones in the Road'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on October 4, 1994. It became Carpenter's first album to reach No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Country Albums chart, an ...
'' (1994) *'' A Place in the World'' (1996) *'' Time* Sex* Love*'' (2001) *''
Between Here and Gone ''Between Here and Gone'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Nashville on April 27, 2004. It reached No. 5 on ''Billboard's'' Top Country Albums chart, although the album itself p ...
'' (2004) *'' The Calling'' (2007) *'' Come Darkness, Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas'' (2008) *'' The Age of Miracles'' (2010) *''
Ashes and Roses ''Ashes and Roses'' is the 12th studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released on June 12, 2012 by Zoë Records, her fourth album released under the Zoë label. Produced by Carpenter and Matt Rollings, the album cont ...
'' (2012) *'' Songs from the Movie'' (2014) *'' The Things That We Are Made Of'' (2016) *'' Sometimes Just the Sky'' (2018) *'' The Dirt and the Stars'' (2020) *'' Looking for the Thread'' (2025) (with
Julie Fowlis Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1979) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic. Early life Fowlis was born and grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gàidhealtachd, Gaelic-s ...
and
Karine Polwart Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised fo ...
) *''Personal History'' (2025)


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Mary Chapin 1958 births American country singer-songwriters American women country singers Brown University alumni Columbia Records artists Country musicians from New Jersey Grammy Award winners Guitarists from New Jersey Living people New Jersey Democrats Musicians from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton Day School alumni Taft School alumni Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Virginia Democrats The Washington Times people Zoë Records artists 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Virginia 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters Chapin family (show business) Thirty Tigers artists