Born and raised in the heartland, where her roots run deep and the Nebraska cornhuskers play ball, Jolie will forever be a Midwest girl. A shy kid from Omaha, Ne. she kept her dreams of becoming a star behind closed doors (literally). Singing only from behind her bedroom door and for only one person- her mama. Today, that is hard to imagine because Jolie Edwards is one of the most high energy stage performers in the business and her ability to connect with an audience is unmatched.
Jolie was in her early teens when she began enrolling in local talent contests, wining her first with Dolly Partons Two Doors Down, still a staple of Jolies live show. As a senior in high school Jolie landed a steady gig with a local group, playing 6-7 nights a week, in town for school days and out of town on the weekends.
After several years of the traveling band, Jolie met her husband (Marty Edwards). Jolie then took a couple years off to enjoy married life and to start a family, but Marty could tell Jolie missed singing and performing, so he made it his mission to get her back to what she loved, saying, you are wonderful wife, and mother, but you would be a happier wife and mother if you were singing again. Jolie did miss that part of her life, and with her families support decided to work to get it back. She had some photos taken, wrote a short bio and began looking for gigs.
Since Jolie no longer had a band together, she bought a 24 track soundboard, a small trailer to haul gear, and advertised herself as a one woman show The word got out after a couple shows and the bookings began to pour in. Often performing 4 sets a night gave Jolie not only experience as a singer but as a comedienne and emcee as well, learning to truly entertain a crowd being the only one on the stage to do it.
As the shows circuit started expanding Jolie recorded some of her own songs and began traveling to Nashville to knock on doors. One of Jolies tapes made it into the hands of Jim Catino, then at Dreamworks Records. He liked it enough to convince James Stroud , (President) to sign Jolie to a development deal. A year later Jolie was signed to the label and Jolies first record Jolie and the Wanted, produced by Dann Huff, was released in 2000. After differences led to a brief relationship with Dreamworks, she landed a deal with Warner Brothers Nashville. Jolie, Producer Scott Baggett and renowned Singer/songwriter/producer Jeffrey Steele worked together to make her debut for the label.
Shortly after completing the album, a corporate merger took place at Warner Bros. and Jolies project was lost in the shuffle. The album would never be released and Jolie parted ways with the label shortly after.
Her tour of live performances has continued over the years of writing and recording. One of my favorite places on earth to be is on stage.
A highlight of Jolies career has been the opportunity to perform for the men and women in the U.S. military. Understanding the importance of bringing our troops a little piece of home, during the holidays, she performed in Italy, Spain,Germany, Macedonia, Turkey and the Azores during the 2001 Thanksgiving holidays and in Korea on the 4th. of July, 2003. Then in December of 2004, she journeyed to Kuwait and Iraq to spend Christmas and New Years with the troops. She was thrilled to visit troops in very remote sites who had not seen any entertainment since the war began. Jolie said, I was told I would touch the hearts of others by going to Iraq, but it was my heart that got touched by the soldiers fighting for me and my family.
In addition to traveling overseas for the troops Jolie has performed at three of the largest country music festivals in Switzerland, Sweden, and Japan. Her performances garnered her invitations to more festivals in 2005 throughout Europe.
Jolie can currently be seen on the network and cable tv in the Oh! Oxygen commercials for the Oxygen channel. The commercials are part of a 10 million dollar media campaign running for 18 months on cable and network tv and for 3 years on the oxygen channel. In June, 2004 Jolie appeared as Linda Vesters special invited guest on Fox News Dayside to talk about her tour to Iraq. Her segment was the featured pick of the week video on the Fox website for the week.
In August, 2004 Jolie was picked to read for Johnny Cashs first wife in the award winning movie Walk the Line. It was a wonderful experience and Jolie hopes for more opportunities in the future. That same year Jolie was one of TWO country acts chosen to showcase on the main stage at the NACA Convention in Cincinnati, OH.
Jolie has always had a special place in her heart for St. Jude childrens Hospital. She holds an annual concert in her hometown every year to raise money for the cause. My life was changed the day I visited St. Jude for the first time. Jolie prays for enough success to do even more for these special kids and their families.
The kids of St. Jude have left their mark on her heart, which undeniably is as big as her voice.
Besides her role as entertainer, wife and mother of two young sons, Jolie enjoys the outdoors and is an avid hunter. Much of the Edwards family time is spent in the woods or in a duck blind. I might be the only chick in America who got a new remington 20 gauge shotgun for Valentines Day. However, it was her skill with a bow and arrow that got her invited to participate in the celebrity bow shoot competition during fan fair 2003. Jolie was the only female to shoot.
Jolies latest project is an independent CD comprised solely of songs written by Jolie. The CD , Livin Proof continues to sell very well regionally and at Jolies live shows.
View All Friends | View Blog | View Pics | View Events | Add Comment
