Charles was an Army officer who served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II,[2] and later became a machinist who worked at an International Harvester plant at East Moline.
[4] In her youth, Bogguss would visit Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at their home in Apple Valley, California, as they attended the same church as her grandparents.
"[5] Having sung and played guitar and drums in local coffeehouses during her college years, Bogguss embarked on a nationwide tour as a folk troubadour after graduating from ISU.
In 1984, while touring at the Huntley Lodge resort in Montana, Bogguss discovered that she spent most of her money on clothes for her later shows.
[3][7] After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1985,[3][7][8] Bogguss began working at the local Tony Roma's restaurant on her first day there.
[10] While there, she performed a three-day audition for entertainer Dolly Parton at Silver Dollar City, a theme park which would eventually become Dollywood.
"[11] These performances prompted her to make a self-produced demo recording at a studio owned by folk singer Wendy Waldman, who would eventually become Bogguss's first producer.
[11] At the time, she recorded a demo of "Hopeless Romantic", a song written by Doug Crider that would become part of her debut studio album.
[citation needed] In 1987, Bogguss released her first three singles for Capitol, a cover of The Ink Spots' 1941 song "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire," "Love Will Never Slip Away," and "Come as You Were".
[13] For her second album, Moment of Truth, production tasks were taken over by new label-head and Nashville producer Jimmy Bowen, who moved Bogguss's sound in a more polished direction.
The LP yielded four hit singles - "Someday Soon", "Outbound Plane", "Aces", and "Letting Go", the latter three reaching the country Top Ten.
Her streak continued the following year with another gold record, Something Up My Sleeve, giving her two additional Top Five hits in "Just Like the Weather" and "Hey Cinderella".
During her break, the climate of country music had changed considerably, with more pop-oriented female singers such as Martina McBride, Faith Hill, and Shania Twain dominating the charts.
Bogguss's traditional, straightforward style failed to connect with younger listeners, and the record yielded low sales.
In March 1997, Bogguss performed at the Every Woman's Challenge charity concert, which was held at the Palm Springs Convention Center in California.
On February 18, 1999, Bogguss issued the following statement: I had a great tenure with Capitol, during which I weathered a lot of changes in both personnel and philosophy.
In November 2001, she released the holiday album, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a compilation of new and previously available material included through a special licensing agreement with Capitol.
Aces Redux was recorded with the help of a number of the musicians that have toured with Bogguss over the years and included background vocals by friends Beth Nielsen Chapman and Kim Carnes along with several others.
The album takes a more acoustic and simpler production tack than the original which also reflects her more recent touring approach as a trio with Charlie Chadwick on standup Bass and Craig Smith on lead guitar.
MusicRow said the album "captures the unvarnished essence of southern storytelling and the authentic roots of Americana music.
"[24] In a review for the lead single, "It All Falls Down to the River", American Songwriter called the song "a lyrical gut-punch, shining a light on hard truths about life in the United States.
From the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination to the levees of New Orleans that broke during Hurricane Katrina, Bogguss and The McCrary Sisters paint a powerful picture of our nation’s complex past and present.