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 year. Both it and its two follow-ups, 1996's Just the Same and 1998's How I Feel, were certified platinum in both countries, and produced several Top Ten country hits.

Her fourth album, 2000's Fearless, though certified gold in Canada, was not as successful in the U.S., producing no Top 10 hits. Pain to Kill from 2003 restored her chart momentum in the U.S. with "I Just Wanna Be Mad" and "I Wanna Do It All", while a 2004 greatest hits album produced the Number One "Girls Lie Too". A non-album single, "The World Needs a Drink", and the 2005 album Life Goes On were her last releases for Mercury before she signed to BNA Records in 2007. There, she released the singles "Dirty Girl" and "In My Next Life". Although the latter went to Number One in Canada, she has not released an album for BNA.

Clark's albums have accounted for more than twenty singles, including six Number Ones. "If I Were You", "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Emotional Girl" and "In My Next Life" all topped the country charts in Canada (the former three were also U.S. Top Ten singles), "Girls Lie Too" reached number one only in the U.S., and "You're Easy on the Eyes" was number one in both countries.

In 2004, Clark gained one of country music's crowning achievements when she became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018 and became a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2023. In 2024, Clark released a duets album Terri Clark: Take Two featuring re-recorded versions of her previous hits.

Biography

Early life

Clark was born Terri Lynn Sauson on August 5, 1968, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her family eventually settled in Medicine Hat, Alberta, where she was raised. She is the second of four children: she has a younger brother, Peter, an older sister, Kim, and younger sister, Tina. Clark's grandparents, Ray and Betty Gauthier, were both noted Canadian country musicians, having opened for artists such as George Jones and Johnny Cash. Clark's mother, Linda, had belonged to the Canadian folk scene. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother remarried, with Terri taking on her stepfather's last name.

By high school, Clark had grown to love country music and worked at a local Chinese restaurant to save money to move to Nashville, Tennessee. During the special Clark was visited by Canadian country singers Paul Brandt and George Fox.

Fearless, Clark's fourth studio album, was issued in September 2000. During the album's production, Clark started writing more personal songs with a new team of co-writers and hired a new producer to deliver a set of songs with a more acoustic feel than that of her previous work. The album's first single, "A Little Gasoline", was a late addition to the album because Mercury executives felt Clark needed to balance her new material with something that had a more familiar feel to it. Clark later apologized for the incident through a statement that was issued to press by her publicist.

2002–2004: Pain to Kill and Greatest Hits 1994-2004

After a management change in December 2001, Clark began work on her fifth studio album, Pain to Kill. The album was issued in January 2003, followed after the release of the album's first single, "I Just Wanna Be Mad". The song, written by Kelley Lovelace and Lee Thomas Miller, was initially intended to be recorded by Sara Evans, who passed on it. When released as a single the song became Clark's highest-charting single in the United States since 1998's "You're Easy on the Eyes" and is to date Clark's highest appearance on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 27. The album marked the first time Clark had worked with producer Byron Gallimore, who produced the first half of the album. The other half was produced by Clark's longtime producer Keith Stegall, who was brought in when Gallimore became unavailable. Clark, who came in second place behind fellow Canadian country singer Shania Twain in a poll in the previous year, turned down the offer saying "I think of all the young girls who come to my shows, I think of those faces, I think of my mother, and I worry about the signal [sex] sends to them[…] If I’m sexy enough for Playboy to want me with my clothes on, then I hope the message can be that sexy is about what’s between your ears, in your heart and your smile." Shortly after her induction, Clark's first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits 1994–2004, was issued. The album's only single, "Girls Lie Too", became Clark's first number one in the United States since 1998's "You're Easy on the Eyes". While the song did not reach number one in Canada, it was the named number one country song of 2004 in Canada by Radio & Records. A non-album single, "The World Needs a Drink" (which was co-written by a then-unknown Eric Church), was released in late 2004, but was not included on any of Clark's studio albums.

2005–2010: Life Goes On and The Long Way Home

In 2005, Clark's sixth studio album, Life Goes On, was issued in November. The album's first single, "She Didn't Have Time", only managed to reach No. 25 in the United States and No. 15 in Canada. None of the album's other singles charted in the United States and Clark parted ways with Mercury Records in March 2006.

In June 2006, Clark signed with BNA Records, a division of Sony BMG label group, now known as Sony Music Entertainment. Clark's first single for the label, "Dirty Girl", was issued in early 2007. The song was then followed by "In My Next Life", which was to be the title track to her debut BNA release. Clark, along with Canadian country band Emerson Drive, opened for Big & Rich in Canada, hoping to promote the new album. The album was scheduled for an August 7, 2007 release. My Next Life was delayed several times and remained unreleased leaving Clark to part ways with BNA in November 2008, so she could concentrate more on her career in Canada and possibly launch her own record label.

Clark released a live album, Terri Clark Live: Road Rage, via Clark's own BareTrack Records label in July 2009 through digital retailers. Clark's seventh studio album, The Long Way Home, was released shortly after to all retailers in Canada and digital retailers in the United States on September 1, 2009, via BareTrack/Capitol Nashville/EMI Canada. The album was released to non-digital retailers in the United States on October 20, 2009.

thumbnail|Signing autographs in February 2010

The first single issued from the album was "Gypsy Boots", a song previously recorded for Clark's unreleased My Next Life album. The single was released to country radio in Canada on June 22, 2009, and country radio in the United States on July 20. The video for "Gypsy Boots," directed by Margaret Malandruccolo, was released in Canada on August 6, 2009, and is available for online viewing at Clark's site. "If You Want Fire", "A Million Ways To Run" and "You Tell Me" have been issued as follow up singles in Canada.

2011–2013: Roots and Wings and Classic

Clark released her eighth studio album, Roots and Wings, on July 26, 2011. It includes "Smile", a song she wrote for her mom after her death due to a long battle with cancer. The album's lead off single, "Northern Girl," was released on April 18, 2011. "We're Here for a Good Time," "The One," and "Wrecking Ball," were all also released as singles from the album.

Clark's ninth studio album, Classic, was released on November 13, 2012, in Canada. The album includes classic country standards such as "Love Is a Rose", which was issued as the album's lead single, and features duets with Reba McEntire, Jann Arden, Dierks Bentley, Tanya Tucker and Dean Brody.

2014–present: Some Songs, Raising the Bar, and Take Two

Clark's tenth studio album, Some Songs, was produced by Michael Knox. It was released on September 2, 2014, and includes ten songs. The album was funded through PledgeMusic and was distributed by Clark's own BareTrack Records and Universal Music Canada. The album's first single, "Some Songs", shipped to Canadian country radio on May 26.

Clark previously co-hosted America's Morning Show on Nash FM with Blair Garner and Chuck Wicks.

As of the April 9/10 weekend in 2016, Terri became the new hostess of the Saturday night classic country program Country Gold, replacing Randy Owen. Clark will depart the show August 31, 2024.

In 2018, Clark was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Clark's eleventh studio album, Raising the Bar, was released on September 14, 2018.

Clark's first holiday album, "It's Christmas...Cheers!" was released on September 25, 2020, by Mercury Nashville.

On March 14, 2023, Clark announced that she was to become the newest inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

On March 29, 2024, it was announced that Clark had recorded a new album, which was released on May 31. Titled Terri Clark: Take Two, the album features a collection of Clark's past hits recorded as duets with modern day country artists and others, including Kelly Clarkson, Lainey Wilson, and Paul Brandt. The first single was a new version of "Better Things to Do" with Clark's close friend Ashley McBryde.

Personal life

Clark married fiddle player Ted Stevenson in 1991. The couple filed for divorce in 1996.

Clark married her tour manager Greg Kaczor on September 17, 2005. The couple's wedding was documented on In the Moment, a TV series broadcast on CMT in December 2005. The couple filed for divorce on February 16, 2007.

She was made a Member of the Order of Canada on December 31, 2025.

Discography

;Studio albums

Terri Clark (1995)
Just the Same (1996)
How I Feel (1998)
Fearless (2000)
Pain to Kill (2003)
Life Goes On (2005)
The Long Way Home (2009)
Roots and Wings (2011)
Classic (2012)
Some Songs (2014)
Raising the Bar (2018)
It's Christmas...Cheers! (2020)
Take Two (2024)

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable"

! Year !! Association !! Category !! Nominated work / Recipient !! Result

|1995

|Academy of Country Music Awards

|Top New Female Vocalist

| Terri Clark

|rowspan=2|1996

|Grammy Awards

|Best Country Collaboration with Vocals

|Hope: Country Music's Quest For A Cure

|rowspan="2"|Country Music Association Awards

|rowspan="2"|Horizon Award

|rowspan="11"| Terri Clark

|rowspan=3|1997

|rowspan=3|Juno Awards

| Best New Solo Artist

|rowspan=2|Best Country Female Artist

|2001

|2002

|rowspan="2"|Academy of Country Music Awards

| rowspan="2"|Top Female Vocalist

|rowspan="2"|2003

|rowspan="3"|Country Music Association Awards

|rowspan="2"|Female Vocalist of the Year

|rowspan="4"|2004

| President's Award

|rowspan="2"|Academy of Country Music Awards

| Top Female Vocalist

|Video of the Year

|Girls Lie Too

| 2012 || Juno Awards || Country Album of the Year || Roots and Wings ||

| 2017 || Country Music Association Awards|| rowspan=3|National Broadcast Personality of the Year || rowspan=3|Terri Clark - Country Gold ||

|2018 || Academy of Country Music Awards ||

| 2021 || Country Music Association Awards ||

| 2023

| Canadian Country Music Association

| Musical Collaboration of the Year

| "I Ain't Drunk"

| 2024 || Country Music Association Awards || National Broadcast Personality of the Year || Terri Clark - Country Gold ||