The country vocal quartet
Little Big Town began with
Kimberly Roads and
Karen Fairchild, two Georgia natives who began singing together in college. Arkansas-born and Alabama-raised
Jimi Westbrook, a friend of
Fairchild's husband, joined them to make a trio, and the group was completed by the addition of Arkansan
Phil Sweet in 1998. From the outset,
Little Big Town devoted their sound to harmony and multiple lead vocals, a combination that made the band a hard sell at first. They finally landed a deal at Mercury Records, but it fell through due to disagreements about musical direction. In the wake of the success of the Dixie Chicks, however,
Little Big Town suddenly seemed a more likely commercial proposition, and they were taken up by the Dixie Chicks' label, Monument Records, in 2000.
Recording sessions lasted longer than usual for a country release, but Monument finally issued the band's debut single, "Don't Waste My Time," in the winter of 2002. The song was on its way up the charts when its accompanying album,
Little Big Town, arrived in May. Although the debut produced several minor hits,
Little Big Town didn't become a superstar act until 2005, when
The Road to Here yielded four Top 20 singles (including the ballad "Bring It On Home") and earned the group its first platinum record.
A Place to Land followed in 2007 and netted three singles, none of which made it into the Top 30, but the band's profile continued to grow due to incessant touring and supporting acts from Sugarland to Carrie Underwood.
Fairchild also guested with John Mellencamp on his album Life Death Love and Freedom. In May of 2010 "Little White Church" appeared as a single that peaked at number 14 on the Billboard country chart; in August of that year,
Little Big Town's fourth studio album, The Reason Why, was released by Capitol. The band returned in 2012 with the single "Pontoon," which wound up topping Billboard's country charts.
Little Big Town's fifth full-length album, Tornado, followed in September 2012.
–
William Ruhlmann, Rovi