Dream Come True: The LeAnn Rimes Story [Paperback]

THE DAZZLING RISE OF A YOUNG COUNTRY STAR

Who is this singer with the incredible voice, the youngest ever artist ever nominated for a Country Music Association Award, and winner of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist? Jo Sgammato traveled from Nashville to LeAnn's hometown of Pearl, Mississippi, then followed her path to Dallas and beyond to reveal her inspiring life. From singing at eighteen months through dazzling performances at talent shows, opry stages and sports arenas, here is the heartwarming story of a determined young singer and an American family whose dedication made A DREAM COME TRUE.Jo Sgammato is a writer and journalist who writes about popular culture. She is the author of Dream Come True: The LeAnn Rimes Story and Keepin’ It Country: The George Strait Story, and the coauthor (with Marjorie Jaffe) of The Muscle Memory Method. She divides her time between New York and Nashville.CHAPTER ONE
 
Nashville Saturday Night
 
The lights dimmed inside the sparkling new Nashville Arena. The crowd began to cheer, anticipating another great night of music in Music City. All eyes were on the stage as the announcer’s booming voice filled the hall.
 
“Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and give a great big Nashville welcome to Miss LeAnn Rimes!”
 
Preparation for the evening’s show—for which twenty thousand fans would be packed inside the Arena—had begun at ten o’clock that morning when a line of forty-foot tractor trailers exited Interstate 40 at Demonbreun Street, drove downtown, and pulled into the loading dock of the Arena.
 
They were met by the local stage crew for the “load-in.” Fifty or sixty trunks, each prominel³