Alison Krauss

Alison Krauss brought bluegrass to a mass audience without leaving it behind. She became one of the most celebrated voices in American music, and her shelf of Grammy Awards is among the largest of any artist.

Career

Krauss made her recording debut in 1986 on the independent album Different Strokes and signed to Rounder Records, which released her first solo album, Too Late to Cry, in 1987, with Union Station as her backing band. In 1993, aged 21, she joined the Grand Ole Opry, the first bluegrass artist to do so in 29 years. Union Station's line-up has included Dan Tyminski, Ron Block, Barry Bales and dobro player Jerry Douglas.

She and Tyminski sang on the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), which won Album of the Year at the 2002 Grammys. Her 2007 album with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, won five Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2019 and entered the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2021.

Songs to know

• "When You Say Nothing at All"
• "I'll Fly Away", with Gillian Welch, from O Brother
• "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow", from the same soundtrack. Read the song's history.
• "Whiskey Lullaby", with Brad Paisley
• "The Lucky One" and "Please Read the Letter", with Robert Plant

Selected albums

Take up her first instrument with our fiddle guide, or explore the bluegrass tradition.