Album Notes

Hailing from the small, no-stoplight town of Amherst, WI, along the banks of the Tomorrow River; Carmen Lee came into this world singing; which seems appropriately fitting since her name \'Carmen\' means \'song\'.
She was aware of the complexities of life at an early age. This is evident in her first song, written around the age of four, in which she sings and accompanies herself on an old upright piano to a bluesy tune; the only lyrics being \'It\'s a hard way of livin\', doo doo dah, doo doo dah\'.
Carmen\'s parents recall that, while at parent-teacher conferences one evening at school, her kindergarten teacher stopped them in the hallway and asked if she could talk to them about Carmen. Their first instinct was to wonder if there was some kind of trouble, but to their suprise and delight, Carmen\'s music teacher told them that she had never heard a child sing such as Carmen. Her parents then went on to inform her teacher of Carmen\'s compositions, which led to the teacher advising Carmen\'s parents to buy her a small tape recorder in order to encourage her musical talent. Her parents took the advice and Carmen began enthusiastically recording herself and her songs every chance she could get.
At age 12, while waiting in line with her mother at a local dime and dollar-type store in her hometown, Carmen noticed a small, black and red cassette tape sitting amidst numerous other cassettes in a box on the check-out counter. It was as if the hand of fate intervened as Carmen picked it up and, with her own money, bought her very first cassette tape \'Elvis Presley: Elvis\' Christmas Album\'. Carmen became fascinated with Elvis and from there her love of classic rockabilly and country music grew.
Carmen continued to sing and perform throughout her childhood and began seriously writing and performing her own songs around the age of 18. She has sung with various bands throughout the years and has opened for the likes of Willy Porter, Shannon Lawson and award-winning country artist Craig Morgan.
Most recently, Carmen has started a new trio called \'Carmen Lee and the Tomorrow River Two\' which enables her love of rockabilly and classic country music to shine. With influences from the likes of Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan; Carmen continues to write new music.
She released her first solo album \'Carmen Lee: Solo\' in 2007. And when she writes, she still uses that same small tape recorder, which is now nearly 25 years old, to record her ideas when the inspiration strikes. With her unique voice and her ability to compose catchy melodies with deep lyrics, she has captured that timeless quality that is sure to make her a classic. Carmen Lee\'s songs shoot straight to the gut, if not to the heart.