Dawn Sears (December 7, 1961 – December 11, 2014) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist. In addition to her work as a backing vocalist in

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

's band, she recorded four solo studio albums, of which two were released on major labels. She had one single that charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts.

Biography

Dawn Marie Skari was born in

East Grand Forks, Minnesota East Grand Forks (also known as EGF) is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,176 at the 2020 Census, making it the largest community in Polk County. It is located in the Red River Valley region along the easte ...

. She began her career in 1990 with the album ''What a Woman Wants to Hear'' on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The album produced two minor singles. Because of her debut album's poor performance, Sears had decided to leave the country music scene. However, she later received a call from

, who had asked her to join his road band as a harmony vocalist. According to information provided by Thomas "Duke" Miller, a TV/movie/celebrity expert, Sears was also known for her song "Another Dream Away", which became a theme song for the newer "Bandit" movies starring Brian Bloom. The movies were a reissue to cash in on the "Smokey And The Bandit" franchise. In addition to singing harmony on Gill's 1992 album '' I Still Believe in You'', Sears provided duet vocals on the track "An Out of Control Raging Fire" on

Tracy Byrd Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven" ...

's 1994 debut album. In 1994, she was signed as the first act on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

' newly revived country music branch. Her second album, 1994's ''Nothin' But Good'', was issued on Decca, and its lead-off single, "Runaway Train", entered the country music charts. Other singles from the album were unsuccessful, and Dawn exited Decca's roster not long afterward. A self-titled album was released independently in 2002, followed by her first Christmas album. Sears returned to her work as a backup vocalist for Gill. She made appearances on several of Gill's albums, including his 2003 album ''

Next Big Thing ''Next Big Thing'' is the tenth studio album from American country music artist Vince Gill. It was released in 2003 on MCA Nashville, and it features four singles: the title track, "Someday", "Young Man's Town", and "In These Last Few Days". The ...

''. Sears also performed with

The Time Jumpers The Time Jumpers is the name of a Western swing band formed in 1998 by a group of Nashville studio musicians who enjoyed jamming together. Country star Vince Gill was a member of the group between 2010 and 2020. The 11–member group started p ...

. In February 2012, Sears was diagnosed with lung cancer, which was diagnosed as Stage 3B in March 2013. She died in

Gallatin, Tennessee Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee. The population was 30,278 at the 2010 census and 44,431 at the 2020 census. Named for United States Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, the city was established on ...

on December 11, 2014, aged 53. Sears was married to Kenny Sears (a Time Jumpers bandmate), and had a daughter, Tess.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sears, Dawn 1961 births 2014 deaths People from East Grand Forks, Minnesota American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Decca Records artists Warner Records artists Country musicians from Minnesota Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Minnesota 21st-century American women