Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is 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, ...

singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, one for Rising Tide Records and one for

Dualtone Records Dualtone Records is an American record label specializing in folk, Americana, and indie rock. It was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington. The company is run by Robinson and the label's president, Paul Roper. Albums are distribut ...

, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. '' Billboard'' country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both at No. 36. Besides most of her own material, Berg has written hits for

T.G. Sheppard William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944) is an American country music singer-songwriter, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones ...

, Karen Brooks,

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

Deana Carter Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album '' Did I Shave My Legs for This?'', which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States ...

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

and others. In 2008 she was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is ...

and in 2018 she received the Poet's Award from the

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

Early history

Matraca Maria Berg was born February 3, 1964, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Berg's mother, Icie Calloway, moved from

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but cont ...

, to Nashville in the 1960s to seek her fortune as a singer and songwriter shortly before Matraca was born. Matraca's Aunt Sudie Calloway was a successful

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...

backup singer. Aunts Coleida Calloway and Clara Howard were backup vocalists on Kentucky's

Renfro Valley Barn Dance ''Renfro Valley Barn Dance'' was an American country music stage and radio show originally carried by WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday nights. It debuted on October 9, 1937 from the Cincinnati Music Hall and moved to the Memorial Auditorium i ...

. Uncle Jim Baker was a steel guitar player who also spent some time running

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

's song publishing companies. When Matraca was 2 years old, her mother married nuclear physicist Ron Berg, who legally adopted Matraca. Berg's mother found only limited success in the music industry and eventually became a nurse. Berg herself then took up songwriting with her mother's encouragement. When Berg played her songs for songwriter

Bobby Braddock Robert Valentine Braddock (born August 5, 1940) is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during mor ...

, he volunteered to co-write with her. She found her earliest success in their collaboration, "Faking Love", which was sung by Karen Brooks and

T. G. Sheppard William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944) is an American country music singer-songwriter, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones ...

, topping the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts on February 19, 1983.

Career history

After her mother's death in 1985, Berg continued to have great success writing songs for other performers. Reba McEntire had a No. 1 song with her "The Last One to Know", and Randy Travis,

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

, Ray Price,

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

, Sweethearts of the Rodeo,

Michelle Wright Michelle Wright (born July 1, 1961) is a Canadian country music artist. She is one of the country's most widely recognized and awarded female country singers of the 1990s, winning the Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Award twice ...

and others recorded her songs. Berg signed to a recording contract with

Nashville in 1990, releasing her debut album ''Lying to the Moon'' that year. Its first two singles, "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both charted in the country top 40 at No. 36, followed by the No. 43 "I Got It Bad" and No. 55 "I Must Have Been Crazy." What was to be her follow-up album, ''Bittersweet Surrender'', was recorded in 1991. It featured the single "It's Easy to Tell," which charted in November 1991. The album was rejected by the label, which wanted a more mainstream-sounding recording instead. One of the songs from this canceled album, " Wrong Side of Memphis," later became a Top Ten hit for

. She continued to write for others, and in 1994, released a pop album ''The Speed of Grace''. Berg's 1995 song, "

You Can Feel Bad "You Can Feel Bad" is a song written by Matraca Berg and Tim Krekel, and recorded by American country music artist Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began perform ...

", co-written with

Tim Krekel Tim Krekel (October 10, 1950 – June 24, 2009) was an American rock musician and country music songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. Early life Krekel was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1950. He became interested in music early and his fi ...

and recorded by

, was a Number 1 country single, spending twenty weeks on the charts. Berg co-wrote " Strawberry Wine" along with

Gary Harrison Gary Steven Harrison is an American songwriter. Harrison began his career in the 1970s, and has written over 300 major-label recorded songs, including several number one hits. His songwriting credits include: " Hey Cinderella" (recorded by Suzy ...

, which

released as a single. Berg won the "Song of the Year" at the 1997 CMA ( Country Music Association) Awards. The same year, she released the album ''Sunday Morning to Saturday Night'' via Rising Tide Records; it produced the singles "That Train Don't Run" and "Back in the Saddle," the former of which was released by

Pinmonkey Pinmonkey was an American country music group formed in 2002 by Michael Reynolds (lead vocals), brothers Michael Jeffers (vocals, bass guitar) and Chad Jeffers ( Dobro, lap steel guitar), and Rick Schell (drums, vocals). Their first album, ''Speak ...

in 2006. In 1999, RCA released a compilation album entitled ''Lying to the Moon & Other Stories'' which also included tracks from her 1997 Rising Tide release. In 2004 and 2005, Berg was nominated for induction into the

, making her one of the youngest nominees in history. She was eventually inducted in 2008."Matraca Berg, John Hiatt, Tom Shapiro in Hall of Fame"
''

Great American Country Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...

''. October 27, 2008. She continues to be a prolific and respected country songwriter.

Personal life

She currently lives in Nashville with her husband,

Jeff Hanna Jeffrey R. Hanna (born July 11, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and performance musician, best known for his association with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His professional music career has spanned six decades. Early life Hanna was born in ...

, a founding member of the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

. They were married December 5, 1993. The couple met while touring with Clint Black in the late 1980s.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Filmography

Singles written by Berg

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Matraca 1964 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American women country singers Singers from Nashville, Tennessee RCA Records Nashville artists Rising Tide Records artists Country musicians from Tennessee Dualtone Records artists Proper Records artists Singer-songwriters from Tennessee