Sweethearts of the Rodeo were 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, ...

duo composed of sisters Janis Oliver (guitar, vocals) and Kristine Arnold (née Oliver) (vocals). The duo recorded for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

between 1986 and 1991, releasing four albums and twelve singles for the label. During the 1990s, they also recorded two albums for

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

. The duo reached Top Ten on the

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 ...

chart seven times in the late 1980s, with their highest-charting singles being the No. 4 hits "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" and "Chains of Gold", both in 1987.

Biography

Janis Oliver was born , and her sister Kristine Arnold was born , in the South Bay region of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. They were raised in

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...

, and sang in elementary school, then performed

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

as the Oliver Sisters during their teenage years. The duo became Sweethearts of the Rodeo, taking the name from

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

' album ''

Sweetheart of the Rodeo ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as c ...

''. After their discovery by

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

, they secured slots as opening acts and backing vocalists for other artists. In 1977, the Sweethearts opened a

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

, show for Sundance, a group including 19-year-old

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 ...

. In 1980, Janis married Gill, by then a member of

Pure Prairie League Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band whose origins go back to 1965 and Waverly, Ohio, with singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail, guitarist and drummer Jim Caughlan and steel guitarist John David Call. Fuller st ...

, Kristine married Leonard Arnold of the band Blue Steel. In 1983, the Gills moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, followed by the Arnolds, with the sisters singing together again.

1986–1992: Columbia Records

In 1985, Sweethearts of the Rodeo won the Wrangler Country Showdown talent contest, then signed with

. Sweethearts of the Rodeo's first single, "Hey Doll Baby", debuted in April 1986, followed by the release their self-titled debut album. Then came the duo's first Top Ten hit at No. 7, "Since I Found You". The song was written by

Radney Foster Radney Muckleroy Foster (born July 20, 1959) is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recording ...

and Bill Lloyd, and its success helped

Foster & Lloyd Foster & Lloyd is an American country music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. After pairing up in 1986, the duo recorded three albums for RCA Nashville, charting nine singles on the '' Billboard'' country charts. ...

secure a recording contract. Four more singles from the album followed, including the No. 4 hits "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" and "Chains of Gold", their highest-charting singles. A second album, ''

One Time, One Night ''One Time, One Night'' is the second studio album by American country music duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo, released in 1988 via Columbia Records. The album includes "Satisfy You" and "Blue to the Bone," which both hit #5 on the Billboard Hot C ...

'' furnished three more Top Ten hits: "Satisfy You", "Blue to the Bone", and a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

I Feel Fine "I Feel Fine" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in November 1964 as the A-side of their eighth single. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The recording includes one o ...

", but their next single, "If I Never See Midnight Again", peaked at No. 39. Two more albums for Columbia followed (1990's ''

Buffalo Zone ''Buffalo Zone'' is the third studio album by American country music duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo, released in 1990 via Columbia Records. The album's cover was an obvious homage to The Byrds' 1968 album ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'', from which t ...

'' and 1992's ''Sisters''), but neither produced any major hits. Columbia dropped the duo in 1992.

1993–present

Sweethearts of the Rodeo continued to tour in the 1990s, releasing two albums of bluegrass music on the Sugar Hill label: ''

Rodeo Waltz ''Rodeo Waltz'' is a 1993 album by the US country duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo. The album was their first for Sugar Hill Records, and it did not include any singles. Reception In his Allmusic review, critic Kelly McCartney wrote of the album ...

'' in 1993 and '' Beautiful Lies'' in 1996. Janis and Kristine owned a clothing store in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

, called "Gill & Arnold" in the late 1990s, then closed it. Janis and Vince Gill were divorced in 1997. She married Roy Cummins in 2000; they divorced in 2010.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

{{Authority control Country music groups from California Country music duos Columbia Records artists Sibling musical duos Musicians from Manhattan Beach, California Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in California Sugar Hill Records artists American musical duos