Paulette Carlson

Paulette Carlson
Birth name	Paulette Tenae Carlson
Born	(1952-10-11) October 11, 1952
Origin	Moose Lake, Minnesota, USA
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1983–present
Labels	RCA, Warner Bros., Capitol, Pandean
Associated acts	Highway 101, Kathie Baillie, Stevie Nicks, Baillie & The Boys, Oak Ridge Boys
Website	Paulette Carlson Official Website

Paulette Tenae Carlson (born October 11, 1952) is a country singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s as the founder and lead vocalist for the country band Highway 101. With Highway 101, she charted four No. 1 hit singles, seven Top 10 hits. As a solo artist, she has charted five times on Hot Country Songs and recorded three studio albums. Her most successful solo single is "I'll Start with You", which peaked at number 21 in 1991.

Beginnings

Paulette Carlson began professionally singing in the dance bars in Fargo, ND and in the Minneapolis, MN area and built a large local following before heading to Nashville in 1978. Soon after arriving in Nashville she was signed as a staff songwriter for the Oak Ridge Boys’ Silverline/Goldline Publishing Company. She signed a singles contract with RCA Records and released three singles: "You Gotta Get to My Heart", "I’d Say Yes", and "Can You Fool".

Highway 101

Main article: Highway 101

Carlson founded Highway 101 in 1986 with session musicians Jack Daniels, "Cactus" Moser, and Curtis Stone. The band was signed to Warner Bros. Records with Paul Worley producing. Carlson recorded three albums, a Greatest Hits package, and 12 singles for the group before leaving in 1991. Nikki Nelson replaced her as lead vocalist that year.

Solo

Carlson signed with Capitol Nashville in 1991 and released Love Goes On, which she produced with Jimmy Bowen. She also co-wrote seven of the album's ten tracks. The first single, "I’ll Start With You" charted at number 21, and "Not with My Heart You Don't" charted. A third single, "The Chain Just Broke", failed to chart, and Carlson exited Capitol.

Christmas Is For You, a Christmas album, was released in 1993 under a small independent label. Carlson produced this album and wrote two songs for the project, "Christmas is for You" and "Mrs. Santa Claus." Both songs were made into music videos, one where her daughter, Cali, appeared in the "Christmas Is For You" video.

Reunited with Highway 101

Marking Highway 101’s Tenth Year Anniversary, Carlson reunited with original members, Curtis Stone and Jack Daniels. They released two albums, Reunited and Latest & Greatest. "Where’d You Get Your Cheatin’ From" and "It Must be Love" were released as singles (1996 and 1997).

Present

In 2004, when her brother Gary, a Vietnam War veteran, was in the hospital, Carlson was inspired to write a song called ("Thank You Vets"). After writing the song, she came out of retirement and recorded a new album, penning 10 of the 12 songs. It's About Time (2005) was released under Pandean Records. She toured briefly after recording this album dedicated to our Vietnam Vets, doing mostly benefits for Military Veterans.

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details
Love Goes On	Release date: November 19, 1991 Label: Capitol Records
Christmas Is for You	Release date: September 13, 1994 Label: Majestic Records
It's About Time	Release date: June 13, 2006 Label: Pandean Records

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions		Album
		US Country	CAN Country
1983	"You Gotta Get to My Heart (Before You Lay a Hand on Me)"	65	—	N/A
1984	"I'd Say Yes"	67	—
	"Can You Fool"	72	—
1991	"I'll Start with You"	21	50	Love Goes On
1992	"Not with My Heart You Don't"	68	84
	"The Chain Just Broke"	—	—
2005	"Thank You Vets"	—	—	It's About Time
2006	"I Knew a Good Thing When I Had it"	—	—
	"That Old Glass Case"	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
1991	"I'll Start with You"	Steven Goldmann
1992	"The Chain Just Broke"
1993	"Christmas Is for You"
	"Mrs. Santa Claus"	Brent Carpenter
2006	"That Old Glass Case"