"I would say a big part of it was getting to sing with The Oak Ridge
Boys," said Sarah, who met the legendary country group in 2012. "We did
actually send a little CD with a couple videos, like a National Anthem,
and one of the videos was me getting to sing with The Oak Ridge Boys.
And I thin kthat was a big sign that they were like, 'Ah, she's kind of,
makes her a little more legit that The Oak Ridge Boys got to pull her
up and let her sing acapella on their stage.' So I think that was a big
part of all of them saying yes to it and it just kind of, you know, it
rolled on. It just kept happening. They just kept coming and coming and
it was very overwhelming. And I mean I never expected it to go like
that."Sarah's debut album, "Bridges," features duets with their original performers including Parton and Nelson on their well-known country songs. It also includes one of Ray Price's final recordings before he died last year.
"I wouldn't say like intimidated, I was just really nervous!" said Sarah about working with Parton. "I grew up listening to Dolly and a lot of her music and watching her on '9 to 5,' and like, a lot of her movies, and so I knew her so well. And for her to be the first one on the project, too, was an absolute blessing. It was mind-blowing, too, because I'm going to the studio and I'm like, 'I'm about to meet Dolly Parton.' Like, this is crazy!"
Sarah was able to pull off the dream list of collaborators after meeting country singer-songwriter Freddy Powers, a close friend of Nelson and Haggard. Sarah, a Texas native, had performed throughout the Texas Opry circuit for years, mostly in Galveston and around Houston. She originally planned to record an album of covers from top Texas-based country singers.
"I've watched Merle perform so many times," said Sarah, who hit the road with Haggard this month for a few dates. "I've gotten to meet him on his bus and things like that and just get to talk to him. And he's known for his shows, I mean he tours all the time. And so to get to grace the stage with him I think is going to be just an overwhelming feeling. I don't know what it's going to feel like, but I'm really excited for it!"
Sarah says she's also a big fan of country contemporaries like Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert, as well as Katy Perry and other pop stars.
But none of them measure up to recording a duet with Willie Nelson.
"I'm a huge fan of Willie because of his uniqueness, the way he sings," she said. "I love when artists come out and they're very unique. Willie has always been unique and whenever I got to go, it was at his July Fourth picnic. That is a huge thing and I've known about it for years. So when he invited me on stage with him, I'm like, not even just to sing for an opening act like during the day or anything like that, it was at night on his stage with him, and I was like, I was hyper-ventilating. I really was beforehand. My mom had to calm me down. I was like, 'I can't breathe right now!' I'm going to sing 'Crazy,' which is one of my favorite songs, the firs traditional country song I ever learned, with the man who wrote it for Patsy Cline. Who knew Patsy Cline! It was very exciting!"
"Bridges" is on sale now.
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