Coordinates: 50°40′42″N 1°06′26″W / 50.678255°N 1.107358°W / 50.678255; -1.107358

Hillway
Hillway  Hillway shown within the Isle of Wight
OS grid reference	SZ633868
Unitary authority	Isle of Wight
Ceremonial county	Isle of Wight
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BEMBRIDGE
Postcode district	PO35
Dialling code	01983
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Isle of Wight
Ambulance	Isle of Wight
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Isle of Wight
List of places: UK • England • Isle of Wight

Hillway is a settlement on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.

The hamlet lies near to the south-east coast of the island, and is located near to the larger settlement of Bembridge. Hillway is the location of the Britten-Norman aircraft factory and Bembridge Airport, and is approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south-east of Newport.

This Isle of Wight location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Wayne Shorter
Convocation Hall, Toronto, Nov. 27, 1977. Photo courtesy of Jean-Luc Ourlin
Background information
Born	(1933-08-25) August 25, 1933 (age 78) Newark, New Jersey, United States
Genres	Modal jazz, crossover jazz, post-bop, hard bop, jazz fusion, Third Stream
Occupations	Musician, composer
Instruments	Saxophone
Years active	1958–present
Labels	Blue Note, Columbia, Verve
Associated acts	Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Weather Report

Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.

He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer,^[1] and many of his compositions have become standards. Shorter's output has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise and various commendations, including multiple Grammy Awards.^[2]

Shorter first came to wide prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he went on to join Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, and from there he co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Shorter was born in Newark, New Jersey, and attended Newark Arts High School^[3] from which he graduated in 1952. He loved music, being encouraged by his father to take up the saxophone as a teenager (his brother Alan became a trumpeter). After graduating from New York University in 1956, Shorter spent two years in the U.S. Army, during which time he played briefly with Horace Silver. After his discharge from the army, he played with Maynard Ferguson. It was in his youth that Shorter was given the nickname '"Mr. Gone", which would later become an album title for Weather Report.^[4]

In 1959, Shorter joined Art Blakey. He stayed with Blakey for five years, and eventually became musical director for his group.

With Miles Davis (1964–1970)[link]

When John Coltrane finally left Miles Davis' band in 1960 to pursue his own group (after previously trying to leave in 1959), Coltrane proposed Wayne Shorter as a replacement but Shorter was unavailable and Davis went with Sonny Stitt on tenor followed by a revolving door of Hank Mobley, George Coleman, and Sam Rivers. In 1964, Miles Davis persuaded Shorter to leave Blakey and join his quintet alongside Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams.

Miles's so-called Second Great Quintet (to distinguish it from the quintet with Coltrane) that included Hancock and Shorter has frequently been cited by musicians and critics as one of the most influential groups in the history of jazz, and Shorter's compositions are a primary reason. He composed extensively for Miles Davis (e.g. "Prince of Darkness", "E.S.P.", "Footprints", "Sanctuary", "Nefertiti", and many others); on some albums, he provided half of the compositions, typically hard-bop workouts with spaced-out long melody lines above the beat.

Herbie Hancock said of Shorter's tenure in the group, "The master writer to me, in that group, was Wayne Shorter. He still is a master. Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn't get changed."^{[citation needed]} Davis said, "Wayne is a real composer. He writes scores, write the parts for everybody just as he wants them to sound... Wayne also brought in a kind of curiosity about working with musical rules. If they didn't work, then he broke them, but with musical sense; he understood that freedom in music was the ability to know the rules in order to bend them to your own satisfaction and taste."^[5]

Shorter remained in Davis's band after the breakup of the quintet in 1968, playing on early jazz fusion recordings including In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew (both 1969). His last live dates and studio recordings with Davis were in 1970.

Until 1968, he played tenor saxophone exclusively. The final album on which he played tenor in the regular sequence of Davis albums was Filles de Kilimanjaro. In 1969, he played the soprano saxophone on the Davis album In a Silent Way and on his own Super Nova (recorded with then-current Davis sidemen Chick Corea and John McLaughlin). When performing live with Miles Davis, and on recordings from summer 1969 to early spring 1970, he played both soprano and tenor saxophones; by the early 1970s, however, he chiefly played soprano.

Solo Blue Note recordings[link]

Simultaneous with his time in the Miles Davis quintet, Shorter recorded several albums for Blue Note Records, featuring almost exclusively his own compositions, with a variety of line-ups, quartets and larger groups including Blue Note favourites such as Freddie Hubbard. His first Blue Note album (of nine in total) was Night Dreamer, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in 1964 with Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones.

JuJu and Speak No Evil are well known recordings from this era. Shorter's compositions on these albums are notable for their use of^{[original research?]}:

• pentatonic melodies harmonised with pedal points and complex harmonic relationships;
• structured solos that reflect the composition's melody as much as its harmony;
• long rests as an integral part of the music, in contrast with other, more effusive, players of the time such as John Coltrane.

The later album The All Seeing Eye was a free-jazz workout with a larger group, while Adam's Apple of 1966 was back to carefully constructed melodies by Shorter leading a quartet. Then a sextet again in the following year for Schizophrenia with his Miles Davis band mates Hancock and Carter plus trombonist Curtis Fuller, alto saxophonist/flautist James Spaulding and strong rhythms by drummer Joe Chambers. These albums have recently been remastered by Rudy Van Gelder.

Shorter also recorded occasionally as a sideman (again, mainly for Blue Note) with Donald Byrd, McCoy Tyner, Grachan Moncur III, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, and bandmates Hancock and Williams.

Weather Report (1971–1985)[link]

Shorter with Weather Report in Amsterdam, in 1980

Following the release of Odyssey of Iska in 1970, Shorter formed the fusion group Weather Report with Miles Davis veteran keyboardist Joe Zawinul. The other original members were bassist Miroslav Vitous, percussionist Airto Moreira, and drummer Alphonse Mouzon. After Vitous' departure in 1973, Shorter and Zawinul co-led the group until the band's break-up in late 1985. A variety of excellent musicians that would make up Weather Report alumni over the years (most notably the revolutionary bassist Jaco Pastorius) helped the band produce many high quality recordings in diverse styles through the years, with funk, bebop, Latin jazz, ethnic music, and futurism being the most prevalent denominators.

Solo[link]

Shorter also recorded critically acclaimed albums as a bandleader, notably Native Dancer, which featured his Miles Davis band-mate Herbie Hancock and Brazilian composer and vocalist Milton Nascimento. Shorter was to work with both of these musicians again later.

On the title track of Steely Dan's 1977 album Aja, he played a solo that moved the critic writing the album's liner notes to call it "suitable for framing". Concurrently, in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, he toured in the V.S.O.P. quintet. This group was a revival of the 1960s Miles Davis quintet, except that Freddie Hubbard filled the trumpet chair instead of Miles. Shorter appeared with the same former Davis bandmates on the Carlos Santana double LP The Swing of Delight, for which he also composed a number of pieces.

From 1977 through 2002, he appeared on ten Joni Mitchell studio albums, gaining him a wider audience.

Shorter performing. Photo by Tom Beetz.

Recent career[link]

After leaving Weather Report, Shorter continued to record and lead groups in jazz fusion styles, including touring in 1988 with guitarist Carlos Santana, who appeared on This is This!, the last Weather Report disc. In 1989, he contributed to a hit on the rock charts, playing the sax solo on Don Henley's song "The End of the Innocence" and also produced the album Pilar by the Portuguese singer-songwriter Pilar Homem de Melo. He has also maintained an occasional working relationship with Herbie Hancock, including a tribute album recorded shortly after Davis's death with Hancock, Carter, Williams and Wallace Roney. He continued to appear on Joni Mitchell's records in the 1990s. Shorter's distinctive sound is also apparent in the soundtrack for the Harrison Ford film The Fugitive, released in 1993.

In 1995, Shorter released the album High Life, his first solo recording for seven years. It was also his debut as a leader for Verve Records. Shorter composed all the compositions on the album and co-produced it with the bassist Marcus Miller. High Life received the Grammy Award for best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1997.

Shorter worked with Hancock once again in 1997, on the much acclaimed and heralded album 1+1. The song "Aung San Suu Kyi" (named for the Burmese pro-democracy activist) won both Hancock and Shorter a Grammy Award.

In 2009, he was announced as one of the headline acts at the Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco.

Quartet[link]

The Wayne Shorter Quartet at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milan, 2010

Shorter formed his current band in 2000, the first permanent acoustic group under his leadership, a quartet with young musicians, pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade, playing his own complex compositions, many of them reworkings of tunes from his substantial portfolio going back to the 1960s. Two albums of live recordings featuring this quartet have been released, Footprints Live! (2002) and Beyond the Sound Barrier (2005). The quartet has received great acclaim from fans and critics, especially for the strength of Shorter's tenor saxophone playing. The Shorter biography Footprints: The Life and Work of Wayne Shorter by journalist Michelle Mercer contains an insight into the working life of these musicians as well as insight into Shorter's life, thoughts and Buddhist beliefs.^[6] Beyond the Sound Barrier received the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album.

Shorter's 2003 album Alegría (his first studio album for ten years, since High Life) received the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album; it features the quartet with a host of other musicians, including pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and former Weather Report percussionist Alex Acuña. Shorter's compositions, some new, some reworked from his Miles Davis period, feature the complex Latin rhythms that Shorter specialised in during his Weather Report days.

Personal life[link]

Shorter married Teruka (Irene) Nakagami, in the 1960s; they met in 1961 and later had a child, Miyako.^[7] Some of his compositions are copyrighted as "Miyako Music". Shorter dedicated some pieces to his daughter: "Miyako" and "Infant Eyes". The couple separated in 1964.^[8]

Shorter met Ana Maria in 1964 and they were married in 1970.^[8] In 1986, their daughter Iska died of a grand mal seizure at age 14.^[1] Ana Maria and the couple's niece Dalila were both killed in 1996 on TWA Flight 800 while en route to see him in Italy. Dalila was also the daughter of the jazz vocalist Jon Lucien who was married to Shorter's sister.^[8] Shorter married Carolina Dos Santos, a close friend of Ana Maria, in 1999. He is a Nichiren Buddhist and a member of Sōka Gakkai.^[8]

Discography[link]

Awards[link]

• Down Beat Poll Winner New Star Saxophonist (1962)
• Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for Weather Report's 8:30 (1979)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Dexter Gordon's Call Sheet Blues (1987)
• Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for A Tribute to Miles (1994)
• Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for High Life (1996)
• Miles Davis Award Wayne Shorter was granted the Miles Davis Award by the Montreal International Jazz Festival. (1996)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Aung San Suu Kyi (1997)
• NEA Jazz Masters (1998)
• Honorary Doctorate of Music (1999; Berklee College of Music)
• Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for In Walked Wayne (1999)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for Sacajawea (2003)
• Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for Alegría (2003)
• Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for Beyond The Sound Barrier (2005)
• Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award Small Ensemble Group of the Year to Wayne Shorter Quartet (2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wayne Shorter

Judith Hill
Judith Hill performing at the 2011 International Women of Courage ceremony
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Pop, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2007–present
Website	www.judithhillmusic.com

Judith Hill is an American singer born in Los Angeles, California.

Biography[link]

Hill's mother is a pianist from Tokyo who met Hill's father in a funk band in the 1970s. Together they raised Judith in a very musical household. She is of both Japanese and Black descent.

Career[link]

After getting a degree in music composition from Biola University in southern California, Hill went to France in 2007 to perform with the French singer Michel Polnareff. She began a career as a singer-songwriter when she returned to the United States. In 2009, she was selected as one of Michael Jackson's back-up singers for his planned comeback This Is It concerts.

Michael Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, caused the tour to be cancelled. Along with the rest of the This Is It cast members, she performed at Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. She attracted global attention when she sang the lead on the song "Heal the World", which was one of the climactic moments of the service. Approximately one billion people worldwide are believed to have viewed her performance.^[1][2]

She also released a tribute to Jackson, "I Will Always Be Missing You", named after her duet with Jackson "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in the to-be This Is It concert. It was given as a free download from her website starting late 2009, and was released on iTunes on January 26, 2010 (the same day as the This Is It DVD release) - with all proceeds going to Childhelp US.

Also, Hill has collaborated with America's Got Talent winner Landau Eugene Murphy for his debut album, That's Life.

A number of Hill's originally composed ballads are featured in director Spike Lee's upcoming film Red Hook Summer, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. On Hill's discovery, Lee recently told Rolling Stone: "She's a phenomenal talent. She can sing with the best of them."^[3]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• "I Will Always Be Missing You" (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Judith Hill Music
• Judith Hill on Myspace
• Interview with Entertainment Tonight - July 9, 2009
• Reflections On Media: Judith Hill - The Amazing Singer From The Michael Jackson Memorial
• Judith Hill Profile

Faith Hill
Singing in a tribute concert for America's armed forces for ABC's Good Morning America
Background information
Birth name	Audrey Faith Perry
Born	(1967-09-21) September 21, 1967 (age 44) Ridgeland, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Country, country pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, producer, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Warner Bros. Nashville
Associated acts	Tim McGraw, Josh Groban, Tony Bennett
Website	www.faithhill.com

Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry; September 21, 1967) is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S. Country charts.

Hill has been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time.^[1] In 2001, she was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal. In 2008, Hill released her first Christmas album, titled Joy to the World. In 2009 Billboard named her as the #1 Adult Contemporary artist of the decade 2000-2009. Hill was ranked the 39th best artist of the 2000-10 decade by Billboard.^[2]

Early life and career start[link]

Hill was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi, north of Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant, and named Audrey Faith Perry. She was raised in the nearby town of Star, 25 miles outside of Jackson, Mississippi.^[3] Her adoptive parents raised their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout Christian environment.^[4]

Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven.^[5] In 1976, a few days before her 9th birthday, she attended a concert by Elvis Presley at the State Fair Coliseum, in Jackson, which impressed her deeply. By the time she was a teenager, Hill was a regular performer at area churches, even those not in her own Baptist denomination.^[6] At 17, Hill formed a band that played in local rodeos. She briefly attended college at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi,where she served with a group called the Hinds Connection (a student recruiting and public relations group). At times, she sang for prisoners at the Hinds County Jail, her song of choice being "Amazing Grace.".^[7] At age 19 she quit school to move to Nashville and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, Hill auditioned to be a backup singer for Reba McEntire, but failed to secure the job.^[4] After a stint selling T-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm.^[5] She also worked at McDonald's but it didn't go well. "Fries, burgers, cash register - I did it all, I hated it," she has said.^[8]

In 1988 she married music publishing executive Daniel Hill, who is not to be confused with Canadian musician Dan Hill.^[9]

Two years later, she began a search for her biological mother, whom she eventually met and with whom she corresponded until her mother's death.^[10]

A co-worker heard Hill singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm.^[5] She supplemented this work by singing backup vocals for songwriter Gary Burr, who often performed his new songs at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. During one of those performances, Bob Saporiti, an executive from Warner Bros. Records was in the audience, and, impressed with Hill's voice, began the process of signing her to a recording contract.^[4]

Shortly after the release of her album, Hill found her marriage falling apart. She and Daniel Hill divorced in 1994.^[10]

Music career[link]

1993–1997: Country success[link]

Hill's debut album was Take Me as I Am (1993); sales were strong, buoyed by the chart success of "Wild One". Hill became the first female country singer in 30 years to hold Billboard's number one position for four consecutive weeks when "Wild One" managed the feat in 1994.^[11] Her version of "Piece of My Heart", also went to the top of the country charts in 1994.^[5] The album sold a total of 3 million copies.^[5] Other singles from the album include "Take Me as I Am".

The recording of Faith's second album was delayed by surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel on her vocal cords. It Matters to Me finally appeared in 1995 and was another success, with the title track becoming her fourth number-one country single. Several other top 10 singles followed, and more than 3 million copies of the album were sold.^[5] The fifth single from the album, "I Can't Do That Anymore", was written by country music artist Alan Jackson. Other singles from the album include "You Can't Lose Me", "Someone Else's Dream", and "Let's Go to Vegas"

In spring 1996, Hill began the Spontaneous Combustion Tour with country singer Tim McGraw. At that time, Hill had recently become engaged to her former producer, Scott Hendricks, and McGraw had recently broken an engagement. McGraw and Hill were quickly attracted to each other and began an affair. After discovering that Hill was pregnant with their first child, the couple married on October 6, 1996. The couple have three daughters together: Gracie Katherine (b. 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (b. 1998) and Audrey Caroline (b. 2001). Since their marriage, Hill and McGraw have endeavored never to be apart for more than three consecutive days.^[4]

After the release of It Matters to Me, Hill took a three-year break from recording to give herself a rest from four years of touring and to begin a family with McGraw. During her break, she joined forces with her husband for their first duet, "It's Your Love".^[12] The song stayed at number one for six weeks,^[5] and won awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Hill has remarked that sometimes when they perform the song together, "it [doesn't] feel like anybody else was really watching."^[12]

1998–2003: Pop crossover breakthrough[link]

She reentered the music business in 1998 with Faith.^[12] The album showcased her progression toward a more mainstream, pop-oriented sound, although it retained some country sound. "This Kiss" became a number one country hit, and was the first of her singles to place on the pop charts, peaking at number seven. More than six million copies of the album were sold. The album also delivered several other hits including another duet with McGraw, "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me", "Let Me Let Go" and "The Secret Of Life".^[5]

To follow up this newfound success, Hill immediately released Breathe, which debuted at the top of the Billboard Country and all genre charts, ahead of albums by Mariah Carey and Savage Garden.^[13] Although the album had few overt country sounds, it "complement[ed] her vocal strengths."^[14] For the first time, the album consisted solely of songs about love and did not venture into the more somber territory that her previous albums had touched.^[14] The title track, "Breathe", reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[13] "The Way You Love Me" hit the top 10 as well, topping out at number six on the charts. The album won Hill three Grammy Awards including Best Country Album, Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "Let's Make Love" featuring Tim McGraw and Best Country Female Vocal Performance for "Breathe."^[15] It also marked a step away from her girl-next-door image, as the videos and promotional pictures all portrayed a much sexier image. Breathe has sold almost 10 million copies worldwide.^[16]

2000 was an especially busy year for Hill. Besides a successful tour with her husband, Hill was featured in a CBS television special, VH1's Behind the Music, VH1 Divas 2000, and the Lifetime cable channel's Intimate Portraits series.^[13] She signed an endorsement deal with CoverGirl makeup,^[5] performed at the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards, appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, and performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl.^[13] Hill was also named to Mr. Blackwell's 10-best dressed women of 2000, the only singer listed among actresses and other celebrities. Hill and McGraw also embarked on their first Soul2Soul tour, the "Soul2Soul Tour 2000."^[17]

Musically, in 2000 Hill recorded a song for the movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, entitled "Where Are You Christmas." The song also appeared on the pop and country charts. Hill's success on the pop charts disturbed some country music insiders, who questioned whether she was trying to dismiss her country roots and move into the pop genre. Despite the grumbling, Hill won the CMA Female Vocalist of The Year Award, and in her acceptance speech announced, "I love this business and I love this industry... and my heart is here."^[13]

In 2001, Hill recorded a song for the Pearl Harbor soundtrack. "There You'll Be" also appeared on the album There You'll Be: The Best Of Faith Hill, an international greatest hits album. The album featured dance mixes of "Breathe" and "The Way You Love Me" along with alternate versions of "Piece Of My Heart" and "Let Me Let Go."

In 2002, Hill released her new album with a more pop-oriented sound, Cry. The album "spotlight[ed] her impressive set of pipes," but also marked the completion of her "transformation into a pop diva," containing few nods to her country roots. Though the album debuted at number one on Billboard magazine's pop and country album charts,^[5] and Hill made her debut as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, the album's singles (including the title track "Cry", written and originally performed by Angie Aparo) received much less radio airplay than her previous smashes.^[18] The album however, did win a Grammy Award and 3.7 million copies have been sold worldwide.^[15]

Hill's 2002 song "Baby You Belong" off her Cry album was used as the theme song for the movie Lilo & Stitch. The music video featured clips from the movie as well as performance clips.

2005–2006: Return to country[link]

In concert in Dallas on the Soul2Soul II Tour, July 29, 2006.

In 2005, Hill returned with her new country album, Fireflies. The CD debuted on top of the Billboard Country and all genre album charts, placing her among only a handful of artists to have three consecutive albums debut at number one on both charts.^[19] The debut single, "Mississippi Girl", became Hill's highest-debuting single. The song was written specifically for her by John Rich (of Big and Rich) and Adam Shoenfield of MuzikMafia, and tells the abbreviated story of her life. Hill recorded two other songs by Rich, "Sunshine and Summertime" and "Like We Never Loved at All", both of which became successful singles.^[20] The title track, "Stealing Kisses" and "If You Ask" were written by artist Lori McKenna and also appear on McKenna's albums. The album marked a return to Hill's country roots and succeeded in reestablishing her place on country radio.^[21]

In 2006, after a six-year break from touring following the birth of her youngest daughter,^[4] Hill and husband Tim McGraw embarked on their Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. The tour became the highest grossing country music tour ever with a gross of $90 million.^[1][22] It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigious Pollstar, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones.

2007–present: The Hits, Joy to the World and future projects[link]

In 2007, Hill started work on her first domestic greatest hits package, titled The Hits, which was released on October 2. It contains two new tracks, "Lost" and "Red Umbrella", as well as 13 additional tracks. The album also features hits covering her entire career from 1993–2005. Included with the 2-Disc Special-Edition of The Hits is a DVD of 11 of Hill's music videos. The DVD substitutes the Tim McGraw duet "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me" for their "I Need You" duet on the CD.^[23]

She's also featured on husband Tim McGraw's 2007 album Let It Go. She sings two duets with him, "I Need You" and "Shotgun Rider." Both songs were sung at the couple's critically acclaimed Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. She and Tim also did an encore of their Soul2Soul II Tour; Soul2Soul 2007 began in June and ran through August. The song I Need You has been nominated twice at the 2008 Grammy Awards for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and Best Country Song. The show took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 10, 2008 but the song didn't win.

In 2007 Hill took over as the signature voice of NFL on NBC's Sunday Night Football, singing the theme song about which the show's producer said:^[24]

It's not often that you get the opportunity to have a mega-star like Faith Hill perform the signature open to your show.

—NBC Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli, MSNBC

In September 2008, Hill issued her first Christmas album, titled Joy to the World. The compilation was given positive reviews, including about.com, which gave the album four and a half out of five stars, calling the album, "a great collection of classic Christmas songs." Hill continually worked on the album two years prior to its official release. The album included one new track, "A Baby Changes Everything", which was released as the album's only single in late 2008.^[25] The song debuted at #24 on Billboard's AC chart, and quickly rose to #1, becoming Hill's fourth number one on that chart.

On February 1, 2009 Hill performed "America the Beautiful" at the Super Bowl XLIII pregame show. The other performers at the pregame show were Jennifer Hudson and Journey, and Bruce Springsteen performed at the Halftime show.^[26]

In October 2010, Hill contributed to the Country Strong soundtrack. On it, she recorded a song titled 'Give In To Me'. Hill also appears on Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute To Loretta Lynn, on which she performs "Love Is The Foundation." Hill also contributed her vocals on the Ryan Tedder penned song "All I Ever Wanted" for the 2010 feature film Life As We Know It . The song was used in trailers to promote the film and also appeared during the end credits of the film.

Brendan O'Brien, known for producing projects for Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Rage Against the Machine, is working with Hill and producing her next album, set for release in 2011.^[27] Hill will also be entering the studio with pop producer Brian Kennedy in January 2011 to complete the album.

In March 2011 Hill returned to the studio for another round of recording. "I would like to have a record out," Hill tells Billboard.com, "but it hasn't been the right thing yet. I don't want it to be just another record. It's a lot of work to support a record, so I just want it to be... really great. I want it to represent where I am as a woman. I don't want it to be fake. I want it to be authentic and real."^[28] In mid-2011 Hill recorded a duet with George Strait on the song A Showman’s Life which can be heard on Strait's new album Here For A Good Time.

Hill performed her new single "Come Home", on the CMA Awards on November 9, 2011. Faith's seventh album, rumored to be titled "Illusion" is set for release in the fall of 2012. Tracks confirmed for the album include, "Illusion", "Flower" and "600 Years".

Acting career[link]

In 1995 Hill guest starred in an episode of Touched by an Angel,.^[29] Hill won the role of Julia Compton Moore, the wife of LTC Hal Moore, played by Mel Gibson, in the 2002 movie "We Were Soldiers" but ultimately left the film, giving the role to Madeline Stowe.^[8] Her film debut was in the summer of 2004, when Hill co-starred with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick and Glenn Close in director Frank Oz's remake of the 1975 thriller The Stepford Wives.^[30] Although the film earned over $101 million, it was savaged by critics^{[31] [32][33]} and Hill has not made another acting appearance since. While hers was a small part, she provided one of the more talked about scenes with a scream that made Tim McGraw proud.^[8]

Fragrance[link]

In October 2009, Hill released her first fragrance titled Faith Hill Parfums. The fragrance is a blend of Southern Magnolia, Jasmine and Peach Pears. In 2010, Hill released her second fragrance, titled True.

Philanthropy[link]

Hill used her 1999 tour to support a national children's book drive, The Faith Hill Family Literacy Project. The charity was inspired by Faith's father, who faced challenges with literacy. Fans who donated books at one of her concerts were entered into a drawing to meet her personally after the show.^[34] The effort resulted in the donation of 35,000 children's books, which were distributed to hospitals, schools, libraries, and daycare centers in 40 cities across the United States.^[35]

In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Hill and her husband, Tim McGraw, who was raised in Louisiana, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm.^[36] Later in the year the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services in the event of a natural disaster or for desperate personal circumstances. In a special gesture, the couple also donated profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief.^[37]

In June 2010, Hill, along with her husband, Tim McGraw organized Nashville Rising, a benefit concert aimed to raise $2 million for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in response to the flood in early May that killed 22 people and caused $2 billion in damage.^[38]

Discography[link]

Grammy Awards[link]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Hill has won 5 awards from 15 nominations

Other Awards[link]

References[link]