Born in Princeton, New Jersey, on February 21, 1958, Mary Chapin Carpenter grew
up in Washington D.C., where she listened mainly to jazz and opera. As a
teenager, she developed a passion for the folk music of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan
and Judy Collins, and began performing in bars while still attending university.
Her meeting with guitarist John Jennings, who became her accompanist, encouraged
her to sing her own compositions. Signed to the Columbia label, Mary Chapin
Carpenter recorded her first album, Hometown Girl, released in 1987. Notoriety
soon followed with State of the Hea...