Mindy Smith: with country music caught in a plethora of platitudes, this back-to-basics singer is coming to the emotional rescue

Interview, April, 2004 by Ray Rogers

She may not have big hair, speak with a Southern drawl, or employ an array of bells and whistles, but these days Mindy Smith is shining brighter than just about any rhinestone in Nashville. Having migrated to the country-music capital six years ago from her native Long Island, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter won critical raves last year for her haunting cover of Dolly Parton's classic "Jolene," off the Parton tribute album Just Because I'm a Woman (Sugar Hill).

Now, with the release of Smith's debut, One Moment More (Vanguard), national audiences are discovering what Nashville clubgoers have known for some time: that Smith is a talent to watch. Her songs about failed relationships ("Down in Flames"), her mother's death ("One Moment More"), and her own flagging ambitions ("Fighting for It All") are written with unwavering emotional honesty. In fact, Parton was so taken with Smith's rendition of "Jolene" that the country legend rerecorded the song with her for One Moment More. "I've been referring to the album as a diary of songs," says Smith. "I did not hold back."

The daughter of a minister and a church-choir director, Smith evokes a subtle spirituality in her work, singing about the time-honored country-music themes of desperation and resolve with a straight-to-the-jugular precision. "The words just fell onto the page," she says. "I had to start and finish the songs right then and there because I was so in the moment--no pun intended."

Ray Rogers is a frequent Interview contributor. Left: Mindy Smith wears clothes by HUGO HUGO BOSS. Cosmetics by SHU UEMURA. Hair products by BUMBLE AND BUMBLE. Styling: SHANNAN SHEPARD. Hair and makeup: DEBRA WINGO/Tri Star Mgmt. Fashion details page 181. Photo: JOSH ANDERSON.