April 8, 2005

By Deborah Rent, Bedford-Sackville Daily News

John Jennings and RyLee Madison in Virginia

She calls Bedford home, but these days she’s just as comfortable in Nashville, Tennessee. RyLee Madison sounds exhausted, but downright happy when we catch up with her at a recording session in Virginia. She is there working with Mary Chapin Carpenters producer – a talented and respected man by the name of John Jennings. For the past few years, this hard-working singer/songwriter has been spending time in the country capitol writing and recording with some of the industries most respected people – folks who’ve worked with such legends as George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Lori Morgan, Terry Clark and the list goes on and on.

“This time around I landed here on March 11th and in 14 days I wrote 14 songs…and I was sick for two of those days,” she laughs. “I’ve been rushing to two and three song writing sessions a day. It’s been absolutely fantastic though. Oddly enough I feel at home. These people are so great at what they do, but there are no ego’s getting in the way, no one’s tries to intimidate you and most importantly I feel they support my work.”

She released her debut CD ‘the life of rylee’ back in 2002. From that disk she released six singles receiving national and international radio support. She is a two-time winner of the MIANS Music Awards , two-time nominee with the East Coast Music Awards, two-time Just Plain Folks Award nominee in the USA, and was listed the 7th most played female country artist on Canadian radio in 2003.

As anyone who’s worked in the music industry knows, making a living at it can be next to impossible. RyLee is no stranger to doing what needs to be done to be successful. You’re just as likely to find her performing at various Bedford Days events as you are to see her in a recording studio in Nashville.

“I just love to create. I am trained as an interior designer, but because of a twist of fate, got involved in the music industry instead,” she says. “I still love design work, I make quilts, I’ve written children’s stories and recently I started painting. That’s what song writing is about – creating something beautiful.”