Deana Carter had no plans to leave the Shelby County Fair Kickoff Concert without performing her biggest hit, “Strawberry Wine.”
As she thanked those in attendance for her nearly 90-minute concert Monday night at the fairgrounds grandstand, a few simple strums on her guitar brought a good portion of the crowd to their feet to sing along.
Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, oh bittersweet
The green on the vine like strawberry wine
The song was Carter’s first single off her debut album, “Did I Shave My Legs For This?” Released in August of 1996, it was named Song of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards in 1997.
Twenty-six years later it still resonates of a simpler time when the emotions of first love overcame a young girl.
“It’s amazing,” said Carter after the performance Monday. “It’s like our ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ I joked about ‘Hotel California’ in the show. For country to have a sort of anthem, it’s really what it is because it takes everybody to a place in their life that is real and true.
“We all went through our first experiences with things. I just sang it from an honest place of what I experienced. And it was so personal to me, and to see it be so personal to everybody else is really and honor and a privilege. I never dreamed I would have a song like that. Being from Nashville, I know how rare that is.”
Raised in Nashville, Carter, the daughter of singer Fred Carter Jr., tried to ignore her country music roots by enrolling in the University of Tennessee to major in rehabilitation therapy.
“I went to college and worked in a hospital and I did some other things but it just pulled at my heart,” said Carter. “Songwriting is really where it started.”
Although she did not write Strawberry Wine, she connected with it immediately despite other artists passing on the option to record the song.
Carter’s debut album sold over five million copies and changed her life forever. She has since released six more albums for both recognizable and independent labels.
Her visit to Shelbyville was the fifth stop on her 2023 Barefoot Again Tour that will take her across the country from New York and New Jersey to Hawaii. The tour includes a stop at the Grand Ole Opry in her hometown on Aug. 25, one day before she performs at the Red, White, & Brauen Music Fest in Jasper, Indiana.
While performing is still a passion, Carter has found working with new artists and passing on her knowledge and experience to be rewarding.
“The new artists I get to write with and work with that were fans, and mentoring new artists has been really nice,” she said. “It’s a great fulfillment for me there. And seeing them just take off and do so well just warms my heart. That keeps me doing it.”
The Shelby County Fair Board was searching for the right artist to bring to the 174th annual county fair. With Carter, the board got a storyteller and musician that truly entertained the crowd on a beautiful night in Shelbyville.
“First of all, the people are just so kind in town and take care of us,” said Carter. “Everybody coming out and just seeing the love and the memories and everyone connecting to the music from some point in their life.
“We are at a point now doing this long enough where you really do have that connection with people. It’s just so special to be out and doing this long enough that its staying power and it means something to people.”
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