Faith Hill & Oprah Winfrey Photo Credit: Oprah.com
Oprah took Faith all the way back to the days she first sang in the little Baptist Church in her hometown of Star, Mississippi. Faith said she was three or four and would stand in the front row of the pews.
She said she would hold the Hymnal upside down, belt out "Hallelujah!" and then sing as loud as she could.
When asked what she meant when Faith has said, "My life began when I met my husband," Faith answered:
It felt like home. He felt like a great old t-shirt that you never wanted to take off. You know that feeling? Or your best blanket. It just felt like home. And I couldn't stay away from him. I couldn't stop staring at him. And I can't stop staring at him.
And we have three daughters that make it even more wonderful.
Oprah said, "From the outside, you look like the Fairy Princess. Is that true?"
Faith responded, "Well, you know. I'm human."
Faith went on to focus on how blessed she is in life. She spoke about her healthy, happy and safe family. She spoke of being able to do what she loves to do.
However, like everyone, she admitted to getting stressed about the lengthy Laundry List of things she often has on her plate.
She said, "In my mind, and maybe this is part of being raised in Mississippi with my parents, if you wake up healthy, you wake up happy, and your family is safe and happy and healthy, then everything else pales in comparison."
"I really believe that," she added.
Faith told a memorable story about the way Tim McGraw spontaneously proposed to her in a trailer just as he was about to go on stage. She spoke of the keepsake they still have today from that moment.
Oprah, as only Oprah can do, probed into Faith's personal life further. She asked her about the one thing she sleeps in at night.
Faith, without hesitation, spoke of wearing Tim's white t-shirt when they're apart. She then said, "When we're together ... well, you know." She said this as she raised her eyebrows, nodded her head and crinkled her nose.
The audience went wild. And even Oprah ate it up.
You might call that one of those "priceless Oprah moments" when Oprah naturally brings out the unexpected best in someone.
Faith went onto to talk about being close to her husband's smell when he's away.
Oprah said, "That's the real deal when you just want to smell him."
Faith said, "Smell effects me. Completely. It's all about the smell."
The audience also went wild when Oprah talked about the number of fans who are dazzled by Faith's husband.
Oprah wanted to know how it feels when it gets "so crazy with the fans."
Faith responded, "I would think if they didn't clamor for him and go ga-ga-ga, that something would be really wrong because he's so gorgeous."
She went on to add:
The guys love him. They want him to be their buddy. And women just crave him.
But because he's such a great person and father and husband, I think that's also what makes him so attractive.
Oprah asked Faith to paint a picture of what life is like at home around 6:30pm.
Faith talked about having "hang out time" together after getting homework done right after school and eating dinner together at 5:30.
Baths, PJs and reading are done by 7:30, and her kids are asleep by 8 o'clock.
"If not," Faith said, "the next day starts out like..." Faith illustrated what it's like by shaking her hands and screaming a shrill scream.
She told Oprah that they do not have a live-in au pair. Tim and Faith put their kids to bed most nights.
Oprah set the stage for the "after 8 o'clock episode of Life with Tim & Faith."
Faith didn't hesitate to get into it. At first, she kidded about being passed out after getting the kids to bed. Putting kidding aside, she went on to say:
Talking about marriage and how you keep things going and how you keep things hot...
Honey, we come up with so many creative ways of making it happen because the kids are always around. And they just show up.
It's kind of like this exotic thing. There's the closet. There's the kitchen. There's the ... seriously.
What's the bed? It doesn't exist any more.
Turning to the crowd, she said, "You know what I'm talking about."
Oprah transitioned Faith from getting-it-on with her husband, to having a fourth child. With three daughters it was natural for Oprah to ask if Faith wanted to have a boy.
Faith told Oprah, "I would love to have a boy. But that's not my choice. I'm sure if I got pregnant again it would be two girls."
And that was just the first fifteen minutes of the show.
A Game of "Who Is?"
Beginning the second quarter of her show, Oprah played a little game she calls "Who Is?"
Oprah started with the question:
"Who is the most romantic?"
Faith answered, "Probably Tim."
When asked what the most romantic thing he's ever done, she answered, "Oh, he's done many."
Oprah responded, "Give us a clue and let us dream."
Faith recounted a story where he swept her away unwillingly from a Rod Stewart concert in Nashville, blindfolded her, and did not remove the blindfold until they got to their destination.
This was after their children were born.
Tim McGraw surprised her and took her to Key West - just the two of them.
Oprah called it "Fairy Tale Stuff." "That's the kind of stuff you read about but you don't know people who actually do that," Oprah said.
Oprah went on with her game.
She asked her who the disciplinarian is between the two of them.
She asked who is better with money.
She asked if they cook.
Homemade corn bread with dressing, butter beans, green beans are just a few items in Faith's repertoire. Meanwhile, Oprah admitted to being a cook herself. She also admitted to having about six things in her repertoire. Faith took credit for being best at baking and cooking real Southern food. Meanwhile, she gave credit to her husband from Louisiana for being a "phenomenal cook".
At the top of Tim McGraw's repertoire?
"Cooked Like Your Mama's" Chicken & Dumplings -- offered with a spoon or a fork.
With each of Faith's answers we got further insight into the very normal, very real personality who happens to have become a superstar musician, mom, now star-maker, and philanthropist.
At this point, we were not even half-way through the show and the crowd was clearly lovin' this "Mississippi Girl" more, every minute.
How Faith Hill Changed One Woman's Life Forever
Lori McKenna Photo Credit: Nancy Giroux
Oprah Winfrey shifted from Faith Hill to Lori McKenna. First and foremost, Lori is a mother-of-five (ages 16 months to 16 years). Together she, her husband Gene and their children live in a small Massachusetts town of 27,000 called Stoughton. McKenna's other passion in life is as a singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist.
For years, Lori pursued her musical passion playing songs for her children or in local clubs in and around Boston.
Faith Hill caught wind of her songs, after she had finished producing her latest album, and said, "Stop the Presses!"
Hill was so convicted by the lyrics and sound of Lori McKenna's songs that she went back into the studio to add three tracks written by McKenna.
Hill even ended up naming her new release "Fireflies" -- one of McKenna's songs.
Today -- thanks to Faith Hill's recognition of McKenna's great talent -- Lori is being compared to Lucinda Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Roseanne Cash, Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks) and Patty Griffin.
As fate would have it, or as Oprah inferred, as 'Faith would have it,' Lori's folksy voice combined with her rich lyrics brought the two musical moms together.
Lori McKenna Photo Credit: Oprah.com
Faith said, "I wanted to hear everything this woman has ever written."
Faith called Lori's music incredibly personal and real and human. Hill called McKenna's writing, "like none I'd ever heard before."
Oprah prompted Faith to further tell the story of "finding Lori" and then recording three of her songs.
Winfrey's cameras took us inside the McKenna family home in Massachusetts and the introduction on that day between Lori and Faith.
We got to watch the two artists perform in Nashville together.
And we were given a window into Lori's journey of songwriting and believing in herself while raising her family -- her first love.
"From the kitchen table to the top of the charts," Oprah said, "now that's music."
With that magical introduction, Oprah then invited Lori to the center of the stage.
Lori recounted how, after learning that Faith was going to record a number of her songs, she picked up her friends in her mini-van and headed to Target to buy the CD.
The most touching moment in Oprah's interview with Lori was when she picked up a guitar and sang a song that was inspired as a result of McKenna watching The Oprah Winfrey Show. The inspiration came from a book promoted on Oprah by Robert Coles called The Story Of Ruby Bridges. (A beautifully illustrated book, by the way, that will surely inspire any young child.)
Before Oprah's shu uemura custom-eyelashes floated away with her tears, Oprah said, "Stop it! Stop it right now!"
The audience gave Lori a standing ovation after getting a taste of who and what Faith Hill has come to love and appreciate already.
Together, Faith and Lori sang Fireflies - one of three hit songs on Faith's new CD. Lori played the guitar while Faith sang. It was a "Peter Pan, miracles, dream-come-true, firefly" moment.
Faith's interpretation of the song made us well up with tears. The relationship between Faith Hill and Lori McKenna was priceless. You could see that Faith truly admires Lori, and that the two have a real bond.
After their performance, Oprah spoke of her appearance on national television as a "full circle moment." Lori affirmed Oprah's comment by saying:
Especially with Fireflies because I wrote it to remind myself to keep going and dreaming. And every time I speak about it, I cry.
Getting choked up, Lori went on, as she turned to Faith:
She's made me cry more than any other woman in the whole world, and the way she interprets this song.
It is an enormous, perfect circle.
Faith Hill's Own Full Circle Moment
During the taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah had a surprise for Faith.
Now three quarters into the rich and rewarding hour-long program, Oprah said to her audience:
Just like Lori, Faith once had her own life-changing moment.
Faith doesn't know this, but we sent a crew to track down the woman who made Faith's dream come true.
Everyone watching was taken through a pre-taped retrospective of Faith Hill's beginning in Nashville.
Oprah narrated the piece, which spoke of the many jobs she held down and the faith she maintained that one day her dream of a singing career would take hold.
At the legendary Bluebird Cafe, Faith did a gig singing harmony for a friend. In the audience that night was a Warner Bros. music executive and starmaker in Nashville by the name of Martha Sharp.
Martha Sharp, considered "the godmother of Country music," knew in her heart that night that in this girl there was a star.
Until the first of September, Faith had not seen her mentor for years. However, Martha was there in Chicago to help tell Faith's wildly successful story and the significant role she had in it from the very start.
Since Sharp saw the star potential in Faith Hill, Hill has won four Grammys. Hill has won at the American Music Awards four times, the People's Choice Awards as Favorite Female Musical Performer in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. She's won three Country Music Awards, a dozen Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM), multiple Billboard and Billboard Video Awards. The list goes on.
Needless to say, Sharp can be proud.
Martha Sharp & Faith Hill Photo Credit: Oprah.com
When Oprah asked Faith what Martha means to her, Faith - with tears in her eyes - said:
She changed my life. This is a full circle moment for me. It's been years since we've seen each other.
She's a fighter. She's a strong woman. She's very independent, and for me to have Martha as my mentor, and my leader at the beginning of my career, it's just priceless. It really is.
I love you so much.
And thank you Oprah.
This is such an amazing day.
Oprah then turned to Martha and asked her what it's been like to see her rise like this.
Martha said:
It has been just so fabulous. She's so wonderful. How can you not be thrilled for the success that she has had, and the way that she has handled it.
Oprah affirmed Martha's statement by saying:
What's marvelous about her is that this woman is the real deal. I sit with people all the time. She is so normal, and understands that she is graced. So, I know it feels even more special when you do something for somebody and you know they really appreciate it.
Martha concurred. "Absolutely," she said.
"Absolutely. I understand," Oprah said before giving everyone a taste of just how special Faith Hill is.
Faith Hill completed "Faith Hill Day" on The Oprah Winfrey Show fittingly by singing her #1 hit.
Shaking her head in disbelief, as though her appearance on Oprah represented the launching pad for her career in front of a national public, Faith together with her dozen person band, treated us all to Breathe.
Magic was in the air that day. And we were all swept away.
Faith Hill's Upcoming Television Appearances
Faith is scheduled to appear on ABC, E! and CMT numerous times within the next two weeks. Her schedule, culminating with the 2005 Country Music Awards on October 16th, is as follows:
10/05/05 Good Morning America on ABC 7:00am ET
10/06/05 50 Steamiest Southern Stars on E! 9:00am ET
10/07/05 20 Sexiest Women on CMT 12:00am ET
10/07/05 40 Greatest Fashion Statements on CMT 8:00pm ET
10/07/05 40 Greatest Fashion Statements on CMT 9:00pm ET
10/08/05 40 Sexiest Videos on CMT 3:00pmM ET
10/08/05 20 Sexiest Women on CMT 5:30pm ET
10/16/05 2005 CMT Music Awards on CMT 8:00pm ET
Faith has asked McKenna to appear with her on Hill's upcoming Thanksgiving TV special.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Records (the same label Hill records with) has signed McKenna to her own contract.
On September 27th, McKenna's acclaimed album "Bittertown" was re-released.
Her first self-produced album, "Paper Wings and Halo" won the coveted New Artist of the Year award from folk music radio station WUMB-FM in 1998. Two years later, WUMB listeners voted "Paper Wings & Halo" their 20th favorite folk album of all time.
McKenna also released "Pieces of Me" in 2001 which features the original version of "Fireflies."
In 2003, "The Kitchen Tapes" came out.
Hill's husband once said, "You can't know Faith and not fall in love with her."
After hearing this articulate, very real person speak and share her soul with words as well as her music, McGraw's statement came to life.
On Oprah's site, one of Faith's fans wrote:
I think it is safe to say that most people who admire Faith Hill do because of the way she makes us feel about ourselves. Faith Hill represents a beauty that goes beyond the surface, Faith simply shows us that you can be gorgeous as well as a good mom, wife, friend and all around person. We live in a world where suddenly everything about ourselves can be altered but we all look at Faith and know that she is real, which is something to be very proud of. One of the reasons I admire Faith the way I do is because she makes it okay to be completely happy being the stay-at-home mom and wife. I talk as though I know her, which I don't, but Faith will always be a role model to me.
To learn more about Faith Hill, her music and her charitable efforts, please go to:
FaithHill.com
For further details and additional photos on Hill and McKenna's appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show go to:
www.Oprah.com
For a $7 hard copy transcript or $6 downloadable transcript of "Faith Hill Day on The Oprah Winfrey Show" please go to:
TapesandTranscripts.Oprah.com
Congratulations Faith and Lori on the success of Fireflies!!
Inspire & Be Inspired.
Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "being taught to dream" living!
~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC
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