VOA标准英语2011--Anna Wilson Marries Country and Pop on '

Anna Wilson Marries Country and Pop on 'Countrypolitan Duets'

Country meets pop and jazz on a new album by singer-songwriter Anna Wilson.
Anna Wilson taps into Nashville's so-called "Countrypolitan" era with the help of past and present country stars and two contemporary jazz giants. She gives a big band treatment to "Walkin' After Midnight," featuring the Grammy-winning trio Lady Antebellum.
Wilson explains that Countrypolitan is rooted in "The Nashville Sound," a style introduced in the late 1950s by artists like Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline and Eddie Arnold.
"The reason it was called ‘The Nashville Sound' was because these artists decided¹ to bring these lush string arrangements and more pop sensibilities into their country recordings," explains. "Because they were known as country artists, so that they could get more mainstream² airplay on the radio, alongside guys like Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mel Torme, all those guys which were the pop music of the day back then. And so a lot of people criticized country artists for going too pop, kind of abandoning their country roots. But what they really did was they opened up country music to the rest of the world."
Anna is no stranger to Nashville, having written songs for Reba McEntire, Brooks³ & Dunn and Lee Ann Womack. But, as Anna recalls, jazz was her first love, long before she caught the country music bug⁴.
"I grew up on the Great American Songbook and all the great jazz and Broadway standards and stuff like that," she says. "But, I also started getting into country music in high school and really loved it. That was back when country was really having its big explosion in the late-‘80s, early-‘90s. When, of course, it came time for me to graduate college I was caught up in all of that. So I said, ‘I'm going to go to Nashville.'"
On Countrypolitan Duets, Anna Wilson and Matt Giraud sing Eddy⁵ Arnold's "You Don't Know Me." Also featured on the album are country stars Keith Urban, Billy Dean, Connie Smith and Kenny Rodgers, as well as jazzmen Rick Braun and Larry Carlton.
Wilson says one of her biggest thrills was singing alongside Ray Price on "You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me."
"It is the one track on the record I think that completely embodies⁶ the entire concept of the record," she says. "It's a classic country song made famous by a legendary⁷ artist who fortunately happens to still be alive and can sing on it, being Ray Price. And then I've got my contemporary country music friends in Rascal⁸ Flatts to be on it. And then, of course, myself the jazz singer."
Anna Wilson made her debut⁹ on The Grand Ole Opry last November, sharing the stage with Connie Smith, Billy Dean and others.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

3 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

5 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

6 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

8 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

9 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。