Free and Easy

Blessed with a remarkable voice, blind country singer, songwriter and pianist Terri Gibbs was first discovered by Chet Atkins in the early 1970's while she was still a teenager. Atkins persuaded her to move to Nashville where she began her recording career in 1980. Although she only released albums between 1980 and 1990, she recorded 7 studio albums and charted 13 singles on the Billboard Country Singles chart including her debut single "Somebody's Knockin'", which reached No. 8 on the country charts, No. 13 on the pop charts and No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary charts. A tour with George Jones in the 80's gained her a loyal legion of fans in the country market but she stopped recording country music in 1990 and began shifting her focus to contemporary Christian music. Presented here is her first professional recording session which took place in 1975, a full five years before her major label debut. Gibbs wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album which displayed a maturity well beyond her years, although the album remained unreleased until 1983. It's worth noting that her phrasing and piano style drew comparisons to Ray Charles. All selections have been newly remastered.