Sweethearts of the Rodeo

Janis Oliver was born March 1, 1954 (1954-03) (age 66),[1][2][3][4] and her sister Kristine Arnold was born November 28, 1956 (1956-11-28) (age 64),[5][6] in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, California.[1] They were raised in Manhattan Beach, California,[1] and sang in elementary school, then performed bluegrass music as the Oliver Sisters during their teenage years.[7]

The duo became Sweethearts of the Rodeo, taking the name from The Byrds' album Sweetheart of the Rodeo.[1] After their discovery by Emmylou Harris, they secured slots as opening acts and backing vocalists for other artists. In 1977, the Sweethearts opened a Redondo Beach, California, show for Sundance, a group including 19-year-old Vince Gill.[1][3] In 1980, Janis married Gill, by then a member of Pure Prairie League,[3] Kristine married Leonard Arnold[1] of the band Blue Steel.[7] In 1983, the Gills moved to Nashville, Tennessee, followed by the Arnolds, with the sisters singing together again.[1]

In 1985, Sweethearts of the Rodeo won the Wrangler Country Showdown talent contest, then signed with Columbia Records.[1] Sweethearts of the Rodeo's first single, "Hey Doll Baby", debuted in April 1986,[8] followed by the release their self-titled debut album.[1] Then came the duo's first Top Ten hit at No. 7, "Since I Found You". The song was written by Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd, and its success helped Foster & Lloyd secure a recording contract.[7] Four more singles from the album followed, including the No. 4 hits "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" and "Chains of Gold", their highest-charting singles.[8]

A second album, One Time, One Night furnished three more Top Ten hits: "Satisfy You", "Blue to the Bone", and a cover of The Beatles' "I Feel Fine",[7] but their next single, "If I Never See Midnight Again", peaked at No. 39.[8] Two more albums for Columbia followed (1990's Buffalo Zone and 1992's Sisters), but neither produced any major hits. Columbia dropped the duo in 1992.[7]

Sweethearts of the Rodeo continued to tour in the 1990s, releasing two albums of bluegrass music on the Sugar Hill label:[7] Rodeo Waltz in 1993 and Beautiful Lies in 1996.[9] Janis and Kristine owned a clothing store in Franklin, Tennessee, called "Gill & Arnold" in the late 1990s, then closed it.[9] Janis and Vince Gill were divorced in 1997,[8][10] then she married Roy Cummins in 2000.[4]