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Nancy
Hays was born and raised in Champaign, Illinois, the heart of the richest
farmland in the country. Her love of country music began to flourish when
she was hired by Opryland USA in Nashville as a teenager. While at Opryland,
Nancy would have the opportunity to perform on the Opry stage and at the
Roy Auff Theater with some of her idols, including the former CMA Entertainer
of the Year, Barbara Mandrell. Living in Nashville also gave Nancy a chance
to perform on the WSM Morning Radio show and on the "Nashville Noon
Show" hosted by Elaine Gan nick and Teddy Bart. Nancy enjoyed performing
"Tennessee Waltz", "Brown Eyes Blue" and other solos
in the "IHAS" Opryland show and was also featured as a dancer
in the show's tribute to "West Side Story". She sang and danced
at Opryland for two consecutive seasons, then wa one of ten performers selected
to travel to Hawaii performing in television specials and industrials.
Returning home to the University of Illinois to complete her Bachelors degree
in Advertising, Nancy began performing as a solo act backed by the Midwest
based "Sawyer Brothers Band". Nancy appeared with Dan Seals at
the County Fair and began performing regularly at conventions coast to coast.
At that time she incorporated some of her own compositions into the program. |
After graduating
at the top of her class from University of Illinois, Nancy moved to the
Chicago area to begin her graduate studies at Northwestern university. She
continued to open for celebrities including Conway Twitty, LeRoy Parnell,
Mel McDaniel, Lee Greenwood, Crystal Gale, Glen Campbell, and many more.
In between headline shows and corporate engagements for Fortune 500 Companies,
Nancy developed a loyal chicago following, performing at Nashville North
and the Country Music Inn.
Nancy's strength as an entertainer was undeniable and as a result, other
bookings followed in Las Vegas, St. Louis, and elsewhere that would expose
Nancy to a strong cross-over market. Buyers began to offer her contracts
for non-country shows. Nancy opened for the Smothers Brothers, David Brenner,
Rita Rudner and many others.
While working with Marie Osmond, Nancy met producer/ performer/ songwriter
Craig Morris who agreed to produce Nancy's first country demo. Nancy recorded
several tracks backed by some of Nashville's most polished studio musicians.
After opening for Ronnie Milsap on two separate shows, Nancy met Ronnie's
sound engineer, Randy Gardner, who also encouraged Nancy to record. Ronnie
Milsap's touring band laid the tracks and Randy engineered some of Nancy's
original compositions as well as songs penned by Nashville based writers.
As a professional singer and dancer, Nancy decided it was time to begin
focusing more time on her dancing talents and interests. Armed with a Maters
Degree in Advertising from on of America's finest Universities, Nancy was
eager to market her own products. "The Romance of Dance" series
was launched in 1995 and by 2005, Nancy's line has grown to include five
instructional videos, a DVD and a practice CD. In the promotion of her dance/
fitness line of products, Nancy has made national TV appearances on many
networks including WGN, ABC, NBC, Fox Sports and Discovery, and has received
critical acclaim from the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, LA Times,
Modern Bride, Billboard Magazine and many other publications.
Circling back to her country roots, Nancy has just release her first country
music CD, which includes songs produced by Craig Morris and Randy Gardner,
plus dance and vocal cuts produced by Nancy and Steve Rachid in Chicago.
Nancy's love of country music and dance comes through loud and clear on
her debut country release. Her title track "Come Dance With Me"
has already reached the country line dance market, prior to its national
radio release, and internationally recognized dance instructor Jo Thompson
has choreographed a line dance to it available on line. Dance fans as far
away as London are ordering advance CD copies and step sheets at CDBaby.com
Nancy Hays is truly ready to be country music's next sensation. her experience
with and passion for live performances, along with an outstanding debut
album and deep love of country music and dance make Nancy Hays primed for
success in the country music market. |
