Art&Seek presents This Week in Texas Music History. Every week, we’ll spotlight a different moment and the musician who made it. This week, Texas music scholar Gary Hartman tells us about a singer who conquered Nashville on her own terms.

You can also hear This Week in Texas Music History on Sunday at precisely 6:04 p.m. on KERA radio. But subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss an episode. And our thanks to KUT public radio in Austin for helping us bring this segment to you. And if you’re a music lover, be sure to check out Track by Track, the bi-weekly podcast from Paul Slavens, host of KXT’s The Paul Slavens Show, heard Sunday night’s at 8.

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Lee Ann Womack was born Aug. 19, 1966, in Jacksonville, Texas. Her father was a high school principal and a part-time DJ who instilled in his daughter a deep love of country music. When Lee Ann Womack moved to Nashville to pursue a musical career, her love for traditional Western swing and honky tonk put her at odds with mainstream record labels. However, she stuck to her Texas roots and soon attracted the attention of Bill Anderson, Ricky Skaggs and other prominent local artists. Soon, she began releasing hit after hit, including the No. 1 song “I Hope You Dance.” In addition to helping re-popularize traditional country music, Lee Ann Womack has won numerous awards, including a Grammy, and has performed with George Strait, Willie Nelson, Cross Canadian Ragweed and many other popular artists.

Next time on This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll meet a man who blended conjunto and country to become the king of Tejano.