Terri Clark On Her Longevity: ‘I Feel Really, Really Grateful’

Photo byChris Hollo

For decades, Terri Clark‘s name has been synonymous with ’90s country. Clark, part of the era of country music — still esteemed by many as among the best — that included Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill and more, enjoyed her reign as one of the female hitmakers for more than a dozen years, after her eponymous debut album came out in 1995.

It was a welcome stamp of approval for Clark, whose music and style were markedly different from her female counterparts. Little did she know then that her determination to make her own music her way would set a precedent for artists almost 30 years later.

“I was the tomboy in the cowboy hat and the rolled-up T-shirt sleeves, and I’m still that person,” Clark tells People. “I did step out of the box and do something different, and there are women now who aren’t afraid to be who they are and to genuinely be an original.”

The Grand Ole Opry member had numerous hit singles, including “You’re Easy On the Eyes,” “Girls Lie Too,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and more. But inevitably, as it almost always does, Clark watched as a new generation of artists took her spot as one of the reigning superstars, and she stopped having songs on the Top 40 chart, and stopped having hit records.

“It was tough, if I’m gonna be really brutally honest,” Clark concedes.

Photo byCourtesy of the CMA

Unbeknownst to her, that season of realizing her place in country music had shifted, became a blessing in disguise, and the impetus for a still-successful career, where she tours, records new music (including her recently-released Take Two project), and still celebrates country music, albeit in her own way.

“It was more about me,” Clark recalls. “It was more about ‘I want to.’ I want to make music. I want to be on TV. I want to be part of it. Now I want people to come to the show and feel like they’re watching and listening to somebody who’s walked through their life with them through music. You stop trying to prove yourself as much as bringing joy and leaving somebody with a feeling when you’re playing their song.”

It was a refreshing and gratifying feeling for Clark when she realized she still had more music to make, and could still enjoy a career, even as other artists became the superstars.

“I remember saying things like, ‘Well, I’m not gonna be up there bouncing around with a cowbell and a cowboy hat when I’m 50,” the 56-year-old says. “And lo and behold, was I ever wrong! I couldn’t have predicted the longevity and that I’d still be experiencing really fun milestones. I’m just in awe of it all, honestly. And I feel really, really grateful.”

Clark just crossed another item off of her bucket list, when she headlined Nashvilel’s own Ryman Auditorium.

“Honest to God, I never thought it would ever happen,” Clark admits “You have your big heyday and there’s a point at which you start to think those milestones are in your rearview mirror. But they’re not. It’s never too late.”

Clark’s Ryman concert is available to stream on Veeps now. Clark was joined on her Take Two project by Cody Johnson. Lainey Wilson, Ashley McBryde , Kelly Clarkson, Carly Pearce and more. Find the project and all of Clark’s music and upcoming shows at TerriClark.com.