Lee Ann Womack Returns to Her Traditional Country Roots

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Lee Ann Womack made her debut on the country music scene in the late '90s with commercial hits like “I Hope You Dance.” But the Texas-native never felt completely comfortable being cast as a crossover artist, singing pop-country ballads designed to perform well on the airwaves.

Now, more than two decades later, Womack is back, and she’s looking to the basics, returning to the more traditional country roots that were the soundtrack to her upbringing. On the road, she says her fans are receptive to that old sound.

"There's not a lot of real country music out there these days and so it's fun to connect with those people and yeah I mean I guess I'll be touring forever," she says, laughing.

“The The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone" is her new album, and Womack says she’d like to be thought of less as a crossover artist, and more as someone with the vocal chops and musical intuition to tackle all of the country-music sub-genres out there today, including the traditional sound she loves.

This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.