Donna has written over 300 songs during her career. Numerous other artists have recorded her original tunes including, but not limited to:
Alison Krauss & Union Station recorded My Poor Old Heart that appears on AKUS Lonely Runs Both Ways. The album won a Grammy for Country Album of the Year (Alison's 20th Grammy - the most ever won by any female.) Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas performed this song at the CMA Awards in 2006.
Donna Hughes...
"Whatever moves me, moves me to write," explains emerging songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Donna Hughes. For Hughes, songwriting is an all-consuming endeavor, encompassing all that goes on around her. "My songs are always about something I have seen, done, or felt – or something that I saw someone else do or go through. There is always truth to every song I write, even if it isn't my truth." Since she first began writing songs a little over a decade ago she has composed over 300, recording over half of them. Her songs have been recorded by Alison Krauss and Union Station (My Poor Old Heart on their Lonely Runs Both Ways album), the Seldom Scene (Sad Old Train) and more artists. Fifteen of her originals appear on her fourth career album and the 2010 album, Hellos, Goodbyes, and Butterflies (Rounder) produced by the legendary J.D. Crowe. The album includes the talents of band members, Brian and Maggie Stephens along with the talents of Barry Bales, Bob Ickes, Adam Steffee, Randy Kohs, Buddy Cannon, Melonie Cannon, Jenee' Fleenor, Bryan Sutton, Scot Vestal, Aubrey Haynie, Joel Keys, and more.
Donna also provided twelve original songs, along with two unique covers (including Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time and Tim Stafford's Find Me Out on a Mountain Top), on Gaining Wisdom, Hughes' first nationally-released album, produced by the legendary Tony Rice, and features contributions from an elite group of supporting musicians and harmony vocalists such as Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent, Carl Jackson, and Alecia Nugent.
"In Donna," Rice says, "I heard something that was down to earth, with a definitive southern flavor to it. And yet there was something different about her voice and the way she structured her music that implied a more flexible, adventurous approach." The resultant sound of Gaining Wisdom is deeply influenced by both Rice's progressive acoustic sensibilities and Hughes' own wide-ranging musical tastes.
"I love all genres and styles of music," Hughes says. "My dad loved country and bluegrass, and we shared that. My mom is a classical pianist and loves classical and orchestral music. I loved Elvis when I was a little girl, while in college my friends were into Tori Amos. She is a big inspiration to me, as are Norah Jones, Vanessa Carlton, and John Mayer. Also, I've been teaching gymnastics since 1989, so I am forced to listen to whatever the kids and teenagers wanted to hear at the gym, which lead to a fondness for reggae, rap, hip hop, and pop."
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