Editing Faith Hill (section)

==Early life and career beginnings==
Audrey Faith Perry was born in [[Ridgeland, Mississippi]], north of [[Jackson, Mississippi]]. She was [[adopted]] as an infant and named Audrey Faith Perry. She was raised in the nearby town of [[Star, Mississippi|Star]], 20 miles southeast of Jackson<ref>{{cite book |last1=Malone |first1=Bill C. |title=Country Music, U.S.A.: Second Revised Edition |date=2002 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=9780292752627 |url=https://archive.org/details/countrymusicusa0000malo |url-access=registration |quote=isbn:9780292752627. |language=en}}</ref> by her adoptive parents, Edna and Ted Perry,<ref name=PeopleBio>{{cite web|title=Faith Hill Biography|url=http://www.people.com/people/faith_hill/biography/|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=February 15, 2014}}</ref> with their two biological sons in a devout [[Christian]] environment.<ref name="king">{{cite interview|title=Interview with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/21/lkl.01.html|work=[[Larry King Live]]|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 13, 2014|date=April 21, 2006}}</ref>

She began singing at Star [[Baptist Church]] at age 3.<ref name="auto"> Geoffrey Himes, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/03/22/hill-alive-with-arethas-sound-of-music/29c97f72-fe7f-4012-b8d1-94189a93a543/ Hill: Alive with Aretha's sound of music], washingtonpost.com, USA, March 22, 1996</ref> Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, at a [[4-H]] luncheon, when she was seven.<ref name="huey"/> In 1976, a few days before her 9th birthday, she attended a concert by [[Elvis Presley]] at the State Fair Coliseum in Jackson, which deeply impressed her. During her teenage years, she became a member of the Steele Family gospel quartet and performed regularly with them at area churches of all denominations.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="selfmagazine">{{cite news|title=Faith Hill on music, junk food and poetry|url=http://www.self.com/magazine/articles/2006/08/21/0821hill|access-date=February 13, 2014|newspaper=[[Self (magazine)|Self]]|date=August 21, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929220852/http://www.self.com/magazine/articles/2006/08/21/0821hill|archive-date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> At 17, Hill formed a band that played at local rodeos. She graduated from McLaurin Attendance Center in 1986, then briefly attended Hinds Junior College (now [[Hinds Community College]]) in [[Raymond, Mississippi]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Helligar|first1=Jeremy|last2=Green|first2=Mary|title=Faith Accompli|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|date=July 12, 1999|volume=52|issue=1|url=https://people.com/archive/faith-accompli-vol-52-no-1/|access-date=July 17, 2014}}</ref> At times, she sang for prisoners at the Hinds County Jail, her song of choice being "Amazing Grace".<ref>{{cite book|last=Dickerson|first=James L.|title=Faith Hill: Piece of My Heart|year=2001|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=9780312281953|page=[https://archive.org/details/faithhill00jame/page/23 23]|edition=1|url=https://archive.org/details/faithhill00jame/page/23}}</ref>

At age 19 Hill dropped out of college to move to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, she auditioned to be a backup singer for [[Reba McEntire]], but failed to secure the job.<ref name="king"/> A few years later in 1991, the singer who beat out Hill for the job was killed in a plane crash with 6 other members of Reba's band.<ref>
{{cite web|title=Faith Hill's failed audition with Reba McEntire|date=June 29, 2019 |url=https://tasteofcountry.com/reba-mcentire-plane-crash-faith-hill/|access-date=January 29, 2021}}</ref>

After a stint selling T-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm.<ref name="huey"/> Hill also landed a job at a local [[McDonald's]] restaurant franchise, which she intensely disliked. "Fries, burgers, cash register–I did it all, I hated it," she has said.<ref name="Tasteofcountry.com">{{cite news|last=Dukes|first=Billy|title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Faith Hill|url=http://tasteofcountry.com/faith-hill-things/|access-date=February 13, 2014|newspaper=[[Taste of Country]]|date=September 21, 2011}}</ref>

In 1988, she married music publishing executive Daniel Hill (not to be confused with Canadian musician [[Dan Hill]]).<ref>{{cite web|last=Haislop |first=Neil |title=Country Q&A: Week of May 2, 2007 |url=http://www.gactv.com/gac/nw_headlines/article/0,,GAC_26063_5512986,00.html |work=Great American Country |publisher=Scripps Networks |access-date=February 13, 2014 |date=May 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103041342/http://www.gactv.com/gac/nw_headlines/article/0,,GAC_26063_5512986,00.html |archive-date=January 3, 2013 }}</ref>

A co-worker heard Hill singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm.<ref name="huey">{{cite web| last = Huey| first = Steve| title = Faith Hill| website = Allmusic| url = {{BillboardURLbyName|artist=faith hill|bio=true}}| access-date = April 23, 2007}}</ref> She supplemented this work by singing backup vocals for songwriter Gary Burr, who often performed his new songs at Nashville's [[Bluebird Cafe]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Faith Hill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqBbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT18|access-date=February 15, 2014|date=November 15, 2012|publisher=Infobase Learning|isbn=978-1-4381-4095-7|page=18}}</ref> During one of those performances, Martha Sharp, an executive from [[Warner Bros. Records]] was in the audience, and, impressed with Hill's voice, began the process of signing her to a recording contract.<ref name="king"/>

In 1994, she and Daniel Hill divorced shortly after the release of her album.<ref name="biography">{{cite web|title=Faith Hill Biography|url=http://www.biography.com/people/faith-hill-9542395|work=[[The Biography Channel]]|publisher=A+E Television Networks|access-date=February 13, 2014}}</ref>