Falling asleep in a narrow bunk on a bus takes some getting used to, but Nancy Jenkins doesn’t mind. At an age when many women experience an empty nest, she’s on the road with her 17- and 20-year-old daughters, Brodie and Kacie. Buoyed by glowing praise (think comparisons to The Judds), The Jenkins are busy promoting their country music.
In the past year, the mother-and-two-daughters act has opened for LeAnn Rimes, played at country fairs and music festivals across the country, and juggled a crush of back-to-back radio interviews in a media blitz backed by Capitol Records Nashville. “I’m surprising myself. All those years I stayed at home and didn’t want to travel. Now I love my bus,” Jenkins says, laughing.
The Jenkins’ debut single was released last spring and quickly climbed the country music charts into the 30s. “Blame It on Mama,” co-written by Nancy, describes how she once lulled her girls to sleep singing such Southern gothic tunes as “Fancy” and “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” Two music videos and another single followed, and their album “The Jenkins,” produced by music powerhouse Rodney Crowell, is to be released in January.
A Kentucky native who loved singing as a girl, Nancy Wheeler studied neuroanatomy as an undergrad and then entered Stanford’s master’s program in physical therapy. In 1981, she married Bob Jenkins, ’76, and quit her job when Kacie was born in 1984. “I loved my work as a physical therapist, but my desire to be a full-time mom was even stronger.”
For years the family’s life in rural Sonoma County revolved around the girls’ activities. On the way to school and soccer games, Jenkins taught Kacie and Brodie the harmonies to her favorite Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt songs. A few years later, Jenkins, always with energy to spare, volunteered to co-produce the local junior high talent show.
In 1996, Jenkins joined her daughters onstage for a performance of The Judds’ “Guardian Angels.” Musician Dennis Hysom was in the audience and found their harmony “a flawless blend. . . . I fell out of my chair.” He and his wife, Christine Walker, worked with Jenkins to write songs about love, coming of age and family ties, often drawing inspiration from Kacie’s and Brodie’s experiences. Representatives from Capitol Records Nashville heard a demo recorded in Hysom’s tiny studio and then flew to California to audition the trio in the family living room.
“The girls and I enjoy every new experience together,” Jenkins says. “I wish I could tell everyone never to discount anything. If I hadn’t taken on the talent shows, I might not have shifted into songwriting. And it’s made my internal life so much more stimulating and filled me out in just the right way.”
