Annie Sims has been singing in public since the age of three, when she would entertain her relatives at summer family reunions in the foothills of East Tennessee.
She remembers how her singing would make the little old ladies cry, and her heartfelt songs still move her audiences to tears today. At six years of age Annie began piano lessons and was a quick study. She was classically trained, but as her reward for work well done, she was allowed each week to pick out a “radio” song to learn. She would sing along with her piano playing, and before long, she realized that performing would be her life’s work. Annie continued those piano lessons all the way through college, going on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in vocal music education from the University of Tennessee where she was the third generation in her family to attend.
After graduation Annie began earning her living as a piano bar entertainer, first in Knoxville and East Tennessee, then onboard cruise ships. Annie’s beautiful voice soon caught the attention of international bookers and she traveled on to Europe, performing extensively in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Ireland. She toured for four years before marrying her husband and producer, Greg Sims. Together they settled in Orlando, Florida, where Annie regularly performed at Walt Disney World. She recorded her first CD, a collection of solo piano and vocal music, for Disney guests to take home as souvenirs.
The favorable response to Annie’s first album project landed her a personal manager in England and led her to record a fully produced country CD in Nashville for the U.K. market. It was promoted on BBC radio and in a month-long tour, opening for Country Music Hall of Famer Don Williams in autumn 2002. A follow-up U.K. and Ireland tour in May and June 2003 with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, Gene Pitney, led to the creation of the Annie Sims International Fan Club and continued airplay on various BBC stations. The British audience fell in love with Annie’s beautiful voice and compelling personality and by the time the tour ended at the legendary London Palladium, she had sold and autographed over 7000 copies.
Meanwhile, Annie had begun to write her own material. Her Country/ Americana CD, Half The Moon, released on Nashville-based Aspirion Records, contains six of her own songs. One in particular, “Go Within,” led to a five-week European tour in autumn 2005 with New York Times best-selling author, Neale Donald Walsch. Annie and the song are featured on his website and mentioned in his latest book, Home With God. Several singles were released from the CD, including “Eighty Acres of Stars,” which met with critical acclaim and gave her more exposure to the American market. She received the much-coveted DisCovery award from Music Row magazine and the song remained in Music Choice Americana’s Top-10 for three months. That success prompted Annie to relocate to Nashville in late 2006.
Her latest CD, Annie, also on the Aspirion label, incorporates tracks from her first country album with new vocals, re-mastered recordings and brand new artwork. The first single , “Everything I Know About Leavin’,” was on the much-sought after Music Row chart for nine weeks and in the Top Ten and Top Twenty on several internet charts in late 2007 and early 2008.
Annie is in the process of venturing into other musical areas including a starring role in a new Broadway musical and singing the theme song for an upcoming animated childrens' movie. A new childrens' CD is in the works as well as concerts in the New Thought ministry. Keep your eyes and ears out for Annie Sims!
