Shania Twain Regrets That Her Parents Can’t See Her Success
Shania Twain gave an emotional speech on Tuesday (June 27) after she previewed her new exhibit, Rock This Country, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
The country superstar, who is making a comeback after a 10-plus year absence from the mainstream, is pleased with the display, but it also struck a chord in her — especially when it comes to the memory of her parents.
"When I was walking through the exhibit upstairs, I was starting from the beginning," Twain says. "The baby picture, the singing as a child and then I just saw where my parents fell away from the story."
That painful excerpt stems from Twain losing both of her parents in an automobile accident in 1987, when the singer was just 21 years old. Twain later moved to Nashville, from her hometown of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, when she signed with Mercury Records in 1991.
“Once I got to Nashville with a record deal, which was a miracle, I had no parents to call to say, ‘It’s not working out,’ or ‘Can you send a bit of money?'” she recalls. ” I had no one to fall back on and my new family was now the future.”
Reliving the loss of her parents wasn't the only hardship in Twain's speech, as she recently lost close friend, mentor and Music Row producer-songwriter Norro Wilson. Wilson died in early June — he was instrumental in Twain’s career, being the first to invite her to Nashville, which landed her the Mercury deal.
“I am so brokenhearted to have lost Norro Wilson,” Twain says. “I don’t know how many of you in the room knew him, but he was truly a — I don’t want to say a caretaker — but he stepped in much like a parent when I first came to Nashville and looked out for me and really cared. I just wanted to acknowledge Norro and just speak my gratitude out loud for him.”
Though the speech was somber, Twain also shared the many joys of her career and how her comeback and forthcoming album, Now, has allowed her to reconnect with fans and enjoy the present moment. Like the lyrics in many of her hit songs, Twain also shared empowering words for the hundreds in attendance, giving encouragement to keep moving on with life, no matter the struggles.
"If any of you ever get the opportunity to go back through your photo albums and walk through your life in a tangible way like that, then it stares you right in the face so boldly and you just are wowed by the fact that life does move on," the superstar says. "It does carry on with and without some of things that you love and hoped would always last forever and that was very clear up there. Many faces I saw through the exhibit were there and then gone ... My only regret in all of it is that my parents are not here to see it."
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