Press & Accolades
THE CLIPPINGS FILE
National headlines, industry awards, and three decades of coverage — the paper trail of a trailblazer.
As featured in USA Today✦Entertainment Weekly✦CNN✦Esquire✦Guitar Player✦Chicago Tribune✦Country Weekly✦The Tennessean✦Taste of Country
Career Milestones
ACHIEVEMENTS, AWARDS & FIRSTS
Three decades of records broken, charts topped, and history made — the full career ledger.
1997Released debut album Back To You
1997First woman in Country Music history to produce, write, sing, and play multiple instruments — including lead guitar — on a debut album
1997Made her Grand Ole Opry debut on May 17, 1997
1998#1 song for “What If I Said” on Billboard and all radio charts in the US and Canada
1998#1 video for “What If I Said” at both CMT and GAC
1998ACM nomination — Vocal Collaboration
1998CMA — Vocal Event of the Year
1998Winner of the TNN/Music City News People's Choice Award for Vocal Collaboration of the Year with Steve Wariner
1998Nominated for the TNN/Music City News award for Female Star of Tomorrow
1998Winner of the Gibson Guitar Award for Best Guitar Player
1998#1 BMI Awards for Artist, Songwriter, and Producer
2000Released the album Anita
2000Made her acting debut as Anita Blackwell in The Dukes of Hazzard Reunion Movie as Tom Wopat's love interest. The film included four original songs from Anita, including the theme song, performed on-screen alongside Toby Keith
✦Aligned with General Motors for sponsorship and toured with the late Dale Earnhardt and artist Peter Max
✦Made music history again — the first artist ever to record a brand new song with a deceased artist: “Cheatin' Song” features the voice of country icon Conway Twitty
✦Musical Director for It's Only Make Believe, a musical about Conway Twitty's career
2007Produced Tammy Cochran's critically acclaimed release Where I Am
2009Released the album Serenity
2012Released the “Snowing In My Hometown” single and video
2017Diagnosed with Triple Positive Invasive Carcinoma breast cancer
2018Released the “Fight Like A Girl” single and video
2018Winner of the Creation International Film Festival award for Best Music Video — “Fight Like A Girl”
✦Established her own breast cancer charity, The Love Anchors Fund
✦Appeared and performed on a special edition of ABC's Good Morning America with Robin Roberts, themed around “Fight Like A Girl,” closing the show performing in Times Square
✦Performed during the NFL's Thursday Night Football halftime show
✦Continues to tour the US and performs internationally — France, Norway, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Poland and Mexico
✦Toured Canada extensively with Terri Clark
Selected Coverage
IN THE PAPERS
A curated selection of press articles, interviews, and features covering Anita's career, artistry, and advocacy.
The Tennessean · July 2018Cancer diagnosis leads singer to 'fight like a girl'Taste of Country · September 2018Anita Cochran Celebrates a Milestone in Her Cancer JourneyGuitar Girl Magazine · November 2018“You Gotta Fight Like a Girl” — InterviewWide Open Country · July 2018Anita Cochran's Fight With Breast Cancer Inspires New SongWKRN News 2 Nashville · October 2018Singer, songwriter Anita Cochran 'Fights Like a Girl' to beat cancerUnRated Magazine · September 2019Anita Cochran Returns To The Stage And Continues To Be Inspiration For AllVanderbilt Health News · October 2018Cochran celebrates cancer treatment's end in styleCountryZone.net · September 2012“I Love That European Fans Study Our Music” — InterviewThe Ledger (Lakeland, FL) · October 2023Country star Anita Cochran to appear at Lakeland breast cancer eventWSM — Coffee, Country & Cody · February 2025Anita Cochran live in-studio appearance
AWARDS & HONORS
1997Grand Ole Opry debut — May 17, 1997
1998#1 single “What If I Said” — Billboard & all US/Canada radio charts
1998#1 video on CMT and GAC
1998TNN/Music City News People's Choice Award — Vocal Collaboration of the Year (winner)
1998CMA nomination — Vocal Event of the Year
1998ACM nomination — Vocal Collaboration
1998TNN nomination — Female Star of Tomorrow
1998Gibson Guitar Award — Best Female Guitar Player (winner)
1998BMI #1 Awards — Artist, Songwriter, and Producer
2018Creation International Film Festival — Best Music Video, “Fight Like A Girl” (winner)