Terri Clark had mom's music to enjoy eve efore she was born. Linda Clark says, "I was sooooo pregnant and I would sit there with my guitar up against my big stomach and play and sing for hours.

"My husband and I lived in a one room, fourth-flour walkup apartment, so there was little to do but wait. It was a hot August and Terri just didn't want to come out. My only distraction was my music." But, it didn't stop there.

Most mothers read to their children at bedtime. Not me. I'd sit at the end of the bed and sing her to sleep - always, always, I never missed a night!" Linda made up a song for each of her kids. Terri's was "Mommy's little Terri-O" played to the tune of "The More We Get Together." Even now, if Terri is feeling blue, Linda can cheer her up by singing that song.

By highschool, "we lived so close to her school she would come home for lunch every day, and after she finished her sandwich, she would bring her guitar inot the kitchen and sit at the table and sing me all her songs. She was writing songs and learning new material all the time"

Terri was 13 - and Linda had her third child, a boy named Peter. "Terri went nuts over that baby. Nobody could do for him better than she could. She tried to tell me how to diaper him properly and I thought, 'Excuse me, who's the mother here?" "One time my husband and I went away and we had a woman come stay with the kids. The second Terri got home from school, she took over care of Peter Jr. She was more domestic when she was 13 than she is now."

One afternoon, when Terri was 15, she was at the mall. There was a Pumpkin Festival. A band was playing country music on the outdoor stage. "Terri sat down on the edge of the stage and was enjoying the music. She got to talking to the fellas adn it came up that she played guitar and sang." Next, Terri's on stage. "The local musicicans got wind of this 15 year old who could sing like the dickens! They worked with her and encouraged her. She started entering local talent contests."

One of the first talent shows was televised on a local station. It was an afternoon jam with mostly professional musicians. "When Terri got up to perform, there was a lot of talking and noise," Linda remembers. "As soon as she started singing, they all stopped talking. You could hear a pin drop."

Her first major competition was a big outdoor festival with only 17 contestants - all adult and mostly professional club acts. Terri was teh only teen and she sang "Hillbilly Girl With the Blues." "I was out in this big farmer's field and there were people milling around everywhere. As Terri began to sing, people started coming forward adn by the time she was done, they were crowded up against teh stage. She didn't move at all. She wasn't that bouncy girl she is now. But she has taht voice that says. 'Get over here and listen to me.' Terri won."

The Spring Tea was a big thing at the high school. The whole student body attended as did their parents and teachers. Terri was asked to perform a song for the town's centennial. "I was so proud of her. It was like her coming out. Everybody was really impressed and they were all congratulating Terri.

"Bye her last year in high school, Terri had become very popular and she decided to get involved in school." Up until then, Terri was exclusively dedicated to her music. Except for school band, "all her spare moments were spent playing and singing her music. It was her obsession." Terri did play in the band through junior and senior high. Originally, she played clarinet, but the band leader figured out that she was playing by ear. You see, Terri can't read music! Anyway, he moved her to percussion where she played a full set of drums. "It really helped her with her timing and rhythm." But it was her senior year, and there was fun to be had. "She sat on the graduation committee, planned some of the senior events and co-wrote the graduation theme, 'Hold Onto This Moment Forever.' She performed this song at banquets, parties and graduation. She went out with a bank!" She was voted "Girl Most Likely to Succeed."