Wanda Lee has lots to sing about – one of her singles has made the top 10 on a U.S. music chart, she's got a new album coming out and she recently returned from the Country Gospel Music Association's (CGMA) annual get-together with the international Female Entertainer of the Year award.
The award joins others the Penhold resident has received for her music as part of CGMA conventions.
“It surprises me every year,” Lee said. “I don't go there to win, I just go there to hang out with everybody.”
She explained the awards are decided during a weeklong convention. On the Monday and Tuesday, showcases are held. Wednesday to Friday are ballot nights.
Earlier this year at the Canadian CGMA convention in Nipiwan, Ont., Lee came home with three Silver Heart awards – Canadian female entertainer of the year, drama and songwriter.
She and her brother took home vocal group of the year from the convention in Lacombe in 2011.
She won a songwriting award in 2011 and has also won the Mary Greenhill Esteemed Service Award.
The service award is a special recognition that's not up for a vote.
“It's one of their top awards,” she said, adding she was “humbled” to receive it.
At her first convention, which was in Cranbrook, B.C., she came back with New Artist of the Year.
On Oct. 30 she arrived back from the convention in Branson, Miss.
At the conventions, she gets the chance to meet some of her musical heroes.
“The first year I was pretty overwhelmed,” she said.
Then she got to jamming with some of them. They've helped teach Lee things on her guitar.
“They're just like normal people who love music,” she said.
She's won other awards as well, including being a finalist in 2010 and 2012 in the International Acoustic Music Awards.
“What those do for me is go, ‘OK, I got some good songs,'” she said.
Lee was excited to receive the news her single Walk by Faith made it to the eighth spot on the Hope Street Music Group's chart last week, just four spots behind one of her idols, Barbara Fairchild.
Previously the highest a song had made it was 19th with her song Broken Wing.
She's never had any formal training, instead heading to Woolworth's when she was 18 to get her first instrument.
“I went and bought a little $29 guitar,” she said. She taught herself to play by ear, including writing songs.
“I've always written music,” she said.
When she writes songs she often wakes up in the middle of the night with inspiration.
“I hear noise in my head and I have music and words all at the same time,” she said. “Where I come from it's called a gift.”
While music has always been part of her life, it was when she turned 50 a few years ago that she decided to set getting songs recorded as a goal. At that point her children had graduated and she was semi-retired.
“I'm writing full-time, I'm creating full-time,” she said.
She travels in the U.S. but has cut down on some of her trips.
“We're focusing on community events,” she said. She does gigs for the Lacombe Foundation and occasionally takes on things like weddings or birthdays.
While her stack of awards is mostly for country gospel music, Lee actually likes to listen and perform all kinds of songs. Her new album, which is due out in early 2013, features jazz, world and other genres.
“I didn't want to box myself in,” she said. “This album was about creating the sound I hear in my head.”
