Norah Jones: Texas-Raised Grammy Legend

Today is the birthday of Norah Jones. She is 48 today.

Norah Jones was born on March 30, 1979. She grew up in Grapevine, Texas, outside Dallas, where she sang in the school choir and started playing piano seriously in her teens. Texas shaped her musical instincts in ways that still show: the unhurried tempo, the deep roots in jazz and country at the same time, the sense that a song doesn’t need to rush anywhere. She studied jazz piano at the University of North Texas before moving to New York.

Eight Grammys on One Night

Her debut album Come Away with Me came out on Blue Note Records in 2002. Nobody quite knew what to call it — jazz, country, pop, soul. It didn’t matter. It sold eighteen million copies worldwide. At the 2003 Grammy Awards, Jones won eight Grammys in a single night, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. It was one of the most complete Grammy sweeps in the ceremony’s history. She has continued recording across multiple genres, always on her own terms. The Texas patience she grew up with never left her. Find her place items on Texas Music Map.