Vincent’s life of music evolved into a successful career in bluegrass music after being discovered by Grand Ole Opry star
Jim Ed Brown and later spending what she calls her musical college years recording for
Giant Records. She learned about the music business from Nashville’s best, such as James Stroud, Jack McFadden, and Stan Barnett. Even while Vincent was still performing regularly with the Sally Mountain Show, she released her first solo album
New Dreams and Sunshine in 1988. In 1985, Vincent had competed in the TV series
You Can Be a Star on the original version of
the Nashville Network. After winning the competition, she was signed to a recording contract; her first professional performance was with country singer and Grand Ole Opry star Jim Ed Brown. In the 1990s, Vincent branched out into mainstream country music, releasing two albums on the Giant Records label, but did not have success there. With the release of her album
Back Home Again in 2000, Vincent returned to bluegrass with the goal of expanding both the musical reach and the accessibility of the genre. The
International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) accorded her its Female Vocalist of the Year award for the years 2000 – 2006, plus IBMA Entertainer of the Year in 2001. The Society for Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America designated her its Entertainer of the Year for 2002 – 2006 inclusive. She also performs with her band, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. On February 19, 2010, Vincent left
Rounder Records after 10 years with the label. Vincent released
Taken, her debut album on her own label Upper Management Music on September 21, 2010. Featuring special guests including long-time friend
Dolly Parton,
Richard Marx, and
Little Roy Lewis, the album entered the
Top Bluegrass Albums chart at number one. On June 7, 2011, Vincent and
Gene Watson released a duet album on Upper Management entitled
Your Money and My Good Looks. The album entered the U.S.
Billboard Top Country Albums chart at number 71. ''Sunday Mornin' Singin''', an album of old-time gospel standards, was released on July 10, 2012. On April 1, 2017, Vincent's duet with a fellow country singer
Richard Lynch was released as a track on Lynch's album
Mending Fences. During an appearance on the
Grand Ole Opry on April 27, Vincent announced that
Daryle Singletary and she had spent the previous months recording a duets album, with further details to follow during
CMA week. She then introduced Singletary and the two performed a couple of
George Jones and
Tammy Wynette songs – "
Golden Ring" and "
One". Her pivotal bluegrass album,
Back Home Again on Rounder Records, transformed Vincent into the All-American Bluegrass Girl. She was crowned the New Queen of Bluegrass by
The Wall Street Journal in 2000. She is a multiple-award winner, with a 2017 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, an Entertainer of the Year 2001, Song of the Year 2004, and unprecedented seven consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association 2000–2006. Her powerful vocal style transcends the boundaries of bluegrass music, as evidenced in her collaboration with Dolly Parton on the Elton John/Bernie Taupin Tribute Project “Restoration” 2018. She was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry on February 28, 2020.
Touring in 2025 In 2008, Vincent's band performed at Centennial Hall in
London, Ontario, at a concert organized by the Thames Valley Bluegrass Association.
Gospel DVD In a 2011 interview with television station
KTVO, Vincent announced that her band and she had recently filmed a live all-gospel DVD at a church in her hometown of Greentop, Missouri. The DVD was expected to be released sometime in 2012. ==Family life==