The group's debut single "
(That's What You Do) When You're in Love", released in mid-1985, reached a peak of number ten on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The song served as the lead single for their
self-titled debut album released later that year. The album itself was nominated for
Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the
28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Also stemming from the album's commercial success was an extensive touring schedule, consisting of performances with
Alabama,
George Jones,
Ricky Skaggs, and several other country music artists throughout 35 states. At the time of the album's release, Kathy lived with her husband Terry Adkins, who was also their manager and bass guitarist, while the other three sisters continued to live with their parents. (pictured here in 2013): "
Too Much Is Not Enough" in 1986, and "
Drive South" four years later.|alt=Country music duo The Bellamy Brothers, standing in front of a purple sunset-themed backdrop. The quartet's second album was 1986's
Perfume, Ribbons & Pearls. It charted only one single in "
Lonely Alone", which spent two weeks at the number two position on Hot Country Songs that year.
Montreal Gazette writer Lucinda Chodan contrasted the quartet's sound with that of
The Judds, stating that "those celestial voices are harmonizing in the service of songs that, for the most part, are about as individual as pennies in a jar." She thought that "100% Chance of Blue" and the cover of
The Supremes' "
Back in My Arms Again" were the most distinct songs, but still criticized the production. After "Lonely Alone", the Forester Sisters were featured vocalists on
The Bellamy Brothers' late-1986 hit "
Too Much Is Not Enough", a number-one single from their album
Country Rap.
Late 1980s You Again, the sisters' third album, accounted for three singles upon its 1987 release. First was a cover of
Brenda Lee's 1965 hit "
Too Many Rivers", which the Forester Sisters took to top five on the country charts. After it came
the title track, which became the sisters' fifth and final number-one hit. The last single was the top-five "
Lyin' in His Arms Again", also written by Skinner and Wallace. James M. Tarbox of
Knight Ridder News Service reviewed the album favorably, considering the album "consistent" for its lyrical themes of love while also noting that the sound was both "traditional" and "savvy for a couple of tunes to easily cross over to other formats." Alongside
You Again, the sisters also recorded
A Christmas Card, an album composed of traditional Christmas carols which was issued later in 1987. later a top-ten country hit for
Doug Stone in 1991. Songwriter
Wendy Waldman, who wrote "Love Will", handled most of the production duties on this album, with assistance on some tracks from Beckett, Stroud, and Norman.
Sincerely accounted for the quartet's second Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal nomination at the
31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1988. Warner Bros. released two more projects featuring the sisters in 1989. First was a
gospel album entitled
All I Need. This included renditions of traditional hymns and spirituals such as "
Amazing Grace" and "
Precious Memories", along with popular 20th-century gospel songs such as "
This Ole House". Christy described the album as "roots that we returned to", a reference to the sisters' upbringing as singers in their churches. Norman, Beckett, and Stroud co-produced the album. Jerry Sharpe of
The Pittsburgh Press gave the album a mixed review, saying that it had "too much rock coupled with so-so material". He praised the singles, along with the title track and "You'll Be Mine" as the strongest for their vocal performances. In April 1991, Warner released the group's next album ''
Talkin' 'Bout Men''.
Robert Byrne, another Muscle Shoals-based musician, produced the album and played guitar on it. It was recorded in the same studio where the group had made their demos and first two studio albums. The sisters noted that previous producers had wanted to highlight their "softer" sound, whereas Byrne was willing to include
country rock and
Western swing. Lead single "
Men", co-written by Byrne, went on to chart at number eight on Hot Country Songs that year. "Men" became the sisters' third nomination for Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, receiving the nomination at the
34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1991. The sisters' final chart entries came in 1992 from the album
I Got a Date. Both "
What'll You Do About Me" (later a top-20 hit in 1995 for
Doug Supernaw) and the title track fell short of the country music top 40. The group also saw it as a
concept album thematically similar in concept to "Men". Kim highlighted the title track in particular, stating that she was going through a divorce at the time of recording and felt that at the age of 31, she was "too old to start dating again". The sisters took a hiatus from recording for much of the mid-1990s, but continued to tour regionally, though primarily on weekends in order to tend to their children the rest of the week. They returned to the studio for a new album called
More Than I Am in 1996. Warner marketed the album as "positive country", featuring positive and spiritual messages without being explicitly
contemporary Christian music in nature, and taking inspiration from similar releases by
Ricky Van Shelton and
Susie Luchsinger. Christy's husband, Gary Smith, produced the album and played keyboards on it. Among the contributing songwriters were
Karen Staley and
Paul Overstreet, the latter of whom had previously co-written the group's "I Fell in Love Again Last Night". After this album, the sisters decided to retire from the music business, citing both a desire to spend more time with their families and the genre's increasing focus on male artists. Kathy subsequently became a music teacher, June a teacher for students with visual impairments, and both Kim and Christy, interior designers. The four sisters reunited for one concert in 2013 to honor their induction into the
Georgia Music Hall of Fame. ==Musical styles==