Deana Carter, named for Dean Martin, graduated from the university in 1989 with a degree in occupational rehabilitation. She wanted to help people who were in the situation her grandmother had been in. While at UT, she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She participated in Carnicus, did some singing on campus, and worked as a barmaid at Toddy’s Backdoor Tavern on Kingston Pike.
She worked with stroke and head injury patients after graduation and then decided to attempt a singing career. Her songs caught the attention of Jimmy Bowen, the head of Capitol Nashville in 1992, and an album was recorded and released in Europe in 1995. Its United States’ release, however, was first postponed and then canceled. In 1994 she was invited by Willie Nelson to sing at the Farm Aid VI concert in New Orleans—the only female vocalist on the bill. She followed this with an August 1996 album. In 1997 her “Strawberry Wine” was named single of the year, and Carter was named the CMT Female Video Artist for 1997. She performs barefoot and is a distant descendant of James K. Polk.