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I was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona, as were my father and mother. After a fun-filled year in public school kindergarten, I was enrolled for eight long years in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel catholic school, where I received a generally excellent eduction, though it was sorely lacking in math, science, and social studies. Our math book said something like "Let me add goodness, subtract evil, multiply, and divide my worldly goods." The inclusion of all the religiosity seemed to have led to an exclusion of theory.

The youngest child of a "yours, mine, and ours" family, my Dad, Thomas J. Hughes, grew up on a ranch and, thanks to the GI bill, was able to go to college and medical school. He served our community as a family doctor for 46 years. As a kid, I remember the curly phone chord stretching across the dinner table each time an emergency call came in. He frequently made housecalls at night and I often went with him staying in the car while he cared for his patients. There were times when the patient lived out on the desert and I loved being in the car all alone with the moonlight streaming in. Dad loved to sing and, up until 2009, was a member of the Scottsdale Symphony Choir. We would often include at least a verse from "Danny Boy" or "The Street Where You Live" in our phone conversations.

My mother, Penelope Peck, grew up in Tempe, the daughter of Frank Peck, a bank manager and his wife, Myrtle, who was a renowned beauty and Frank's junior by a scandalous (at that time) 25 years. Myrtle died when Mom was just eight years old and Frank mourned her loss, taking Mom with him to Tempe Butte Cemetery every day to put flowers on Myrtle's grave. Frank followed his beloved Myrtle just five years later. Mom, then thirteen, was taken in by Myrtle's sister, Mary Moeur, who was a widow and had a son, John Moeur. John and Penelope were raised as brother and sister and remained close throughout Mom's life. Mom passed away in 1984. Here's a song I wrote for her: Mama Danced In These Shoes

It is hard to say when I became interested in music, as it has always been part of my daily existence. My Dad sang and read poetry (inherently musical) to us. I learned Gregorian Chant in Catholic School. I remember high mass on Sunday. It was sung by four men, all in Latin, and they were behind a screen so that you never saw them. Their voices were so full of feeling and mystery that I was often transported to some other place and, at times, nearly brought to tears. Mass wasn't always a sacred experience. I remember when my younger sister, Mary, put her mouth on the pew railing and made the biggest fake fart noise imaginable. My brother, Pat, and I got a terminal case of the giggles, which only painful pinches adminstered by my Dad could suppress. There was also the time when Pat, only five years old, and fascinated with the priest's chasuble, asked my Dad quite loudly, "Is that Superman?" My Dad quiety said, "No." Pat continued, "It sure looks like Superman!"

The first hint that I had a "voice" came in grade school. Each student was asked to stand up and sing a scale. When I finished mine, the room was very quiet (even for Catholic school) and everyone was looking at me.

During a sleepover at my friend, Christine Bernal's, house I picked up a guitar and played it until my fingertips were dented in and somewhere been painful and numb. At some point, I acquired my own guitar and played endlessly in my room. I sang Billy Ed Wheeler's "The Coming of the Roads" until my mother banned it saying it made her too sad.

I began taking voice lessons during the time that we were rehearsing the show. My teacher, Mrs. Utterbach, was an incredible singer and accompanist and had perfect pitch. She was also down-to-earth and downright silly. Once she told me "There's Bach and then there's the Utterbach." When I saw her perform the lead role in Carlisle Floyd's "Susannah" at Arizona State University, I was mesmerized. With its young heroine seduced and betrayed by a church elder, Susannah was about the raciest thing I had ever seen. With its fusion of gospel and eerie tonalities, "Susannah" is my favorite opera.

In my first (and only) year at Colorado State College, I studied voice with Glenda Maurice, who had a big, gorgeous mezzo-soprano voice. I played the part of "Elsie" in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Yeomen of the Guard." There was a scene where Elsie was supposed to swoon and fall into her leading man's arms. The young man playing my leading man was smitten with a girl in the chorus and, during dress rehearsal, he was staring at her, failed to catch me, and I hit the floor head first. Despite my injury, the show went on!

After a year in Colorado, I returned to Tempe and spent time helping my folks out (my mother had suffered a nervous breakdown) and performing in a top 40 band in Phoenix. Doing top 40 was a great musical education. I learned Carole King songs and played the flute part on Chicago's "Color My World." The band leader hated folks music and would not let me play my own songs or any of (in his words) "that Judy Collins / Joni Mitchell crap."

I desperately wanted to play my own music and couldn't find any opportunities in Arizona. I moved to Greeley, Colorado with my good friend, Tawny, and started playing at the local Holiday Inn. I received scant applause and one very uncomplimentary note about my singing written on a bar napkin.

I joined up with a band called "Crossbow," led by Stephen Peters. My future husband, Pat Hubbard, joined up at the same time. We did mostly Steve's songs with a few of Pat's and mine thrown in. We made just enough money for beer or food (but not both). Some of us chose beer and some chose food.

Those of us who favored food moved to Santa Cruz, California, formed the band "Fly By Night," and started doing quite a few gigs at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz and the Cigar Factory San Luis Obispo. The band was originally me, Pat Hubbard (piano, guitar, mandolin), Gary Roda (electric guitar, pedal steel), and Jimmy Norris (drums). Pat, Gary, and I took turns playing bass but we all felt that we needed a real, dedicated bass player. We heard about a guy named Duane "Beans" Sousa who was the lead singer in a big band in the Bay area. We went to hear him singing his heart out while hanging in midair from a rafter and knew he would be great. He learned to play bass and he and Jimmy formed a fine rhythm section. Pat, Beans, and I wrote the songs and sang lead and backup.

The Fly By Nights all came to be big fans of a local Santa Cruz hard rock band, Snail. Their bass player, Larry Hosford, got a record deal and tapped Fly by Night for his backup band. Larry's songwriting was very country (and very witty) and he thought we would be a good match. We did two albums and some tours with Larry. Here's my favorite recording from that time: Nobody Remembers the Losers

We met Jill Croston aka Lacy J. Dalton during our time in Santa Cruz. A reporter had written a piece about one local woman singer and had, in the process, insulted the rest of us by saying we were just "Joni Mitchell wannabees singing to our mirrors." A mutual friend knew we were both hoppin' mad and introduced us. We became good friends. Pat and I worked on Jill's first album and I sang backups on Nashville Lady Singer.

Pat and I got married at the funky old Fly By Night house in Brookdale, California. My Dad bought us a keg of beer and the neighbors' dog drank a lot of it and had to spend the night on our back porch.

Fly By Night broke up and I tried pursuing a solo career. I had a couple of gigs in Santa Cruz as "Annie Hughes and the Samba Buckaroos," which included Fritz Burden (bass) and Jimmi Fox (drums). They were jazz players and singing with them was a whole new experience. I got to relax a bit and lean back on the beat. Fritz provided me with an education on Latin music, including Gal Costa, among others. Fritz and I wrote "Givin' Up" and he played bass on it: Givin' Up

Pat, Beans, and I played as a trio at the Crow's Nest in Santa Cruz. The manager, Tom Hutchinson aka "Hutch" was so very supportive and truly loved music. I will forever be grateful to him.

The Santa Cruz gigs had all dried up and Pat and I were working at a crepe restaurant where Jill also worked and had gotten us jobs. The owner, who we suspect had a drug problem, would come roaring in, clear out the cash drawer, then later accuse the employees of having stolen his money.

I started getting work as a backup singer on disco records in Los Angeles, so we moved to Venice. There was a misunderstanding (putting this nicely) between a producer I had been working with and me. He thought I was willing to sleep with him and I thought I was not. That gig went away. Here's a recording with me singing backup vocals, along with some wonderful soul singers, for Luther Rabb, who was the bass player for the group "War": Street Angels

Lacy got a record deal and asked me to come to Nashvile with her and sing on "Crazy Blue Eyes." I was really wanting to start gardening at that time and mentioned composting chicken shit, which I think offended her producer, Billy Sherrill. Crazy Blue Eyes

Lacy recorded my song: Me 'n' You

Pat toured with Lacy playing piano, synth, guitar, mandolin, and singing backup. He worked on several of her albums in Nashville and cowrote songs with her. He did all of the arrangements, including orchestra charts for Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe shows. He also became her road manager after she fired the previous one for stealing. Here's my version of a song that Pat wrote with Lacy and John Fitzgerald. Waltz That Time Forgot

Lacy hosted songwriting sessions with a number of writers including Pat, me, Pebe Sebert, Fred Koller, John Fitzgerald, and Randy Handley. Here are son two songs from those sessions: Handy with a Heartache and Angel

During Pat's last year with her, Lacy hired me to come on the road to do backup singing and play flute and guitar. Cornelius Bumpus, of the Doobie Brothers, was also in the band. Here's a song that Pat and John wrote durng that time. Cornelius is playing sax: Who Can She Turn To?

Pat and I decided to start a family. I had fertility issues and could not afford the necessary medical care. I got a job at a very nice law firm in Santa Monica and their insurance allowed us to conceive our dear Erin Rose Hubbard aka "Rosey." Here's a song I wrote when I realized that I had to put her in daycare and go back to work. Little Bird

Pat built his own recording studio, "Hub Studio," which he ran for a number of years. He recorded a number of independent artists, including Joyce Woodsen and David (not Lee) Roth. He and I recorded my album, I Wanna Live there.

When Erin was just 18 months old, we decided to move our family to Colorado. Pat's folks wanted very much to be involved and we knew that grandparents would be great for her. We raised Erin Rose in Louisville, Colorado. She went to the same high school as Pat, Boulder High.

In 1994, we lost Pat's younger brother, Tim, to AIDS. He had fought it and suffered from it for a number of years. At that time, there were new drug "cocktails" that we proving to be effective. Sadly, he was too far gone for the "cocktails" to help him. Here is a song I wrote for Tim: It Never Hits Home.

Pat and I both worked day jobs to support the family. We did extra work some evenings and weekends. Erin graduated from Boulder High in 2008 and then went to University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. She is now married to David Martinez and they have a duo, "Jitensha," with Erin on drums and David on bass and guitar and both of them singing. Here's one of favorites: Under Control.

At some point, I was reading a lot about Native American women who had gone missing. I thought about an old friend whose sweetheart had been kidnapped and murdered years ago. I wrote this song: Lucinda.

Pat and I moved to western Colorado in 2014 and started a small farm and orchard. We feed ourselves, the neighbors, and the local school kids.

We continue on with farming and writing, recording, and performing our music. Here's our latest release featuring Pat Hubbard on piano, harmonica, and engineering; Erin Rose Hubbard on drums and background vocals; and, David Martinez on bass and background vocals: Stay Awhile