ERCIE JAMES SOUNDS A LOT LIKE NASHVILLE

Fox Fire Records producer Jason Hawkins recognized something about Zalma High's Ercie James that looked and sounded like it could take off in Nashville.

Hawkins is certainly one who knows the real thing, having experienced James' new-found excitement several years ago as an aspiring country music artist.

"I've worked with groups like Alabama, artists like George Jones and Conway Twitty, stars like Tanya Tucker," said Hawkins, who has been named Producer of the Year four times.

"There was the sound, of course, but there was also this drive to take their talent as far as they could," said Hawkins of the aforementioned artists. "Ercie James has all the raw talent and spoken determination that they had plus she seems every bit as dedicated as they were. She is older than her years."

Hawkins recently signed James, 16, to a contract with Fox Fire after listening to a tape sent from Johnson City, Ill. Her latest single "You Don't Own Me" is already receiving radio play in the European common market and Australia. It ranks fourth on the European charts. She ranks in the top 100 in the U.S. country music market.

Mindful that James just turned 16 March 26, Hawkins is careful not to burn her out before she reaches her full potential.

"We want to develop her for the long run," said Hawkins, who is in the process of working on James' exposure on the air waves. "I'd rather build a solid foundation than come up with a smash record and see Ercie become a has-been before her time," said Hawkins. "I've seen some country singers burst onto the scene in Nasvhille and be through in three to five years. Ercie is still a young woman with a lot ahead of her."

Thus Hawkins is hoping to develop James' network radio appeal. "That's where you start," said Hawkins. "You generate interest with the radio play and then go from there."

Competition has never been more fierce in Nashville. "There are more recording artists in Nashville competing for air time than in any time in the history of country music," he said. "We've got to make sure we don't put Ercie in a situation that would do more harm than good."

James spends most weekends in a Nashville recording studio. She also finds time to spend two hours each week with her professional voice coach.

"Ercie is still in the development stage, but I can see a difference of night and day when she goes into a recording studio right now," said Hawkins. "She is still maturing, so I can only see her voice getting better."

Said James,"I remember it took five hours for me to record my first song. Now it takes around 30-45 minutes. It's so different after working with a voice coach and experiencing what it takes to cut an album."

Ercie's voice coach is her former Zalma High music teacher, Debra Hitt, who now lives in Cape Girardeau. Before Ercie walks into a recording studio, she runs through a series of voice warm-ups and exercises to make sure she is at the proper pitch.

"Some of the stars in Nashville right now do the same thing," said Hawkins. "You have to do it in order to sound exactly the way you want to."

Ercie's father, Ken, marvels at how different his daughter sounds today compared to a year ago. "It's hard to explain why it's different, but it is," he said. "I can understand the words better and they sound like they have more emotion behind them."

Ercie began singing at the tender age of 5. She can't remember a time when she wasn't listening to the radio, holding a child-like fascination and yearning to know more and more about the world of music.

Ken James thought his daughter's ear was glued to the radio. "She was always listening to music," he said. "Even today, when I was asking how to get here for the interview I had to ask her to turn the radio down so I could hear."

James has been singing seriously for seven years. She has been working with Hawkins and her overseas promoter Charlie Ray for just over a year.

"Everybody has been so good to me," she said. "My grandfather helped me financially and my family has been so supportive of me. I work with a songwriter to turn my stories into lyrics. So far that's been a lot of fun."

Russell Faust, Ercie's grandfather, describes the single "You Don't Own Me" as "kind of sassy and upbeat. I love to hear her sing," he said. He first release was called "Nineties Woman". James' picture appears prominently in Airplay International's trade magazine, which lists the top 100 stars of country and western music.

Hawkins and Ray are waiting for just the right moment to test Ercie's material nationwide. "We've just finished a video that we hope will be picked up by the cable network TNN," said James.

Ercie got her name from Ken's mother-in-law. "It sounds kind of different," said Ken, whose son Ken Jr., 28, and daughter Janice, 24, have also been big supporters of the most talked about country singer in Zalma and beyond for some time.

"I don't know how far I can take this, but I'm willing to work as hard as I have to," she said with a look of hunger and determination. "Ercie's been dreaming about this for a long time," said Faust.

"Her name sounds like a country music star's name," said Faust. Indeed, kind of sassy and earthy with the promise of something as big and bright as Nashville's most alluring lights.