On This Date in Minnesota History: October 11

October 11, 1952 - Paulette Tenae Carlson, a country singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s as the founder and lead vocalist for the country band Highway 101, was born on this date in Hutchinson, Minn. With Highway 101, she charted four No. 1 hit singles, seven Top 10 hits, a gold album and two back-to-back wins for Vocal Group of the Year from both the ACM and the CMA Awards in 1988 and 1989.¹

Paulette Tenae Carlson3

Paulette named the band Highway 101 for Highway 101 in Minn. where she was from, thinking that it was a great connection to her Calif. band mates with a highway of the same name in their home state.2

Highway 101 - Minn.4

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulette_Carlson
²http://www.cmt.com/artists/paulette-carlson/biography/
³http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paulette_Carlson.jpg
⁴Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Oct. 11, 2013,   as long as acknowledgement included.