If not for certain political events last year, Paulette Carlson might be the most famous woman in Alaska.
As famous as you get with four No. 1 country hits to your credit and 10 songs that have charted in the Top 10: classic titles like "The Bed You Made for Me," "Whiskey, if You Were a Woman" and "Walkin', Talkin', Cryin', Barely Beatin' Broken Heart."
But not so famous that you can't sing for your hometown crowd at the Alaska State Fair.
In the late 1980s and early '90s, the band Highway 101 was an express train on the main track of country music, and the blonde with the huge voice was its locomotive.
Through the whole ride, which included Vocal Group of the Year honors at the Country Music Awards, Carlson was nursing an ongoing Alaska connection that few fans knew about.
It began before stardom came calling. Carlson, originally from Minnesota, was living in Nashville, cutting demos and writing songs for the likes of the Oak Ridge Boys. A friend whose band was booked for Juneau needed a singer and gave her a call in December 1985.
Carlson took the gig and, the following month, met and fell in love with longtime Alaskan Randy Smith while taking a ferry excursion to Skagway.
Shortly after, she got her big career break. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band manager Chuck Morris had "discovered" Carlson and decided to build a new band, Highway 101, around her.
This complicated the courtship.
"We had this crazy long-distance relationship going on," Carlson recalled over tea at Wasilla's Windbreak Cafe last week. She and Randy squeezed dates into a recording and performance schedule that had her hopping all over the country.
They married in 1989 and by the next year Carlson was expecting. "I had to record while pregnant," she said. "Boy, that's hard!"
Daughter Cali was born in Anchorage in 1991 and almost immediately had to hit the road with her mother.
"She was a traveling baby," Carlson said. "When you're a musician, you're a gypsy."
At about the same time, Carlson decided to leave Highway 101: "I spent five years with them, then moved on."
She balanced ongoing solo appearances and song-writing with unending relocations. Randy Smith, who works in contracting and construction, traveled from job to job around Alaska and out of state.
"We've lived in Anchorage, Wasilla and Sitka. I move around a lot," said the Nashville diva -- now officially Paulette C. Smith on her Permanent Fund dividend checks and Alaska resident fishing license. ("I love to fish," she said.)
The Smiths also own a farm in Montana. "I've driven that Alcan Highway 13 times," she said. "Often by myself, pulling a trailer."
Since 2000 they've headquartered in Wasilla, mostly because Randy Smith's work keeps him in Alaska.
"I love Montana, but I love my husband more," said Carlson.
Highway 101 has continued to play the circuit with different personnel. Carlson has stepped in for reunion sessions from time to time. She's continued to perform at Lower 48 venues like Dollywood and do benefits for veterans, one of her special causes. "Thank You Vets" is a patriotic cut from her most recent album, "It's About Time."
But her adopted state hasn't heard much from her since that fateful gig in Juneau 24 years ago.
That will change on Sept. 6 when she performs at the Sluicebox beer barn at the Alaska State Fair. She's been rehearsing with a band of local musicians and expressed hope that the small venue -- a humble metal pole building with low roof, dirt floor and plywood dance area -- won't be too intimate. Physically, Carlson fills the stage when she performs and her voice has a full-power, from-the-ribs sound akin to Dolly Parton's or Stevie Nicks' that doesn't always need a microphone.
Fair-goers won't have to pay anything extra to hear the show.
"We're basically playing for free," Carlson said. "But I love to sing for people and Alaska's been very good to me."
She's become fond of her fellow Alaskans, she said. "There are a lot of pioneer people up here, just a lot of individuals."
And it's only neighborly to share a little entertainment.
"Especially in times like these," Carlson said, "stressful times. I think people need to get out and dance more."
Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.
By MIKE DUNHAM
mdunham@adn.com