Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C., clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer. Carpenter's first album, 1987's Hometown Girl, did not produce any singles, although 1989's State of the Heart and 1990's Shooting Straight in the Dark each produced four Top 20 hits on the Billboard country singles charts.