Brooke Eden Recalls Growing Up and Yodeling With Cassadee Pope

Brooke Eden’s big country voice stands up and stands out on her debut single “Daddy’s’ Money,” a song that recalls those from one of her heroes growing up. The Florida-raised singer admits it took her years to feel comfortable with the power of her voice, however. In fact, she tried to run from it.

Eden thought she was too loud. During high school and while at the University of Florida, she would try to turn down her volume and harness the horses driving her greatest strength. Then she asked herself, "Why?"

“At some point,” Eden tells Taste of Country, “I realized that this was my voice and this was what it’s going to do. And I either need to take control over it … or I let it go. I decided to take control of it.”

That happened about five years ago, just after she graduated with a Business Marketing degree. Between then and now she has been an aspiring artist who played where and when she could, but held down day jobs to pay bills. A 2015 show with Gretchen Wilson provided a pinch-me moment. The “Redneck Woman” singer is her idol. Eden has all of her albums and knows all of her songs — she even read her book!

“Gretchen’s was one of the first albums I remember listening to and not wanting to sing, because I just wanted to hear her voice,” Eden shares. Last year, the newcomer opened a hometown show for the icon. It was a breast cancer awareness show, and Eden was one of six acts leading up to the headliner, Wilson.

“At the end of the night we had a big pizza party. And she came out to the pizza party and said ‘Who is that singing son-of-a-gun who did that Hank Williams Sr. song yodeling?’”

It was Eden. Yep, the 20-something yodels, too (watch the video for an example), and that has its own story. She and Cassadee Pope are from the same part of southeast Florida, and growing up they were best friends. They had the same vocal teacher as kids, and whenever one had a family vacation, the other would join.

“When we were like 9 or 10 years old we actually would not go anywhere without matching outfits,” Eden says. “And then we would sing the song called ‘Cowboy Sweetheart’ … and she would do a verse and chorus and I would do a verse and chorus and we’d end it with a big jazz hand.”

“We were nine, you can’t hate on the 9-year-old.”

Musically they've separated some, although both embrace country-rock whenever possible. Eden says she aims to be somewhere between Jason Aldean and Adele when she sings. That's about as far as you can get from turning the volume down.