DEANA CARTER has country music in her genes.

After all, father Fred was seasoned stage and session guitarist in Nashville --playing with the likes of Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison. So the glamor of Nashville issomething she's used to. But nothing could have prepared Carter for the landslide ofpublic support she has received for her debut CD, Did I Shave My Legs For This? andthe Grammy nominated single Strawberry Wine.

As she prepared to launch her first major tour with John Berry, which stops at theOttawa Civic Centre April 4, the soft-spoken Carter finds she's still getting over theshock.

"It's been so great. But I'd say the biggest thrill of it all is the fact that myparents are very, very happy -- and just that they don't worry about me like they usedto.

"It was really a struggle for me and they're finally able to say: `Okay, maybe we'lllet you be grown up now,' " she says from Los Angeles.

Although she admits they butted heads a bit, Carter says her father was a huge help inchanneling her creativity.

"He was such an inspiration for me and, more than anything, he had such good advise.It was priceless. On top of that, the stories he would tell, and all that experiencewas a great help to me."

A lot of things contributed to Carter's success, but she credits Willie Nelson forkickstarting her career.

"When he invited me to come as an unknown and play Farm-Aid in '94, it was a big dealat the time for me.

"Kris Kristofferson helped, too, because he took me around to interviews and it allhelped because it woke up people in Nashville, they were all wondering why I was onthat bill

"The interest in my career mounted after that."