When Deana Carter opened a Saddledome concert for Alan Jackson in May 1998, she was able to roam the city anonymously.

When she returns to wrap up the Stampede at Cowboys on July 18, she probably won't be able to go unnoticed.

The beautiful petite blond has hit quadruple platinum with her debut album Did I Shave My Legs For This? with hits including Strawberry Wine, We Danced Anyway and Count Me In.

Her follow-up CD, Everything's Gonna Be Alright, has already found success with the single Angels Working Overtime.

This kind of rise won't allow her to go unnoticed like she did on her last visit to Cowtown.

"I hiked up that hill behind the 'Dome and I saw the beautiful view of the city and walked and walked. There are some cool little houses up there," Carter tells Sun Country.

"And I rode my bike around the area. Nobody knew who I was -- I put on my sunglasses. That's what I do. I just take off because I can't stand to be caged in."

When it comes to performing, Carter appreciates close quarters.

Many artists as popular as Carter wouldn't play a nightclub like the 750-capacity Cowboys, but Carter loves the clubs and remembers a time when she played them before her record deal.

"I'm a big fan of clubs. ... I love that feeling and I love to play really loud and little more impromptu. I think the crowds are a little more rowdy. It's fun," says Carter.

"I guess it's against the grain of what most people like, but I like to get response, so I'm looking forward to the show."

Among the material she's likely to perform is the title track off her new album, a song her father Fred Carter Jr. wrote. Fred is a famous guitarist who, in the mid-'60s and '70s, played on almost 90% of all Nashville record sessions, including those by Elvis Presley, Simon and Garfunkel and Roy Orbison.

Though the song established its copyright in 1971, Deana -- born in 1966 -- remembers the song being part of the family "when I was very small."

"It has pulled my family through a lot of stuff, the loss of other family members, being apart and sometimes having to be the family that you are -- family and life struggles," says Deana.

She didn't tell her dad that she had recorded the song, but asked him to the studio to listen to another tune. Once there, she played her version of Everything's Gonna Be Alright.

"It was a great moment and it was very teary in the room."

Taking on the duties of spokeswoman for the National Kidney Foundation was also inspired by her father, who had a kidney transplant in 1994.

"He's doing fine now, but once you go through that kind of trauma with a family member, you never take for granted when you get to hug their neck," says Carter.

"I signed my driver's license (to donate organs) when I was 16 and when I renewed it, I had let it slide for a few years. When this happened to my dad, I signed up again. Thank God nothing happened to me, then -- with no one able to benefit."

Carter has become well known for performing in her bare feet, something that helps her relax onstage. She's also big on creating a mood while in the studio recording.

"I go crazy when I'm in the studio -- especially on this last record. I opened my chequebook and I bought as many groovy things as I could from this retro store," she recalls.

"We had black lights, fuzzy posters, a disco ball (which is still in the studio), glow-in-the-dark posters, incense, and Led Zeppelin and (Jimi) Hendrix posters -- the whole nine yards.

"We even had love beads going into the control room."

The trend obviously stuck with producer Chris Farren, who later asked Paul Brandt to create a vibe in the studio.