Rachel Sweet with Rex Smith

At Stiff Records, nothing was sacred; often the label's slogans and unorthodox promotion were as memorable as the truly inspired music they released. With teenage Rachel Sweet, whom they marketed as a "jailbait" country singer (and later as a leather-clad child abductor), it would seem that their perverse humor had finally gone too far. One listen to her albums, however, and all questionable images and in-jokes fall into the background; "the little girl with the big voice" made some terrific music, holding her own on a roster that had no shortage of talent. Akron-born Rachel ...