NEW YORK, NY -- Twenty years ago, Paula Cole took home the Grammy Award for best new artist. It was an amazing achievement on a night that turned out to be quite complicated.
The then-30-year-old met her idol, Aretha Franklin, and sang her hit "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" in front of millions.
But she also felt uncomfortable in the spotlight. Cole shocked some people for raising her middle finger during her performance and triggered jokes for daring to bare armpit hair.
All these years later, that Grammy is not her favorite accomplishment. That would be her daughter and her fans, who have funded her last two albums.
Her story is a cautionary one for anyone who thinks that winning one of music's most coveted awards is the end of the struggle.
