But a little album called "Come Away With Me" changed all that. Released in 2002, the jazz-tinged, folk-inflected disc became a surprise hit, garnering huge sales, an armful of Grammys and catapulting Jones into the pop stratosphere. The album´s breakout single, "Don´t Know Why," was nothing short of ubiquitous.

When she was a 14-year-old freshman in Grapevine, Texas, Jones wore "nerdy" glasses and had short hair -- far from her current sultry image -- but she had already displayed considerable talent as a pianist. Her mother, Lawton-born nurse Sue Jones, introduced her daughter to the opera as well as the canon of great jazz performers, and put Jones through five years of piano lessons.

Jones is also the daughter of legendary sitar master Ravi Shankar. While genetics undoubtedly played a role in Jones´ artistic growth, Shankar was not a presence in her life; Jones has only developed a relationship with him in the past few years. She mainly credits her mother for setting her on the right musical path.

"She listened to good music: Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin," said Jones, who performed a duet with Charles on his posthumously released CD, "Genius Loves Company".