Erin Cruise has traveled a lot of different paths in her life, and has approached every one with a good touch of humor.

Moving from town to town to follow her father’s job, Cruise discovered her gift of music at the age of three. Cruise was always sure of her path. When Fly asked why she became a singer: “Fame and fortune, of course!” she giggles. “Ha! Right! I was born that way – it was never a choice.”

After graduating college, Cruise worked for several TV affiliates in the Midwest, dabbling in commercials, writing and sometimes singing for a local ad agency. But every rock and roll girl has to take her shot at the big time, and Cruise really had no other option but to take heed to that innate need to perform and shine.

So at the age of 25, Cruise followed her heart and moved to New York for a dream. The track to a record deal had begun, and about a year after moving to the city, divine providence struck. “It started with a chance meeting in the produce section of a grocery store,” Cruise says, straight-faced. “No kidding.”

Unbeknownst to Cruise, the produce section would serve as a catalyst for a life-altering chain reaction; her chance meeting was with Mark Calcagni, who eventually introduced her to Vito Albano of Alive n’ Kickin. Vito, in turn, introduced her to his childhood friend, Bruce Sudano, a songwriter and original member of Brooklyn Dreams, laying the groundwork for what would become a successful combination.

After four years of collaboration and hard work, Albano, Sudano and Cruise recorded more than 20 songs, with four official releases, the last song, “Cold Shower,” becoming a radio hit. The song charted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at number 90 and sold more than 60,000 copies. Erin Cruise had hit it big.

After touring the East and doing a stint in Vegas with fiancé and road manager, Michael Marino, Cruise began doing “track dates” to promote her singles. She also appeared on such TV shows as “The Joe Franklin Show” and “Dance Party USA.” Everything seemed to be on track for Cruise – a hit single, a record contract and a happy relationship. But for as rosy as things looked, there was turmoil in the torrent of success.

“It was actually an awesome experience,” Cruise recalls, “complete with limos, fans and lots of airplay, which at the time was totally surreal. It was a dream come true, I guess. But I’m a private person, and like being my own boss … [and] when you have a record deal, you become somewhat public and your record label’s ‘property.’ That was just one thing that was tough for me, personally, to deal with,” she shrugs. “The greater the rewards, the greater the sacrifices, no doubt.”

Everything was looking good. But after her marriage in 1992, her record company did not renew her contract. Nevertheless, she persevered, singing with a live band for parties and weddings. At 30, this was a chance to keep her chops until the next record deal came along. For most people, this change of direction would be so disheartening that they’d want to call it quits, but not for Cruise.

“I was young [with] lots of life ahead of me,” she observes. “[I] naively thought there would be another record deal around the corner at some point. Ya know, you think you have so much time when you’re young. However, because of some of the things I learned I didn’t like about having a hit record, I didn’t try so hard to go after it again – I jumped right into wedding band work, as it provided more stability, good money, and kept me close to home to focus on a new marriage at the time.

“I was approached by a producer to work on a country music deal at that time,” she continues. “So we wrote together, put a Manhattan-based band together and played out for record companies. We ended up taking a short trip to Nashville to shop a deal, but came back empty handed. I would have had to move there to make something happen and couldn’t do it at that time,” she explains. “Still, it was an awesome experience!”

Following her Nashville experience, Cruise gave birth to her two children. But being a full time mom didn’t mean she didn’t work. She collaborated with a variety of groups and individuals on weekends, always focusing on her music. But just as it seemed that Cruise was heading for a comeback, her husband started his own business, relocating the family to the greater York area. It wasn’t exactly a fuzzy, happy moment for Cruise.

“I hated [moving] at first,” she remembers. “I was a busy and in-demand singer for 10 years [in New York]. But I also spent a good deal of my childhood in Iowa, so it wasn’t total culture shock. I came here not knowing anyone, and started from scratch – and was going through a divorce at the same time.

“That was definitely a dark period for me,” laments Cruise, “possibly the darkest in my life so far. Ya know, they say death, divorce and relocating are the three greatest stresses in life to deal with – I was coping with two out of the three at the same time. I started freelancing in the D.C. area, but couldn’t get enough work and didn’t want to commit to a band down there.”

Cruise spent the first two years commuting from Pa. almost every weekend, making most of her money in New York. Resultantly, jaded by the perpetual traveling, she decided to plant roots here, forming her latest ensemble, Central Pa.’s Cruise Control.

“This is a great area for music!” exclaims Cruise. “There’s a lot musically going on. I love working in the studio, and luckily, I’ve had the privilege to be involved on two album projects since I moved here and worked with numerous extremely talented musicians – including the great guys in my band,” she says emphatically.

“I’m pleased with my continued path, and living here in South Central Pa. is part of that. I’ve met some terrific people and … it’s also a great place to co-raise my two kids. It took awhile, but I think I can finally, comfortably call this ‘home’ for now,” Cruise smiles.

And home it certainly is for Cruise Control; seeing this band gives that same warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you have one of Grandma’s cookies on Christmas Eve. And although they play weddings, this is not the wedding band or wedding singer that makes you want another cup of cheer to get through the night. The band’s playbook reads like the artists in my “Yeah, I love this stuff” CD mix: Etta James, Elvis, Aretha, Bonnie Raitt and so many more that I can’t even come close to listing them all.

It’s not just the talents of this great singer, but the entire group of professionals in the band that make a great mix. Members include drummer Butch Barber, who has been performing for 20 years with the likes of Parliament-Funkadelic, George Clinton, Luther Ingram, and Isaac Hayes Revue; York College alumni Jeff Calvin on guitar, who has worked with blues acts from Harrisburg to New York; Los Angeles keyboard veteran John Rivero; and Harrisburg-native Aaron Hughes, who has performed in many area bands, including New Experience, Chill Factor, 5 Street Band, Full Effect (the original bassist) and Mirror Image Trio.

At a recent KClinger’s Publik House performance, Cruise’s voice was as powerful as ever as she belted out a smooth, soulful yet commanding rendition of “Baby It’s You.” And the performance brought the crowd from their chairs, dancing into the aisles.

So after all the twists and turns on her multiple paths, does Cruise have any regrets? “No regrets,” she grins. “None.”