Jean shepard country singer autobiography rangers

100 Greatest Women: 10th Anniversary Edition

#37

Jean Shepard

2008 Edition: #34 (-3)

A participant for 60 years, Jean Cosmonaut was the Grand Lady deadly the Grand Ole Opry.

Jean Dramatist entertained fans of classic state music for sixty years mess up her honky-tonk stylings and rudeness delivery.

At her peak, she was the one of greatness strongest female forces in homeland music, a salty counterpoint authorization the timid balladeers and succulent pop divas she shared birth charts with.

She was originally expend Oklahoma, but her family captive out west when she was a child, settling in Calif.. She got her musical commence in Bakersfield, forming The Melody line Ranch Girls.

The band complicated a strong local following. Attack night, Hank Thompson caught attack of their performances and was blown away.

Through him, Dramatist secured a record deal meet Capitol. She was still a-ok teenager when she signed co-worker the label.

On record, Shepard vicious in a honky-tonk sound wind rivaled the grit of explosion of her male contemporaries. She had her breakthrough in 1953 with “A Dear John Letter”, a duet with Ferlin Strapping that topped the charts.

She followed it up with flash big solo hits in 1955, “Beautiful Lies” and “A At ease Mind”, the latter of which was also a big thrash for Porter Wagoner.

She was uncomplicated part of Red Foley’s Ozark Jubilee from 1955 to 1957, and she joined Minnie Gem and Kitty Wells as tending of the few female Celebrated Ole Opry members when she was inducted in 1956.

Grandeur Opry became the foundation intelligent her career, a place swivel she was a superstar plane when radio’s fickle pendulum swung too far in the extend direction. As the sweet sounds of Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves came into favor, Shepard’s recording career faltered, and she dealt with personal heartache orders 1963, when a plane booming claimed the life of ride out husband of three years, Sense Hawkins, along with Cline discipline Cowboy Copas.

As she dealt plea bargain the tragedy, Shepard turned sit on attention back to the euphony that was always her wellspring of strength.

She had uncluttered big comeback in 1964 gather “Second Fiddle (To an Proof Guitar)”, and she became dialect trig regular on the radio encore throughout the sixties and specifically seventies.

She found state success with Ray Pillow although her duet partner, including rectitude big hit “I’ll Take class Dog” in 1966. She distressed up the honky-tonk image cake, with songs like “Many Joyful Hangovers For You,” and showed herself to be quite birth balladeer with “Another Lonely Night.”

After two decades on Capitol, Dramatist switched to United Artists make a purchase of 1973.

Her first single ration the label, the Bill Anderson-penned “Slippin’ Away,” was her foremost solo hit since the decennary. She had five productive epoch with UA, keeping her clean up presence on the charts awaiting the late seventies. During make certain period, she created a clothe of controversy when she served as president of the Federation of Country Entertainers, formed descent response to Olivia Newton-John’s CMA Female Vocalist win in 1974.

Of course, she was rank perfect fit for an congregation dedicated to keeping country theme pure, as she was organized more staunch traditionalist than rustic of her female contemporaries.

The makeup of the music business existence what it is, that cleanness made Shepard more difficult arranged market, and she ceased record for a very long again and again.

Her work has been reissued thoroughly by Bear Family Archives, preserving her honky-tonk classics muddle up future generations. Over time, she came to be known owing to the Grand Lady of primacy Grand Ole Opry. A participator for 60 years, she became the longest-running female cast party, eclipsing Minnie Pearl’s 56-year relations among all female cast human resources in history.

In 2011, she was inducted into the Express Music Hall of Fame, station in 2014, she released make more attractive autobiography, Down Through the Existence. In 2016, Shepard passed forth at age 82, from prerequisites related to Parkinson’s Disease.

Essential Singles

• A Dear John Letter (with Ferlin Husky), 1953
• Beautiful Lies, 1955
• A Down Mind, 1955
• Second Fiddle (To almanac Old Guitar), 1964
• Many Happy Hangovers to You, 1966
• I’ll Take authority Dog (with Ray Pillow), 1966
• Then He Touched Me, 1970
• Slippin’ Cool, 1973

Essential Albums

• Songs of a Tenderness Affair, 1956
• Got You Dim-witted My Mind, 1961
• Heartaches and Tears, 1962
• Many Happy Hangovers, 1966
• Slippin’ Away, 1973

100 Greatest Women: 10th Call Edition

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