Connie Smith
Encyclopedia
Connie Smith is an American country music
artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio
, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson. After recording several demos for Anderson to pitch to other artists, Smith was offered a contract by RCA Victor Records in 1964.
Working under the direction of producer Bob Ferguson
, her debut single entitled "Once a Day
" was released in August 1964. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart, spending eight weeks at number one on that chart, which still holds the record for the most weeks spent at number one by a female country artist. In addition, the single also became the first debut single by a female country artist to reach number one, a record that was held for over twenty five years. The single brought Smith breakthrough success in the country music industry, bringing her nineteen more singles that reached the top ten, including "Then and Only Then
", "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)
", and "Cincinnati, Ohio
". Because of such success, Smith was one of country music's most popular female artists during the 1960s.
After encountering trouble in her personal life, Smith became a Born Again Christian in 1968 and became less career-oriented by the turn of the decade. By the mid-70s, Smith's record sales dropped considerably and her popularity declined. During this time Smith began to reconsider her music career and went into semi-retirement to raise her family.
After marrying country artist Marty Stuart
in 1997, Smith staged a musical comeback, releasing her first studio album in exactly twenty years in October 1998. In 2003 she released a collaborative gospel album with Barbara Fairchild
and Sharon White entitled Love Never Fails. Smith is often considered by music critics and counterparts alike to be one of the best and most underrated vocalists in country music history. Artists such as Dolly Parton
, George Jones
, and Chely Wright
have cited Smith as either one of the best vocalists in the music industry or one of their favorite artists.
, the daughter of Hobart and Wilma Meador. Her parents were originally from West Virginia
, when Smith was five months old, the family returned there. They would later move to Dungannon, Ohio. Her father was abusive when she was a child, which would eventually cause her to suffer a mental breakdown when she was a teenager. When she was seven, her mother divorced her father and remarried Tom Clark, who had eight children, along with the five additional children Smith's mother previously had. The couple would eventually have two more children together, which in total added up to fourteen children, including Smith. As a child, Smith was surrounded by music. Her stepfather played mandolin
, while her brother played fiddle
, and her other brother played guitar
. On Saturday nights Smith would listen to the Grand Ole Opry
radio broadcast. While she was teenager, Smith was injured in a lawnmower accident, which nearly cut her leg off. While in the hospital recovering, she was given a guitar and learned how to play different chords. Following the recovery, she began to perform in various local talent contests. In 1959, Smith graduated from Salem-Liberty High School as the class salutatorian
.
In August 1963, she entered a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio
. Performing Jean Shepard
's "I Thought of You", Smith won the talent contest and five silver dollars. That day at the park, country artist Bill Anderson heard Smith perform and was impressed by her voice. In January 1964, Smith ran into Anderson again at a country music package concert, where he invited her to perform with him on Ernest Tubb
's Midnight Jamboree program in Nashville, Tennessee
. After performing on the program, Smith returned to Nashville that May to record demos by Anderson that he planned on pitching to other country artists. Anderson's manager Hubert Long brought the demo recording to RCA Victor Records where producer Chet Atkins
heard it. Also impressed by her vocals, Atkins offered Smith a recording contract and she eventually signed with the label on June 24, 1964.
found himself too busy with other artists, Bob Ferguson
acted as Smith's producer on her first sessions and would continue to work as her producer until her departure from RCA. Smith's first session took place on July 16, 1964, where she recorded four songs, three of which were written by Bill Anderson. One of the four songs recorded during the session entitled "Once a Day
" (written by Anderson especially for Smith) was chosen to be Smith's debut single. The song was rush-released as a single on August 1, 1964 and became Smith's breakout single, reaching #1 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart on November 28 and remained at the number one position for eight weeks. "Once a Day" became the first debut single by a female country artist to reach number one and held the record for over twenty five years, until Trisha Yearwood
broke it in 1991 with "She's in Love with the Boy
". To date, "Once a Day" holds the record for the most weeks spent at number one on the Billboard country chart by a female artist. To promote her single, RCA released Smith's self-titled debut album
in March 1965 which also reached #1, spending seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and spending thirty weeks on the chart overall. In addition, the album also peaked at #105 on the Billboard 200
albums chart around the same time. Dan Cooper of Allmusic called the production of the album to sound as if she was "a down-home Streisand
fronting The Lennon Sisters
." During this time, Anderson wrote a series of singles that would jump-start Smith's career in the country music industry. Among these songs was Smith's follow-up single to "Once a Day" released in early 1965 titled "Then and Only Then
". The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard country chart. In addition its B-side "Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" (originally intended for Skeeter Davis
) was also written by Anderson and peaked within the Top 25 on the same singles chart.
In 1965 Smith officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
radio show in Nashville, Tennessee
. It had been a dream of Smith's to become a member since childhood, remembering saying at the age of five, "Someday I’m gonna sing on the Grand Ole Opry." In the mid-60s Smith was temporarily fired from the Grand Ole Opry for not being on the show for twenty six weeks out of the year, which was the required amount of weeks to stay a member at the time. In the 1970s Smith was nearly fired from the show for testifying about Jesus Christ.
Bill Anderson wrote her next single with Bette Anderson, which was released in April 1965 called "I Can't Remember
". The single peaked at #9 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart and #30 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart. In October 1965, Smith released her second studio album Cute 'n' Country
. The album featured both cover versions of other country songs and newer songs written by Bill Anderson. It included cover versions of songs by such artists as Jim Reeves
, Webb Pierce
, and Ray Price
. Like her first album, Cute 'n' Country reached #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and spent thirty weeks on the chart as well. Her next two singles, "If I Talk to Him
" and "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)
", both reached #4 on the Hot Country Singles chart and were issued on Smith's third album, Miss Smith Goes to Nashville
(1966). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. With her next few sessions, Smith's producer Bob Ferguson
felt pressured from RCA headquarters in New York City
to market Smith's sound toward more "middle-of-the-road" country pop
material. This change of sound was evident on her next two studio albums Born to Sing
(1966) and Downtown Country
(1967). Both albums featured full orchestras in the background and cover versions of singles by pop
artists of the time. Spawned from Born to Sing and Downtown Country respectively were the singles "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and "The Hurtin's All Over", which both peaked within the Top 5 on the Hot Country Singles chart.
During this time, Smith also appeared in several country music vehicle films where she performed many of her current hit recordings. In 1966 she appeared in the films Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar and The Las Vegas Hillbillys
, the latter of which starred Jayne Mansfield
.. In 1967 she appeared in The Road to Nashville and Hell on Wheels.
In February 1967 Smith released an album with RCA Camden
entitled Connie in the Country
, which mainly featured cover versions of country hits recorded at the time, including songs by Loretta Lynn
and Buck Owens
. In May 1967 Smith released an album of songs written entirely by Bill Anderson entitled Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson
. Smith later commented that, "...it was an honor, not a favor" to record an album of all Bill Anderson songs. Included in the album was covers of Anderson's own hits such as "City Lights" and "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome". Also featured was Anderson's "I Love You Drops", which Smith wanted to release as a single, however Anderson wanted to release the song as his own single. Smith stated, "We begged him for that song. But I cut thirty three of his songs." It would later become a top ten hit for Anderson. Between 1966 and 1968, Smith had five top ten singles in a row on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart: "I'll Come Running" (which Smith wrote herself), "Cincinnati, Ohio
", "Burning a Hole in My Mind", "Baby's Back Again", and "Run Away Little Tears". "Cincinnati, Ohio" would later inspire the city of Cincinnati, Ohio
to declare their own "Connie Smith Day" in June 1967.
. These pressures eventually led Smith to seek solace in both her family life and religion, becoming a Born Again Christian in the spring of 1968. Although she did not give up her music career completely, Smith did balance it with a lighter schedule in order to avoid stress. In 1968 and 1969, Smith also began to record darker songs, including the single "Ribbon of Darkness
", among others. Smith stated that it was reflection on her personal life, after recently divorcing her first husband Jerry Smith. Despite her recent personal troubles, Smith continued to enjoy the same commercial success she had before. In 1969 her next single "You and Your Sweet Love" (written by Bill Anderson) reached #6 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart. This was followed by another top ten single in 1970 entitled "I Never Once Stopped Loving You", which reached #5 on the same singles chart. Between 1969 and 1970, Smith released two collaborative albums with American country artist Nat Stuckey
called Young Love
and Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith, the latter of which was a gospel album.
Between 1970 and 1971, both the singles "Louisiana Man" and "Where Is My Castle" became top twenty hits on the Billboard Magazine country singles chart. In 1971 Smith's cover of Don Gibson
's 1960 single "Just One Time" reached #2 on the Hot Country Singles chart. An album of the same name
was also released, which reached #20 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. By the early 1970s, Smith started to incorporate more Gospel music
into her regular studio albums and touring show. Smith later stated that by incorporating more Gospel music into her secular recording career would make her leap into Christianity "count". In 1971 she released her third gospel album Come Along and Walk with Me
, which Smith later stated was her favorite gospel record out of the many she has made.
In 1972 all three of Smith's singles reached the top ten on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart: "Just for What I Am" (#5), "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" (#7), and "Love Is the Look You're Looking For" (#8). In addition three albums were also released to accommodate the success of the three singles, including a tribute to songwriter Dallas Frazier
named If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs
. In November 1972 Smith announced she would depart from RCA Records
, the same week that country artist Eddy Arnold
also announced his departure. Smith later explained in an interview with Razor & Tie
that she felt RCA showed a lack of respect for her and she felt she would have been happier recording elsewhere.
in 1973. With her new contract she insisted that she would be able to record one gospel
album a year. She released her first gospel album under the her label in November 1973 called God Is Abundant
. In addition the label also gave her the advantage of being able to incorporate more gospel songs into her regular country studio albums. Because of these factors, most of her singles remained out of the top ten, but she did manage to stay in the top twenty most of the decade. That year Smith recorded her first country album for the label entitled A Lady Named Smith
with producer George Richey. Together, both Smith and Richey co-wrote the album's lead single "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)", which became a minor hit on the Billboard country chart. However Smith was dissatisfied with Richey's production strategies and replaced him with Ray Baker
for her next album That's the Way Love Goes (1974). Her next single (released on That's the Way Love Goes) was written by Dallas Frazier
called "Ain't Love a Good Thing", which peaked at #10 on the Hot Country Singles Chart in 1974.
After signing with Columbia, many music critics considered that Smith lost much of the quality that was found in her earlier records with RCA Victor. When reviewing her compilation from her years at Columbia titled Connie Smith Sings Her Hits
(1997), Thom Jurek of Allmusic commented that Smith lost much of the "grain" in her voice. Jurek went on to say, "It could be said, that regardless of the material, she never made a bad record; the tunes were carefully chosen it's true, but she never tried to hide the hardcore twang in her vocal style." In 1974 Smith released the singles "I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before)" and "I've Got My Baby on My Mind", which both reached #13 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart respectively. In 1975 she released her second gospel album with the label Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel
, which was a tribute to the gospel material Hank Williams recorded. That year she also released a cover of Williams's secular "Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)" as a single. In 1976 Smith released two cover versions of previously-made pop hits by The Everly Brothers
as singles: "(Till) I Kissed You
" and "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)". After releasing two more studio albums in 1976, Smith parted ways with Columbia Records the following year.
In 1977 Smith moved to Monument Records
. With her new recording contract, she was marketed as country pop
artist and was pressured into recording softer material. While reviewing Smith's 1993 Monument compilation Greatest Hits on Monument, Allmusics Stephen Thomas Erlewine
commented that she not only recorded country-pop material, but also "heavily produced adult contemporary ballads and big, shiny disco-influenced pop numbers." Meanwhile both of Smith's albums under the label stiffed upon release. Her debut 1977 Monument album Pure Connie Smith
only spawned one single entitled "Coming Around", which peaked outside the Top 40. Only one single released on the label became a significant hit, a cover of Andy Gibb
's 1977 pop hit "I Just Want to Be Your Everything
", which peaked at #14 on the country singles chart in 1978. Smith's next five singles on the label continued to descend into progressively lower positions on the country singles chart and because of poor record sales, Smith decided to go into semi-retirement in 1979 to raise her five children.
in 1985 and 1986 to record a pair of singles. The first single "A Far Cry from You" (1985) was written by Alternative country
artist Steve Earle
and reached #71 on the Hot Country Singles chart. In 1986 she made a cameo appearance in Stephen King
's horror film Maximum Overdrive
as "dead lady in car".
One day in the mid 1990s, Smith was at her home talking to one of her daughters on the phone. After telling her mother what she was going to that night, her daughter asked Smith what her plans for that night were. Because she did not have anything fun planned, Smith lied so her daughter wouldn't have to worry about her. After the conversation ended, Smith realized that she didn't need her own children worrying about her at the start of their adult lives and decided that it was time to return to her career. With country artist Marty Stuart
acting as the album's main producer (whom she married in 1997), Smith signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records
in 1996. Although the label preferred her to record an album of duets, Smith decided to go by her own terms and record a solo studio album. In October 1998 she released her second self-titled studio album. Consisting of ten tracks, nine of them were co-written by both Smith and Stuart. Although the album attracted little attention, it was given high critical praise for its traditional and contemporary style. Kurt Wolff of the book Country Music: The Rough Guide commented that the album sounded "far gutsier than anything in the Reba
and Garth
mainstream". Thom Jurek of Allmusic gave the release four out of five stars, calling it "a solid effort", also commenting, "...it stands head and shoulders over most of the stuff that's come out of Nash Vegas in over a decade. Even if it doesn't sell a copy, it's a triumphant return for Smith. She hasn't lost a whit of her gift as a singer or as a writer."
Also in 1998, Smith made a second cameo appearance in a film, portraying a "Singer at the Rodeo Dance" in The Hi-Lo Country
starting Woody Harrelson
and Billy Crudup
.
In August 2003, Smith released a collaborative gospel album with country artists Barbara Fairchild
and Sharon White called Love Never Fails on Daywind Records. In an interview with Country Stars Central, Smith said that she was ill with the stomach flu while recording the album, but still enjoyed making the record nonetheless. Produced by country and bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs
, the album received a nomination from the Dove Awards. The website Slipcue.com reviewed the release and commented that Love Never Fails, "is probably too rowdy for most Southern Gospel fans (who really like tinkly pianos and less-twangy vocals), and while it probably won't wow many country listeners, for folks who are fans any of these three singers, this is kind of a treat.
In November 2008, Smith joined the cast of Marty Stuart
's television series The Marty Stuart Show, which airs on the RFD-TV
network every Saturday night. The thirty minute program features traditional country music performed by both Stuart and Smith, as well as radio personality, Eddie Stubbs
. Since 2008, Smith had been writing new songs for her next album. In August Smith released her first new solo recording in thirteen years entitled Long Line of Heartaches via Sugar Hill Records
. The record was produced by Marty Stuart and includes five songs written by the pair. Harlan Howard
, Kostas
, Johnny Russell
, and Dallas Frazier
also wrote songs that were included on the album.
musical style, primarily during her breakthrough years in the 1960s. While most Nashville Sound recordings of the time mainly included full orchestras, Smith's sound remained more traditional with its use of steel guitar
and her twangy vocals, while still featuring some pop-influenced instrumentation to provide urban pop appeal. Critics have largely praised Smith's use of the steel guitar
, which have often been described as "sharp" and "prominent". Smith's steel guitar player Weldon Myrick is often credited with creating what Smith has called "The Connie Smith Sound". In an interview with Colin Escott in his book Born to Sing, Myrick recalls how Smith's producer (Bob Ferguson
) wanted the guitar to sound, "He came out and said he wanted a bright sound, and he adjusted my controls. I thought it was an awfully thin sound, but it wound up being very popular."
Although Smith has never been one of the most commercially-successful or career-driven artists, she is one of country music's most celebrated and respected. Music critics, fans, and counterparts alike have considered Smith to be one of best and most underrated female vocalists in country music history. Music critics have often compared Smith's vocals to that of country legend Patsy Cline
, due to her emotional delivery and her strong use of diction and phrasing. In his review of Smith's 1996 compilation The Essential Connie Smith
, Jurek explained why Smith's vocals are usually compared to Cline's, "Connie Smith is perhaps the only female singer in the history of country music who can truly claim to be the heiress to Patsy Cline's throne. It's not that there aren't many amazing vocalists in the field, and plenty of legends among them. But in terms of the pure gift of interpretation of taking virtually any song and making it a country song of class and distinction, Smith is it." Many artists in the country music industry have cited Smith as a significant musical influence or one of their favorite musical artists. Chely Wright
said that she spent most of her childhood listening to records by Smith. George Jones
cited Smith as his favorite female singer in his 1995 autobiography. Elvis Presley
had many of Smith's albums in his record collection at his Graceland
home and intended on recording Smith's version of "The Wonders You Perform", but never got around to doing so. In a discussion with country songwriter Fred Foster
, Dolly Parton
famously said, "You know, there's really only three female singers in the world: Barbra Streisand
, Linda Ronstadt
, and Connie Smith. The rest of us are only pretending".
. The couple had one child together on March 9, 1963, named Darren Justin. In the late 1970s Darren went overseas to Europe to become a missionary
, and is currently a psychologist
. In the mid-1960s the couple divorced and Smith married the guitarist in her touring band, Jack Watkins. They had a son, Kenny Watkins, before separating nearly a year after marrying. Shortly afterward, Smith married for a third time to telephone repairman Marshall Haynes. In the early 70s the Haynes frequently toured with Smith on her road show. The couple had three daughters: Jeanne, Julie, and Jody Haynes. After divorcing Haynes in the early 1990s, Smith stated that she would never marry again, but on July 8, 1997 Smith married 1990s country artist Marty Stuart
. The couple met while writing songs together for Smith's 1998 comeback album. Thirty eight years before, Stuart remembered first encountering her one night after attending her concert: "I met Connie when I was 12 years old. She came to the Indian reservation in my hometown to work at a fair. She hasn't changed a bit. She looked great then and she looks great now." Smith said that they have sustained their marriage by making "...the Lord the center ... and commit."
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson. After recording several demos for Anderson to pitch to other artists, Smith was offered a contract by RCA Victor Records in 1964.
Working under the direction of producer Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson (music)
Robert Bruce "Bob" Ferguson Sr was an American songwriter, record producer who was instrumental in establishing Nashville, Tennessee as a center of country music; movie producer, and Choctaw Indian historian. Ferguson wrote the bestselling songs "On the Wings of a Dove" and "The Carroll County...
, her debut single entitled "Once a Day
Once a Day
"Once a Day" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded as the debut single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson for her self-titled debut album. The song was released in August 1964, topping the Billboard country music chart for eight weeks between late...
" was released in August 1964. The song reached #1 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart, spending eight weeks at number one on that chart, which still holds the record for the most weeks spent at number one by a female country artist. In addition, the single also became the first debut single by a female country artist to reach number one, a record that was held for over twenty five years. The single brought Smith breakthrough success in the country music industry, bringing her nineteen more singles that reached the top ten, including "Then and Only Then
Then and Only Then
"Then and Only Then" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded by American country artist, Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and released on her self-titled debut album that year. The song was released in January 1965, reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard country music chart in...
", "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)
Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)
"Nobody But a Fool " is a song written by Bill Anderson and released as a single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was the second single spawned from her 1966 album Miss Smith Goes to Nashville and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
", and "Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio (song)
"Cincinnati, Ohio" is the name of a country music song released by Connie Smith in 1967.During this time, in Connie Smith's career, she was at her very peak and was releasing various hit singles on the country charts every year. Since her release of her #1 hit "Once a Day" in 1964 she was one of...
". Because of such success, Smith was one of country music's most popular female artists during the 1960s.
After encountering trouble in her personal life, Smith became a Born Again Christian in 1968 and became less career-oriented by the turn of the decade. By the mid-70s, Smith's record sales dropped considerably and her popularity declined. During this time Smith began to reconsider her music career and went into semi-retirement to raise her family.
After marrying country artist Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
in 1997, Smith staged a musical comeback, releasing her first studio album in exactly twenty years in October 1998. In 2003 she released a collaborative gospel album with Barbara Fairchild
Barbara Fairchild
Barbara Fairchild is an American Country Music/Gospel Music Singer, who is best known for her 1973 Country chart-topper "The Teddy Bear Song". After the success of the song, she continued to have success on the Country charts....
and Sharon White entitled Love Never Fails. Smith is often considered by music critics and counterparts alike to be one of the best and most underrated vocalists in country music history. Artists such as Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
, and Chely Wright
Chely Wright
Richell Rene "Chely" Wright is an American country music artist and, starting in 2010, gay rights activist. On the strength of her debut album in 1994, the Academy of Country Music named her Top New Female Vocalist in 1995. Wright's first Top 40 country hit came in 1997 with "Shut Up and Drive"...
have cited Smith as either one of the best vocalists in the music industry or one of their favorite artists.
Early life
Constance June Meador was born in Elkhart, IndianaElkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
, the daughter of Hobart and Wilma Meador. Her parents were originally from West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, when Smith was five months old, the family returned there. They would later move to Dungannon, Ohio. Her father was abusive when she was a child, which would eventually cause her to suffer a mental breakdown when she was a teenager. When she was seven, her mother divorced her father and remarried Tom Clark, who had eight children, along with the five additional children Smith's mother previously had. The couple would eventually have two more children together, which in total added up to fourteen children, including Smith. As a child, Smith was surrounded by music. Her stepfather played mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, while her brother played fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, and her other brother played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. On Saturday nights Smith would listen to the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
radio broadcast. While she was teenager, Smith was injured in a lawnmower accident, which nearly cut her leg off. While in the hospital recovering, she was given a guitar and learned how to play different chords. Following the recovery, she began to perform in various local talent contests. In 1959, Smith graduated from Salem-Liberty High School as the class salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
.
In August 1963, she entered a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Performing Jean Shepard
Jean Shepard
Ollie Imogene Shepard , better known as Jean Shepard, is an American honky tonk singer-songwriter who was a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the #1 spot...
's "I Thought of You", Smith won the talent contest and five silver dollars. That day at the park, country artist Bill Anderson heard Smith perform and was impressed by her voice. In January 1964, Smith ran into Anderson again at a country music package concert, where he invited her to perform with him on Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
's Midnight Jamboree program in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. After performing on the program, Smith returned to Nashville that May to record demos by Anderson that he planned on pitching to other country artists. Anderson's manager Hubert Long brought the demo recording to RCA Victor Records where producer Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
heard it. Also impressed by her vocals, Atkins offered Smith a recording contract and she eventually signed with the label on June 24, 1964.
1964–1967: Breakthrough
Because Chet AtkinsChet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
found himself too busy with other artists, Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson (music)
Robert Bruce "Bob" Ferguson Sr was an American songwriter, record producer who was instrumental in establishing Nashville, Tennessee as a center of country music; movie producer, and Choctaw Indian historian. Ferguson wrote the bestselling songs "On the Wings of a Dove" and "The Carroll County...
acted as Smith's producer on her first sessions and would continue to work as her producer until her departure from RCA. Smith's first session took place on July 16, 1964, where she recorded four songs, three of which were written by Bill Anderson. One of the four songs recorded during the session entitled "Once a Day
Once a Day
"Once a Day" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded as the debut single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson for her self-titled debut album. The song was released in August 1964, topping the Billboard country music chart for eight weeks between late...
" (written by Anderson especially for Smith) was chosen to be Smith's debut single. The song was rush-released as a single on August 1, 1964 and became Smith's breakout single, reaching #1 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart on November 28 and remained at the number one position for eight weeks. "Once a Day" became the first debut single by a female country artist to reach number one and held the record for over twenty five years, until Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...
broke it in 1991 with "She's in Love with the Boy
She's in Love with the Boy
"She's in Love with the Boy" is the 1991 debut single of American country music artist Trisha Yearwood. "She's in Love with the Boy" reached number one on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and was the first of five number ones on the country chart for Trisha...
". To date, "Once a Day" holds the record for the most weeks spent at number one on the Billboard country chart by a female artist. To promote her single, RCA released Smith's self-titled debut album
Connie Smith (album)
- Personnel :* Steve Arnold – bass* Marl Casstevens – guitar* Stuart Duncan – fiddle* Gary Hogue – steel guitar* Larry Marrs – background vocals, bass* Michael Rhodes – bass* Connie Smith – lead vocals* Gary W...
in March 1965 which also reached #1, spending seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and spending thirty weeks on the chart overall. In addition, the album also peaked at #105 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart around the same time. Dan Cooper of Allmusic called the production of the album to sound as if she was "a down-home Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
fronting The Lennon Sisters
The Lennon Sisters
The Lennon Sisters are a singing group consisting of four siblings: Dianne , Peggy , Kathy , and Janet . They were all born in Los Angeles, California of German/Irish and Mexican ancestry. The original quartet were the eldest four in a family of twelve siblings...
." During this time, Anderson wrote a series of singles that would jump-start Smith's career in the country music industry. Among these songs was Smith's follow-up single to "Once a Day" released in early 1965 titled "Then and Only Then
Then and Only Then
"Then and Only Then" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded by American country artist, Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and released on her self-titled debut album that year. The song was released in January 1965, reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard country music chart in...
". The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard country chart. In addition its B-side "Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" (originally intended for Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis
Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...
) was also written by Anderson and peaked within the Top 25 on the same singles chart.
In 1965 Smith officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
radio show in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. It had been a dream of Smith's to become a member since childhood, remembering saying at the age of five, "Someday I’m gonna sing on the Grand Ole Opry." In the mid-60s Smith was temporarily fired from the Grand Ole Opry for not being on the show for twenty six weeks out of the year, which was the required amount of weeks to stay a member at the time. In the 1970s Smith was nearly fired from the show for testifying about Jesus Christ.
Bill Anderson wrote her next single with Bette Anderson, which was released in April 1965 called "I Can't Remember
I Can't Remember
"I Can't Remember" is a song written by Bill and Bette Anderson, and recorded as a single by American country artist, Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and was released on her 1965 album, Cute 'n' Country. The song was released in April 1965, reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard country...
". The single peaked at #9 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart and #30 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 singles chart. In October 1965, Smith released her second studio album Cute 'n' Country
Cute 'n' Country
Cute 'n' Country is the second studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in October 1965 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
. The album featured both cover versions of other country songs and newer songs written by Bill Anderson. It included cover versions of songs by such artists as Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
, Webb Pierce
Webb Pierce
Webb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
, and Ray Price
Ray Price (musician)
Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...
. Like her first album, Cute 'n' Country reached #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and spent thirty weeks on the chart as well. Her next two singles, "If I Talk to Him
If I Talk to Him
"If I Talk to Him" is a song written by Dolores Edgin and Priscilla Mitchell, and released as a single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson and released on her 1966 studio album Miss Smith Goes to Nashville...
" and "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)
Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)
"Nobody But a Fool " is a song written by Bill Anderson and released as a single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was the second single spawned from her 1966 album Miss Smith Goes to Nashville and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
", both reached #4 on the Hot Country Singles chart and were issued on Smith's third album, Miss Smith Goes to Nashville
Miss Smith Goes to Nashville
Miss Smith Goes to Nashville is the third studio by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released March 1966 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
(1966). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. With her next few sessions, Smith's producer Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson (music)
Robert Bruce "Bob" Ferguson Sr was an American songwriter, record producer who was instrumental in establishing Nashville, Tennessee as a center of country music; movie producer, and Choctaw Indian historian. Ferguson wrote the bestselling songs "On the Wings of a Dove" and "The Carroll County...
felt pressured from RCA headquarters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to market Smith's sound toward more "middle-of-the-road" country pop
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
material. This change of sound was evident on her next two studio albums Born to Sing
Born to Sing (Connie Smith album)
Born to Sing is the fifth studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released September 1966 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
(1966) and Downtown Country
Downtown Country
Downtown Country is the sixth studio album by American country artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in January 1967 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
(1967). Both albums featured full orchestras in the background and cover versions of singles by pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
artists of the time. Spawned from Born to Sing and Downtown Country respectively were the singles "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and "The Hurtin's All Over", which both peaked within the Top 5 on the Hot Country Singles chart.
During this time, Smith also appeared in several country music vehicle films where she performed many of her current hit recordings. In 1966 she appeared in the films Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar and The Las Vegas Hillbillys
The Las Vegas Hillbillys
The Las Vegas Hillbillys is a 1966 American country music comedy film directed by Arthur C. Pierce.-Cast:*Ferlin Husky ... Woody*Jayne Mansfield ... Tawny*Mamie Van Doren ... Boots Malone*Don Bowman ... Jeepers*Billie Bird ... Ma...
, the latter of which starred Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
.. In 1967 she appeared in The Road to Nashville and Hell on Wheels.
In February 1967 Smith released an album with RCA Camden
RCA Camden
RCA Camden was a budget record label of recordings, first introduced by RCA Victor.-History:The label was named after Camden, New Jersey, original home to the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Records. It specialized in reissuing historic classical and popular recordings from the RCA catalog...
entitled Connie in the Country
Connie in the Country
Connie in the Country is the seventh studio album recorded by American country artist, Connie Smith. The recording was released in February 1967 as a budget album on RCA Camden Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson.- Background :...
, which mainly featured cover versions of country hits recorded at the time, including songs by Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
and Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
. In May 1967 Smith released an album of songs written entirely by Bill Anderson entitled Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson
Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson
Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson is the eighth studio album by American country artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in June 1967 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
. Smith later commented that, "...it was an honor, not a favor" to record an album of all Bill Anderson songs. Included in the album was covers of Anderson's own hits such as "City Lights" and "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome". Also featured was Anderson's "I Love You Drops", which Smith wanted to release as a single, however Anderson wanted to release the song as his own single. Smith stated, "We begged him for that song. But I cut thirty three of his songs." It would later become a top ten hit for Anderson. Between 1966 and 1968, Smith had five top ten singles in a row on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart: "I'll Come Running" (which Smith wrote herself), "Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio (song)
"Cincinnati, Ohio" is the name of a country music song released by Connie Smith in 1967.During this time, in Connie Smith's career, she was at her very peak and was releasing various hit singles on the country charts every year. Since her release of her #1 hit "Once a Day" in 1964 she was one of...
", "Burning a Hole in My Mind", "Baby's Back Again", and "Run Away Little Tears". "Cincinnati, Ohio" would later inspire the city of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
to declare their own "Connie Smith Day" in June 1967.
1968–1972: New directions
By 1968, Smith began to feel large amounts of pressure from the music business. The stress of touring, recording, promoting, and trying to keep a personal life led Smith to contemplate the possibility of suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. These pressures eventually led Smith to seek solace in both her family life and religion, becoming a Born Again Christian in the spring of 1968. Although she did not give up her music career completely, Smith did balance it with a lighter schedule in order to avoid stress. In 1968 and 1969, Smith also began to record darker songs, including the single "Ribbon of Darkness
Ribbon of Darkness
"Ribbon of Darkness" is a song written by Gordon Lightfoot that was released in 1965 as a single by Marty Robbins. The song was Robbins' eleventh number one on the U.S...
", among others. Smith stated that it was reflection on her personal life, after recently divorcing her first husband Jerry Smith. Despite her recent personal troubles, Smith continued to enjoy the same commercial success she had before. In 1969 her next single "You and Your Sweet Love" (written by Bill Anderson) reached #6 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart. This was followed by another top ten single in 1970 entitled "I Never Once Stopped Loving You", which reached #5 on the same singles chart. Between 1969 and 1970, Smith released two collaborative albums with American country artist Nat Stuckey
Nat Stuckey
Nathan Stuckey was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with "Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Thang and Cisco" and "Take Time to Love Her"-Biography:Raised in Atlanta, Texas, in Cass County, Nat Stuckey...
called Young Love
Young Love (Connie Smith and Nat Stuckey album)
Young Love is a collaboration album by American country artists, Connie Smith and Nat Stuckey. The album was released in July 1969 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson and Felton Jarvis...
and Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith, the latter of which was a gospel album.
Between 1970 and 1971, both the singles "Louisiana Man" and "Where Is My Castle" became top twenty hits on the Billboard Magazine country singles chart. In 1971 Smith's cover of Don Gibson
Don Gibson
Donald Eugene "Don" Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was...
's 1960 single "Just One Time" reached #2 on the Hot Country Singles chart. An album of the same name
Just One Time
Just One Time is the sixteenth studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in June 1971 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
was also released, which reached #20 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. By the early 1970s, Smith started to incorporate more Gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
into her regular studio albums and touring show. Smith later stated that by incorporating more Gospel music into her secular recording career would make her leap into Christianity "count". In 1971 she released her third gospel album Come Along and Walk with Me
Come Along and Walk with Me
Come Along and Walk with Me is the seventeenth studio album by American country artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in October 1971 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
, which Smith later stated was her favorite gospel record out of the many she has made.
In 1972 all three of Smith's singles reached the top ten on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart: "Just for What I Am" (#5), "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" (#7), and "Love Is the Look You're Looking For" (#8). In addition three albums were also released to accommodate the success of the three singles, including a tribute to songwriter Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier is an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma but was raised in Bakersfield, California...
named If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs
If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs
"If It Ain't Love" and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs is the nineteenth studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in July 1972 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Bob Ferguson...
. In November 1972 Smith announced she would depart from RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, the same week that country artist Eddy Arnold
Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...
also announced his departure. Smith later explained in an interview with Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie is a New York-based corporation founded in 1990 by Cliff Chenfeld and Craig Balsam. The company encompasses a record label with major label distribution , a home video company, a media buying company, a music publishing business, a marketing, promotion and sales team, and a direct...
that she felt RCA showed a lack of respect for her and she felt she would have been happier recording elsewhere.
1973–1979: Later career
After parting ways with RCA Victor, Smith switched to Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1973. With her new contract she insisted that she would be able to record one gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
album a year. She released her first gospel album under the her label in November 1973 called God Is Abundant
God Is Abundant
God Is Abundant is the twenty second studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in November 1973 on Columbia Records and was produced by George Richey...
. In addition the label also gave her the advantage of being able to incorporate more gospel songs into her regular country studio albums. Because of these factors, most of her singles remained out of the top ten, but she did manage to stay in the top twenty most of the decade. That year Smith recorded her first country album for the label entitled A Lady Named Smith
A Lady Named Smith
A Lady Named Smith is the twenty first album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in May 1973 on Columbia Records and was produced by George Richey...
with producer George Richey. Together, both Smith and Richey co-wrote the album's lead single "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)", which became a minor hit on the Billboard country chart. However Smith was dissatisfied with Richey's production strategies and replaced him with Ray Baker
Ray Baker (music producer)
Ray Baker is a Nashville music producer. His first hit record produced was I Just Started Hatin' Cheating Songs Today by Moe Bandy in 1974. He also produced It Was Always so Easy to Find an Unhappy Woman and It's a Cheatin' Situation, both by Moe Bandy...
for her next album That's the Way Love Goes (1974). Her next single (released on That's the Way Love Goes) was written by Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier is an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma but was raised in Bakersfield, California...
called "Ain't Love a Good Thing", which peaked at #10 on the Hot Country Singles Chart in 1974.
After signing with Columbia, many music critics considered that Smith lost much of the quality that was found in her earlier records with RCA Victor. When reviewing her compilation from her years at Columbia titled Connie Smith Sings Her Hits
Connie Smith Sings Her Hits
- External links :*...
(1997), Thom Jurek of Allmusic commented that Smith lost much of the "grain" in her voice. Jurek went on to say, "It could be said, that regardless of the material, she never made a bad record; the tunes were carefully chosen it's true, but she never tried to hide the hardcore twang in her vocal style." In 1974 Smith released the singles "I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before)" and "I've Got My Baby on My Mind", which both reached #13 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles chart respectively. In 1975 she released her second gospel album with the label Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel
Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel
Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel is the twenty sixth studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in May 1975 on Columbia Records and was produced by Ray Baker...
, which was a tribute to the gospel material Hank Williams recorded. That year she also released a cover of Williams's secular "Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do)" as a single. In 1976 Smith released two cover versions of previously-made pop hits by The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
as singles: "(Till) I Kissed You
(Till) I Kissed You
" I Kissed You" is a song written by Don Everly of The Everly Brothers. It was released as a single in 1959 and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Connie Smith version:...
" and "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)". After releasing two more studio albums in 1976, Smith parted ways with Columbia Records the following year.
In 1977 Smith moved to Monument Records
Monument Records
Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...
. With her new recording contract, she was marketed as country pop
Country pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first emerged in the 1970s. Although the term first referred to country music songs and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop acts are now more likely to cross over to...
artist and was pressured into recording softer material. While reviewing Smith's 1993 Monument compilation Greatest Hits on Monument, Allmusics Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
commented that she not only recorded country-pop material, but also "heavily produced adult contemporary ballads and big, shiny disco-influenced pop numbers." Meanwhile both of Smith's albums under the label stiffed upon release. Her debut 1977 Monument album Pure Connie Smith
Pure Connie Smith
Pure Connie Smith is the thirtieth studio album by American country music artist, Connie Smith. The album was released in April 1977 on Monument Records and was produced by Ray Baker. It was Smith's first album for the Monument label, after leaving Columbia Records earlier in the year.- Background...
only spawned one single entitled "Coming Around", which peaked outside the Top 40. Only one single released on the label became a significant hit, a cover of Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb was an English singer and teen idol, and the youngest brother of the family whose other male siblings formed the Bee Gees: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb.-The early years:...
's 1977 pop hit "I Just Want to Be Your Everything
I Just Want to Be Your Everything
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" was a hit song by pop singer Andy Gibb. The first single released from his debut album, Flowing Rivers, it became the first of three consecutive number one Billboard Hot 100 singles for Gibb...
", which peaked at #14 on the country singles chart in 1978. Smith's next five singles on the label continued to descend into progressively lower positions on the country singles chart and because of poor record sales, Smith decided to go into semi-retirement in 1979 to raise her five children.
1998–present: Comeback and current activities
Although still in semi-retirement, Smith made a brief resurgence on Epic RecordsEpic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
in 1985 and 1986 to record a pair of singles. The first single "A Far Cry from You" (1985) was written by Alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
artist Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
and reached #71 on the Hot Country Singles chart. In 1986 she made a cameo appearance in Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's horror film Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive
Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American action-horror-science fiction film written and directed by novelist Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story, Trucks, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift.Maximum Overdrive is...
as "dead lady in car".
One day in the mid 1990s, Smith was at her home talking to one of her daughters on the phone. After telling her mother what she was going to that night, her daughter asked Smith what her plans for that night were. Because she did not have anything fun planned, Smith lied so her daughter wouldn't have to worry about her. After the conversation ended, Smith realized that she didn't need her own children worrying about her at the start of their adult lives and decided that it was time to return to her career. With country artist Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
acting as the album's main producer (whom she married in 1997), Smith signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in 1996. Although the label preferred her to record an album of duets, Smith decided to go by her own terms and record a solo studio album. In October 1998 she released her second self-titled studio album. Consisting of ten tracks, nine of them were co-written by both Smith and Stuart. Although the album attracted little attention, it was given high critical praise for its traditional and contemporary style. Kurt Wolff of the book Country Music: The Rough Guide commented that the album sounded "far gutsier than anything in the Reba
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
and Garth
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
mainstream". Thom Jurek of Allmusic gave the release four out of five stars, calling it "a solid effort", also commenting, "...it stands head and shoulders over most of the stuff that's come out of Nash Vegas in over a decade. Even if it doesn't sell a copy, it's a triumphant return for Smith. She hasn't lost a whit of her gift as a singer or as a writer."
Also in 1998, Smith made a second cameo appearance in a film, portraying a "Singer at the Rodeo Dance" in The Hi-Lo Country
The Hi-Lo Country
The Hi-Lo Country is a 1998 American Western/drama film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Penelope Cruz, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado...
starting Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
and Billy Crudup
Billy Crudup
William Gaither "Billy" Crudup is an American actor of film and stage. He is well known for his roles as guitarist Russell Hammond in Almost Famous, Will Bloom in Big Fish, and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. He also starred in the 2007 romantic comedy film Dedication, alongside Mandy Moore...
.
In August 2003, Smith released a collaborative gospel album with country artists Barbara Fairchild
Barbara Fairchild
Barbara Fairchild is an American Country Music/Gospel Music Singer, who is best known for her 1973 Country chart-topper "The Teddy Bear Song". After the success of the song, she continued to have success on the Country charts....
and Sharon White called Love Never Fails on Daywind Records. In an interview with Country Stars Central, Smith said that she was ill with the stomach flu while recording the album, but still enjoyed making the record nonetheless. Produced by country and bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
, the album received a nomination from the Dove Awards. The website Slipcue.com reviewed the release and commented that Love Never Fails, "is probably too rowdy for most Southern Gospel fans (who really like tinkly pianos and less-twangy vocals), and while it probably won't wow many country listeners, for folks who are fans any of these three singers, this is kind of a treat.
In November 2008, Smith joined the cast of Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
's television series The Marty Stuart Show, which airs on the RFD-TV
RFD-TV
RFD-TV, or Rural Free Delivery TV, is a United States satellite and cable television channel devoted to rural issues, concerns, and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United States Postal Service's system of delivering mail directly to rural patrons...
network every Saturday night. The thirty minute program features traditional country music performed by both Stuart and Smith, as well as radio personality, Eddie Stubbs
Eddie Stubbs
Eddie Stubbs is a radio disc jockey broadcasting old-style country music on WSM, a radio station with a nighttime clear channel signal broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee...
. Since 2008, Smith had been writing new songs for her next album. In August Smith released her first new solo recording in thirteen years entitled Long Line of Heartaches via Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records may refer to:*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in rap music*Sugar Hill Records , specializing in bluegrass and country music...
. The record was produced by Marty Stuart and includes five songs written by the pair. Harlan Howard
Harlan Howard
Harlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...
, Kostas
Kostas
Kostas Lazarides is a Greek-born American country music songwriter, known professionally as Kostas. He has written for several country music artists, including Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless, and Travis Tritt, and has won eleven awards from Broadcast Music Incorporated...
, Johnny Russell
Johnny Russell
John Bright "Johnny" Russell was an American country singer, songwriter, and comedian best-known for his song "Act Naturally", which was made famous by Buck Owens, who recorded it in 1963, and The Beatles in 1965...
, and Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier is an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma but was raised in Bakersfield, California...
also wrote songs that were included on the album.
Musical styles and reception
Connie Smith's sound is defined by the Nashville SoundNashville sound
The Nashville sound originated during the late 1950s as a sub-genre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of honky tonk music which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s...
musical style, primarily during her breakthrough years in the 1960s. While most Nashville Sound recordings of the time mainly included full orchestras, Smith's sound remained more traditional with its use of steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
and her twangy vocals, while still featuring some pop-influenced instrumentation to provide urban pop appeal. Critics have largely praised Smith's use of the steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, which have often been described as "sharp" and "prominent". Smith's steel guitar player Weldon Myrick is often credited with creating what Smith has called "The Connie Smith Sound". In an interview with Colin Escott in his book Born to Sing, Myrick recalls how Smith's producer (Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson (music)
Robert Bruce "Bob" Ferguson Sr was an American songwriter, record producer who was instrumental in establishing Nashville, Tennessee as a center of country music; movie producer, and Choctaw Indian historian. Ferguson wrote the bestselling songs "On the Wings of a Dove" and "The Carroll County...
) wanted the guitar to sound, "He came out and said he wanted a bright sound, and he adjusted my controls. I thought it was an awfully thin sound, but it wound up being very popular."
Although Smith has never been one of the most commercially-successful or career-driven artists, she is one of country music's most celebrated and respected. Music critics, fans, and counterparts alike have considered Smith to be one of best and most underrated female vocalists in country music history. Music critics have often compared Smith's vocals to that of country legend Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, due to her emotional delivery and her strong use of diction and phrasing. In his review of Smith's 1996 compilation The Essential Connie Smith
The Essential Connie Smith
- Personnel :* Connie Smith – guitar, lead vocalsTechnical personnel* Wade Jessen – liner notes* Deb Mahalannobis – design* Benny Quinn – digital remastering...
, Jurek explained why Smith's vocals are usually compared to Cline's, "Connie Smith is perhaps the only female singer in the history of country music who can truly claim to be the heiress to Patsy Cline's throne. It's not that there aren't many amazing vocalists in the field, and plenty of legends among them. But in terms of the pure gift of interpretation of taking virtually any song and making it a country song of class and distinction, Smith is it." Many artists in the country music industry have cited Smith as a significant musical influence or one of their favorite musical artists. Chely Wright
Chely Wright
Richell Rene "Chely" Wright is an American country music artist and, starting in 2010, gay rights activist. On the strength of her debut album in 1994, the Academy of Country Music named her Top New Female Vocalist in 1995. Wright's first Top 40 country hit came in 1997 with "Shut Up and Drive"...
said that she spent most of her childhood listening to records by Smith. George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
cited Smith as his favorite female singer in his 1995 autobiography. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
had many of Smith's albums in his record collection at his Graceland
Graceland
Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as...
home and intended on recording Smith's version of "The Wonders You Perform", but never got around to doing so. In a discussion with country songwriter Fred Foster
Fred Foster
Fred Foster is an American songwriter, record producer, and founder of Monument Records.-Biography:...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
famously said, "You know, there's really only three female singers in the world: Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, and Connie Smith. The rest of us are only pretending".
Personal life
Smith has been married four times. In 1961 she married her first husband, Jerry Smith, a ferroanalyst at the Inter-Lake Iron Corporation in Beverly, OhioBeverly, Ohio
Beverly is a village in Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,282 at the 2000 census...
. The couple had one child together on March 9, 1963, named Darren Justin. In the late 1970s Darren went overseas to Europe to become a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, and is currently a psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
. In the mid-1960s the couple divorced and Smith married the guitarist in her touring band, Jack Watkins. They had a son, Kenny Watkins, before separating nearly a year after marrying. Shortly afterward, Smith married for a third time to telephone repairman Marshall Haynes. In the early 70s the Haynes frequently toured with Smith on her road show. The couple had three daughters: Jeanne, Julie, and Jody Haynes. After divorcing Haynes in the early 1990s, Smith stated that she would never marry again, but on July 8, 1997 Smith married 1990s country artist Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
. The couple met while writing songs together for Smith's 1998 comeback album. Thirty eight years before, Stuart remembered first encountering her one night after attending her concert: "I met Connie when I was 12 years old. She came to the Indian reservation in my hometown to work at a fair. She hasn't changed a bit. She looked great then and she looks great now." Smith said that they have sustained their marriage by making "...the Lord the center ... and commit."
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Las Vegas Hillbillys The Las Vegas Hillbillys The Las Vegas Hillbillys is a 1966 American country music comedy film directed by Arthur C. Pierce.-Cast:*Ferlin Husky ... Woody*Jayne Mansfield ... Tawny*Mamie Van Doren ... Boots Malone*Don Bowman ... Jeepers*Billie Bird ... Ma... |
Herself | performer – "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You) Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You) "Nobody But a Fool " is a song written by Bill Anderson and released as a single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was the second single spawned from her 1966 album Miss Smith Goes to Nashville and was produced by Bob Ferguson... " |
| Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar | Herself | performer – "Once a Day Once a Day "Once a Day" is a song written by Bill Anderson and recorded as the debut single by American country artist Connie Smith. It was produced by Bob Ferguson for her self-titled debut album. The song was released in August 1964, topping the Billboard country music chart for eight weeks between late... " |
|
| 1967 | The Road to Nashville | Herself | performer – "I'll Never Get Over Loving You" and "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)" |
| Hell on Wheels | Herself | performer – "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and "The Hurtin's All Over" | |
| 1986 | Maximum Overdrive Maximum Overdrive Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American action-horror-science fiction film written and directed by novelist Stephen King. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story, Trucks, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift.Maximum Overdrive is... |
Dead Lady In Car | cameo (uncredited) |
| 1998 | The Hi-Lo Country The Hi-Lo Country The Hi-Lo Country is a 1998 American Western/drama film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Penelope Cruz, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado... |
Singer at Rodeo Dance | |
Awards, nominations, and honors
Connie Smith has won two awards from both Billboard Magazine and Cash Box. In 1979 she won her first major award from Music City News Country. Besides her nominations from music magazines, Smith has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards, one award from the Academy of Country Music, and two awards from the Country Music AssociationCountry Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
.
| Year | Awards | Award | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Billboard Magazine | Most Promising Female Country Artist | |
| 1965 | Grammy Awards | Best Country and Western Single — "Once a Day" | |
| Best New Country and Western Artist | |||
| Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female — "Once a Day" | |||
| Billboard Magazine | Most Promising Female Country Artist | ||
| Billboard Magazine | Favorite Female Country Performer | ||
| Favorite Album (1964–1965) — "Connie Smith" | |||
| Cash Box | Most Promising Female Country Vocalist | ||
| Country Music Review | Most Promising Female Singer | ||
| 1966 | Grammy Awards | Best Sacred Recording — "Connie Smith Sings Great Sacred Songs" | |
| Best Country and Western Vocal Performance, Female — "Ain't Had No Lovin'" | |||
| Billboard Magazine | Favorite Female Country Performer | ||
| Favorite Country Album — "Cute 'n' Country" | |||
| Cash Box | Most Programmed Female Artist | ||
| Country Music Life Award | Favorite Female Artist | ||
| Record World Record World Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade publications in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box magazines. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but since 1964 changed it to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin, both... |
Top Female Vocalist | ||
| Most Outstanding Female Country and Western Vocalist | |||
| 1967 | Billboard Magazine | Top Country Artist, Female Vocalist | |
| Cash Box | Most Programmed Female Artist | ||
| Record World | Top Female Vocalist | ||
| Country Music Association Awards Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967... |
Female Vocalist of the Year | ||
| 1968 | Grammy Awards | Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Female — "Cincinnati, Ohio" | |
| 1969 | Academy of Country Music Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the... |
Top Female Vocalist | |
| Grammy Awards | Best Country Vocal Performance, Female — "Ribbon of Darkness" | ||
| 1970 | Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | |
| 1971 | Grammy Awards | Best Sacred Performance — "Whispering Hope" (with Nat Stuckey Nat Stuckey Nathan Stuckey was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with "Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Thang and Cisco" and "Take Time to Love Her"-Biography:Raised in Atlanta, Texas, in Cass County, Nat Stuckey... ) |
|
| 1972 | Music City News Country | Top Female Vocalist | |
| Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | ||
| 1974 | Grammy Awards | Best Inspirational Performance — "All the Praises" | |
| Music City News Country | Top Female Vocalist | ||
| 1975 | Music City News Country | Top Female Vocalist | |
| 1976 | Grammy Awards | Best Gospel Performance — "Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel" | |
| 1979 | Music City News Country | Gospel Group/Act of the Year | |
| 2002 | Country Music Television Country Music Television Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs... |
40 Greatest Women of Country Music — Rank (#9) | |
| 2007 | Country Universe | 100 Greatest Women — Rank (#24) | |
| 2010 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Run to You" (with Marty Stuart Marty Stuart John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music... ) |
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