Shelly West
Encyclopedia
Shelly West is an American
country music
singer. Her mother was the country music star Dottie West
, whose career spanned three decades. Shelly West is best known for having hit duets with David Frizzell
, and for their #1 hit "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma
". She also was a successful solo artist, having her own #1 hit, "Jose Cuervo
" in 1983.
in 1958 to Dottie and Bill West. She was named after her mother's favorite actress, Shelley Winters
. During the time West was born, Dottie was trying to make it as a Country artist in Nashville, Tennessee
. By the time Shelly was five years old, West finally made it big in 1963, with a hit called "Here Comes My Baby Back Again". Dottie West became the first female artist to win a Grammy award with this single.
Shelly got her start at age 17 touring with her mother's show. She started out singing backup, but was soon given lead vocals. While touring, she fell in love with her mother's lead guitarist Allen Frizzell; they married and left the band in 1977 to move to California. Allen was the little brother of Lefty
and David Frizzell
, the latter of whom had a regular gig in a neighboring town. The newlyweds soon joined his band and played with him for a few months. They toured the Southwest, and upon their return, David began looking for a record label. A demo of the duet "Lovin' on Borrowed Time" featuring West and her brother-in-law impressed record producer Snuff Garrett
, who signed them both to Casablanca West. Unfortunately, Polygram took over the label and dumped the duo, who unsuccessfully tried their luck in Nashville
.
" to actor Clint Eastwood
, who had just founded his own record label, Viva. Eastwood liked the latter song and added it to his film, Any Which Way You Can
. The song hit number one on the country charts in early 1981. The duo became a popular duet group in the early part of the decades and released a big-selling album in 1981, Carrying on the Family Names. Between 1980 and 1982, they won the Country Music Association
's Vocal Duo of the Year twice.
Their next four songs, beginning with the Top Ten hit, "A Texas State of Mind", were also successful, and the duo's considerable success continued through 1985, when they split up. (They cited a lack of good duet songs as their main reason; the fact that West and her husband had just divorced may also have been a factor). Their popularity started to drain following 1982 after the artists wanted to focus on solo careers. Their last studio album was released in 1983, In Session. However, they did record singles up until 1986.
," which hit #1 and provided a sales boost for the tequila company. Her solo follow-up "Flight 309 to Tennessee" made the Top Five.
West's first solo album was released in 1983, West by West which was a big seller that year. West continued to notch a number of solo hits over the next three years under her record label. In 1984, West notched another Top 10 smash, "Another Motel Memory" off her second solo album, Red Hot. Following "Jose Cuervo"'s success, West's hits began to become less and less as big as they had been before. However, West still was able to stay within Country's Top 40 up until 1985, including, "Somebody Buy This Cowgirl a Beer" and "Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon." She released a final studio album before departing with her record label in 1985 called, Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon. Later that year she had one more mid-range hit, "Love Don't Come Any Better Than This", and then faded from the charts. West did not record almost at all following 1986 after marrying for a second time.
for a few shows in the late 1980s. In 1990, Shelly toured with her mother, Dottie West
; together, they were popular on the road. The following year, Shelly's mother was involved in a major car accident (in late August). Dottie West eventually died on September 4, 1991, from the accident. To honor her mother, West was a technical adviser for a television biopic about her mother's life, Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story
, produced by and starring actress Michele Lee
.
Since then West left the music business, preferring to raise her young family. In 2005, CMT honored Shelly and her duet partner, David Frizzell, when they were voted No. 6 on their 100 Greatest Duets Special. Although they did not perform any songs, Shelly West and David Frizzell appeared on the CMT special in June 2005, and West was interviewed on CMT.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
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...
singer. Her mother was the country music star Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
, whose career spanned three decades. Shelly West is best known for having hit duets with David Frizzell
David Frizzell
David Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career....
, and for their #1 hit "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma
You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma
"You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" is a 1981 single from the film "Any Which Way You Can" and was performed by David Frizzell and Shelly West. "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard would become Shelly West's debut on...
". She also was a successful solo artist, having her own #1 hit, "Jose Cuervo
Jose Cuervo (song)
"José Cuervo" is the title of a song written and recorded by Cindy Jordan in 1982. It was released as a single by American country artist Shelly West in February 1983 to more commercial success....
" in 1983.
Early life
Shelly West was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
in 1958 to Dottie and Bill West. She was named after her mother's favorite actress, Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
. During the time West was born, Dottie was trying to make it as a Country artist 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...
. By the time Shelly was five years old, West finally made it big in 1963, with a hit called "Here Comes My Baby Back Again". Dottie West became the first female artist to win a Grammy award with this single.
Shelly got her start at age 17 touring with her mother's show. She started out singing backup, but was soon given lead vocals. While touring, she fell in love with her mother's lead guitarist Allen Frizzell; they married and left the band in 1977 to move to California. Allen was the little brother of Lefty
Lefty Frizzell
Lefty Frizzell , born William Orville Frizzell, was an American country music singer and songwriter of the 1950s, and a proponent of honky tonk music. His relaxed style of singing was an influence on later stars Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, George Jones and John Fogerty...
and David Frizzell
David Frizzell
David Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career....
, the latter of whom had a regular gig in a neighboring town. The newlyweds soon joined his band and played with him for a few months. They toured the Southwest, and upon their return, David began looking for a record label. A demo of the duet "Lovin' on Borrowed Time" featuring West and her brother-in-law impressed record producer Snuff Garrett
Snuff Garrett
Snuff Garrett is a retired American record producer whose most famous work was during the 1960s and 1970s. His nickname is a play on Garrett's Snuff, a brand of snuff....
, who signed them both to Casablanca West. Unfortunately, Polygram took over the label and dumped the duo, who unsuccessfully tried their luck in Nashville
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...
.
1980 – 1982: Success with David Frizzell
Garrett still believed the two had potential and eventually played their song and its follow-up "You're the Reason God Made OklahomaYou're the Reason God Made Oklahoma
"You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" is a 1981 single from the film "Any Which Way You Can" and was performed by David Frizzell and Shelly West. "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard would become Shelly West's debut on...
" to actor Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, who had just founded his own record label, Viva. Eastwood liked the latter song and added it to his film, Any Which Way You Can
Any Which Way You Can
* Beers To You** Written by Steve Dorff , John Durrill , Sandy Pinkard and Snuff Garrett ** Sung by Ray Charles and Clint Eastwood* Any Which Way You Can...
. The song hit number one on the country charts in early 1981. The duo became a popular duet group in the early part of the decades and released a big-selling album in 1981, Carrying on the Family Names. Between 1980 and 1982, they won the Country Music Association
Country 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...
's Vocal Duo of the Year twice.
Their next four songs, beginning with the Top Ten hit, "A Texas State of Mind", were also successful, and the duo's considerable success continued through 1985, when they split up. (They cited a lack of good duet songs as their main reason; the fact that West and her husband had just divorced may also have been a factor). Their popularity started to drain following 1982 after the artists wanted to focus on solo careers. Their last studio album was released in 1983, In Session. However, they did record singles up until 1986.
1983 – 1986: Solo career
West made her solo debut in 1983 with "Jose CuervoJose Cuervo (song)
"José Cuervo" is the title of a song written and recorded by Cindy Jordan in 1982. It was released as a single by American country artist Shelly West in February 1983 to more commercial success....
," which hit #1 and provided a sales boost for the tequila company. Her solo follow-up "Flight 309 to Tennessee" made the Top Five.
West's first solo album was released in 1983, West by West which was a big seller that year. West continued to notch a number of solo hits over the next three years under her record label. In 1984, West notched another Top 10 smash, "Another Motel Memory" off her second solo album, Red Hot. Following "Jose Cuervo"'s success, West's hits began to become less and less as big as they had been before. However, West still was able to stay within Country's Top 40 up until 1985, including, "Somebody Buy This Cowgirl a Beer" and "Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon." She released a final studio album before departing with her record label in 1985 called, Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon. Later that year she had one more mid-range hit, "Love Don't Come Any Better Than This", and then faded from the charts. West did not record almost at all following 1986 after marrying for a second time.
1987 – present: Career today
West did reunite with David FrizzellDavid Frizzell
David Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career....
for a few shows in the late 1980s. In 1990, Shelly toured with her mother, Dottie West
Dottie West
Dottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
; together, they were popular on the road. The following year, Shelly's mother was involved in a major car accident (in late August). Dottie West eventually died on September 4, 1991, from the accident. To honor her mother, West was a technical adviser for a television biopic about her mother's life, Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story
Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story
Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story is a 1995 television biopic about the life of country music singer Dottie West portrayed by Michele Lee...
, produced by and starring actress Michele Lee
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
.
Since then West left the music business, preferring to raise her young family. In 2005, CMT honored Shelly and her duet partner, David Frizzell, when they were voted No. 6 on their 100 Greatest Duets Special. Although they did not perform any songs, Shelly West and David Frizzell appeared on the CMT special in June 2005, and West was interviewed on CMT.
Albums
| Year | Single | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Carryin' on the Family Names (with David Frizzell David Frizzell David Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career.... ) |
6 | Warner Bros. |
| 1982 | The David Frizzell & Shelly West Album (with David Frizzell) |
8 | Viva |
| Our Best to You (with David Frizzell) | 24 | ||
| 1983 | West by West | 6 | |
| Red Hot | 26 | ||
| 1984 | In Session (with David Frizzell) | 33 | |
| Golden Duets (The Best of Frizzell & West) (with David Frizzell) |
45 | ||
| 1985 | Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon | 28 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1983 | "José Cuervo Jose Cuervo (song) "José Cuervo" is the title of a song written and recorded by Cindy Jordan in 1982. It was released as a single by American country artist Shelly West in February 1983 to more commercial success.... " |
1 | 1 | West by West |
| "Flight 309 to Tennessee" | 4 | 8 | ||
| "Another Motel Memory" | 10 | 20 | Red Hot | |
| 1984 | "Now I Lay Me Down to Cheat" | 56 | — | |
| "Somebody Buy This Cowgirl a Beer" | 34 | — | ||
| "Now There's You" | 21 | 22 | Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon | |
| 1985 | "Don't Make Me Wait on the Moon" | 46 | — | |
| "I'll Dance the Two Step" | 64 | — | ||
| "If I Could Sing Something in Spanish" | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "What Would You Do" | 54 | — | single only |
| "Love Don't Come Any Better Than This" | 55 | — |
Singles with David Frizzell
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1981 | "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" is a 1981 single from the film "Any Which Way You Can" and was performed by David Frizzell and Shelly West. "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard would become Shelly West's debut on... " |
1 | 13 | Carryin' on the Family Names |
| "A Texas State of Mind" | 9 | — | ||
| "Husbands and Wives Husbands and Wives (song) Country music duo Brooks & Dunn covered the song on their 1998 album If You See Her. Featuring lead vocals from Ronnie Dunn, their version was the album's third single, reaching the top of the country singles charts in December 1998. It was also a Top 40 pop hit, peaking at #36 on the Billboard Hot... " |
16 | 38 | ||
| 1982 | "Another Honky-Tonk Night on Broadway" | 8 | 20 | The David Frizzell & Shelly West Album |
| "I Just Came Here to Dance" | 4 | 9 | ||
| "Please Surrender" | 43 | — | Our Best to You | |
| 1983 | "Cajun Invitation" | 52 | — | |
| "Pleasure Island" | 71 | — | In Session | |
| 1984 | "Silent Partners" | 20 | 20 | |
| "It's a Be Together Night" | 13 | 40 | Golden Duets (The Best of Frizzell & West) | |
| 1985 | "Do Me Right" | 60 | — |
Awards
| Year | Award | Award Program |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Vocal Duo of the Year; (w/ David Frizzell David Frizzell David Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career.... ) |
| 1981 | Song of the Year; "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" | |
| 1982 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Vocal Duo of the Year; (w/ David Frizzell) |
| 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... |
Vocal Duo of the Year; (w/ David Frizzell) | |
| Music City News Country | Vocal Duet of the Year; (w/ David Frizzell) | |
| 1983 | Most Promising Female Artist of the Year | |
| Vocal Duet of the Year; (w/ David Frizzell) |
See also
- Dottie WestDottie WestDottie West was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and co-recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most influential and groundbreaking female artists...
(1932–1991) (West's mother) - David FrizzellDavid FrizzellDavid Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career....
(West's duet partner)