Jean Shepard (born Ollie Imogene Shepard: November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016[2]) was an American honky-tonk singer who is often acknowledged as 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 number-one spot. She recorded a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1981, and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955.
After Kitty Wells's 1952 breakthrough, Shepard quickly followed, and a national television gig and the Opry helped make her a star when few female country singers had enduring success. Her first hit, "A Dear John Letter", a 1953 duet with Ferlin Husky, was the first post-World War II record by a woman country artist to sell more than a million copies.[3]
Early life
Ollie Imogene Shepard was born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. She was one of ten children born to[4] Hoit A. Shepard and Allie Mae Isaac Shepard. Both of her parents were sharecroppers[5] that raised cotton, sugarcane and peanuts.[6] Her father also worked additional jobs, including sewing burlap sacks at the Paul's Valley Alfalfa Mill.[7] When she was three, the family moved to Hugo, Oklahoma to be closer to her paternal grandparents. In Hugo, the Shepard family lived in a four-room house with little furniture[8] while Hoit Shepard received a government loan to sharecrop with another farmer.[6] Along with many Oklahoma farmers during the Dust Bowl, the Shepard family moved out west in search of a better life.[9] In 1943, the family settled in Visalia, California.[10]
In Visalia, Shepard skipped the third grade at Lynnwood Elementary School. In September 1947, she began the ninth grade at Visalia Union High School. In high school, she attended an accredited country music course and participated in the school's glee club.[11] She recalled being teased in her teen years for being an "Okie" who liked country music.[12] In tenth grade, Shepard and some friends formed an all-female country music band named the Melody Ranch Girls. Shepard played the upright bass in the group.[13] Her parents pawned their home's furniture to buy the instrument for Shepard.[14] Along with playing the bass, Shepard also sang, claiming to have sang "90 percent" of the lead vocals in the group.[15] She then began playing alongside the Melody Ranch Girls every weekend during her high school years.[14][16] Shepard recalled being so tired after gigs that her teachers would let her sleep during school hours.[15] Shepard then graduated from Visalia Union High School at age 17 due to her previously skipping third grade.[11]
The Melody Ranch Girls continued performing following high school, finding gigs in northern California, Oregon and Washington state.[14] The group later split after many of the band members got married.[17] Prior to their disbandment, Shepard was heard singing in the group by country performer Hank Thompson.[18][19] Thompson was impressed Shepard and told her that he would secure her a recording contract.[20] It would be several more months before she heard back from Thompson.[21]
Hank Thompson brought an acetate recording of Shepard to Ken Nelson at Capitol Records. Female country artists were not yet in vogue, therefore Nelson was hesitant to sign her to a contract.[20][14] "There's just no place in country music for women. But every band needs a girl singer," Nelson told Thompson.[20][22] Nelson then went to see Shepard perform live and was impressed. He succumb to offering her a contract, which had to be approved by a court judge because she was only 18 years old. Because the judge did not have background in the music industry, he sent Shepard to find a music business professional to look over the contract. She then brought the contract to a radio executive who gave it his blessing. The contract was then approved[23] and she officially signed with Capitol Records in 1952.[24][9]
Career
1952–1962: One of the first female country artists to find success
On September 30, 1952, Shepard made her first Capitol recordings in Hollywood, California.[25] In February 1953, Capitol released her debut single "Crying Steel Guitar Waltz".[26] The single was co-billed with steel guitar player Speedy West in belief that female country acts could not sell records alone.[25] The single was not a success.[24]Ferlin Husky then approached Nelson with a song previously recorded and played in the California region called "A Dear John Letter".[27] The song told the story of a Korean War soldier who receives a breakup letter from his female partner.[24] In May 1953,[27] "A Dear John Letter" was recorded with Shepard singing and Husky performing a spoken recitation.[9] In July 1953, it was issued as a single and reached the number one spot on the US country songs chart.[28] It also crossed over to the number four position on the US pop chart.[29] The duo then cut a follow-up release "Forgive Me, John",[10] which reached the US country top five[28] and the US pop top 30.[29] Through 1953, the Husky-Shepard duo toured the United States for a series of shows,[10][30] making an estimated $300 per gig.[30] Because the legal age was 21 to cross state lines, Husky was appointed as Shepard's guardian.[30][24]
In 1954, Capitol recorded Shepard twice more. This resulted in four singles, including "Two Whoops and a Holler" and "Please Don't Divorce Me".[31] Husky and Shepard also disbanded their duet act the same year. She briefly located to Beaumont, Texas to work with manager Neva Starnes. Throughout the southwestern US, Starnes booked Shepard on road dates with up-and-coming performer George Jones.[32] Around 1955, she joined the cast of the nationally-broadcast Ozark Jubilee television show.[32][33] On one broadcast, she performed a song she recently heard called "A Satisfied Mind". Ken Nelson was then informed of the performance and brought her to California to cut it one week later. In 1955, Capitol rush-released "A Satisfied Mind" as a single.[32] Despite competing versions by Porter Wagoner and Red Foley,[32] Shepard's version reached the number four position on the US country chart[28] and ultimately became her first solo commercial success.[10] Its follow-up "Beautiful Lies" also reached the number four spot in 1955. In addition, both of the singles' B-sides ("Take Possession" and "I Thought of You") made the US country chart. Along with Kitty Wells, her back-to-back hits made Shepard one of the first solo female country artists to make the US country top ten.[28]
Shepard's success led to her induction into the cast of the Grand Ole Opry. The induction took place on her birthday in November 1955[32] and she would remain a member for 60 consecutive years.[19] With her induction, Shepard was one of only four women in the cast: Minnie Pearl, Kitty Wells and pianist Del Wood.[33] In addition, Shepard's commercial success made her one of the first solo female artists in country music to headline shows.[19] Shepard's fame prompted Capitol to issue her first studio album.[32] In May 1956, Songs of a Love Affair was released.[34] Considered one of the first country music concept albums,[35][24]Songs of a Love Affair was a collection of songs that told the point of view of woman whose spouse has been cheating on her.[36] By this point, Shepard began working steadily at the Grand Ole Opry as the cast was expected to make 26 shows per year.[37] At the Opry, Shepard developed a romantic relationship with Hawkshaw Hawkins and the two later married.[33] The pair then started touring together[37] with an ensemble that included horses and Native American performers.[38]
Capitol also continued releasing new material by Shepard.[37] She stopped recording in California after realizing she was paying out of pocket for travel. Ken Nelson then began flying to Nashville, Tennessee to produce her beginning in 1957.[39] Despite a regular output of new single releases, Shepard was unable to have commercial success for several years. This was in-part due to the influx of rock and roll and the pop-influenced Nashville Sound that overshadowed Shepard's honky tonk sound.[10][37] One exception was 1958's "I Want to Go Where No One Knows Me", which made the top 20 of the US country chart.[10][28] In December 1958, Capitol issued her second studio LP Lonesome Love, which was a concept album of love songs.[40] Shepard continued playing road shows with Hawkins and the Opry into 1960. That year, she finished sessions on her third studio LP Got You on My Mind, which Capitol issued in 1961.[37] Her fourth album Heartaches and Tears was released in 1962.[41] Critics noticed a slight incorporation of the Nashville Sound into these albums, along with Shepard's trademark honky tonk.[9][41][42]
1963–1972: Death of Hawkshaw Hawkins, comeback and leaving Capitol Records
In 1963, Hawkshaw Hawkins was killed in a plane crash, which also took the lives of Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and the pilot Randy Hughes.[43][24] Shepard was eight months pregnant and had a newborn child at the time of Hawkins' death.[43] After getting a settlement from the Piper Comanche company (whose airplane was involved in the crash), she debated ending her career.[44][45] Ultimately, she resumed it after being persuaded by Opry president Jack DeWitt.[43][45] Shepard then returned to the Opry stage several months after the crash.[46] She returned to the recording studio in August 1963. One of the songs recorded following the accident was "Two Little Boys".[45] The Marty Robbins-penned tune (written especially for Shepard) described how her children would carry on their father's legacy.[47] "Two Little Boys" was the B-side to her 1964 single "Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)".[33] The latter was considered her comeback recording[47] reaching number five on the US country songs chart, becoming her first charting single since 1959.[28] It was nominated for a Grammy award in 1965.[48]
In 1968, Shepard started working with new record producers.[52] This included Billy Graves (who recorded her 1968 LP Heart to Heart)[53] and Kelso Herston (who produced "Your Forevers Don't Last Very Long").[54] Shepard disliked how Herston often came into scheduled sessions drinking and wanted a change in collaborators.[55] She then chose Larry Butler, a songwriter and aspiring record producer.[56] Butler met with Herston and was given permission to work with Shepard.[57] Her first Butler-made recordings were released on the 1969 album Seven Lonely Days.[55][56] After two years of lower-charting singles, its title track reached number 18 on the US country chart in 1969.[28] It was followed by the number eight hit "Then He Touched Me", whose main character falls in love after giving up hope of finding it.[24] The Grammy-nominated song[48] was included on her 1970 album A Woman's Hand.[58] Her subsequent singles through 1971 made the US country top 30: "A Woman's Hand", "I Want You Free" and "With His Hand in Mine". The highest-climbing was the number 12 "Another Lonely Night",[28] whose main character reluctantly chooses to stay with her partner.[24] It was featured on her 1971 studio album Here & Now.[59]
In the early 1970s, Shepard became frustrated with the increasing lack of attention Capitol Records was giving to her music.[52][60] "I thought I was kinda lost in the shuffle," she later commented.[60] None of her Capitol singles following 1971 rose into the country top 40. Songs like "Safe in These Lovin' Arms of Mine" and "Virginia" only rose into the US country top 70.[28] Furthermore, her studio albums Just as Soon as I Get Over Loving You (1971)[61] and Just Like Walkin' in the Sunshine (1972)[62] failed to make the US country albums survey.[49] In 1972, Ken Nelson gave her a release from her Capitol recording contract.[52] "It was very hard for me. I cried like a baby," she remembered.[60]
1973–1979: Second comeback in her forties, ACE and traditional country music advocacy
In February 1973, Shepard signed with United Artists Records[63] and was given a large amount of money upfront to sign with the label.[55] Despite many Nashville executives believing she was past her prime,[56] Shepard was encouraged by Larry Butler (who was now running the company's country music division) to sign with the label.[56][64] Her first United Artists single was 1973's "Slippin' Away".[60] Written by Bill Anderson,[24] "Slippin' Away" rose to number four on the US Billboard country chart,[28] number three on Canada's RPM country chart[65] and made a brief appearance on the US Hot 100.[66] "Slippin' Away" became Shepard's highest-charting country single in nine years.[28] It appeared on an album of the same name that went to number 15 on the US country albums survey.[49] The album's second single "Come on Phone" reached the US and Canadian country top 40.[28][65]
Shepard's restored commercial success at age 40 was due in-part to a new production that included upbeat tempos and hand-clapping in the background.[67] Her music's lyrical content also shifted away from honky tonk themes towards subjects of devotion and romance.[24][68] Such themes were noticed in her follow-up studio album I'll Do Anything It Takes (1974). AllMusic's Greg Adams compared Shepard's feminine themes favorably to that of similar songs by Tammy Wynette.[68] The disc reached number 21 on the US country survey.[49] Both of her singles from the album reached the US country top 20 in 1974: "I'll Do Anything It Takes (To Stay with You)" and "At the Time".[28] The latter was also penned by Bill Anderson, who also wrote her next two singles in 1975: "Poor Sweet Baby" and "The Tip of My Fingers".[69] Both songs again reached the US country songs top 20.[28] Shepard dedicated her next studio album to Anderson[70] titled Poor Sweet Baby...And Ten More Bill Anderson Songs. The disc featured the latter singles[71] and reached the top 50 of the US country chart.[49]
In 1974, Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John won the Female Vocalist of the Year trophy on the televised Country Music Association Awards. In response, a group of country artists founded the Association of Country Entertainers (ACE), which advocated for the Country Music Association to promote the genre's traditional formats rather than appealing to crossover styles.[72] Known in the industry for promoting traditional country music,[9][10] Shepard was encouraged to join the cause[73] and was named the group's president in the 1970s.[9][2] In her 2014 autobiography, Shepard claimed that she "wasn't ever president", but instead given all of the responsibility to run it.[74] According to the Encyclopedia of Country Music, the ACE failed to have "adequate funding" and ultimately disbanded.[72] According to Shepard, the ACE loaned money from a bank to run a local office but members failed to keep up with payments. To help, Shepard took collateral on her home, but ultimately she filed for bankruptcy, which led to the ACE ending.[75]
To regain footing following her bankruptcy,[76] Shepard and Benny Birchfield bought a used Toyota and worked the touring circuit. Now her manager, Birchfield helped form her first full-time touring group named the Second Fiddles.[77] The Second Fiddles received equal billing on Shepard's 1975 live album On the Road.[78] During this period, Shepard criticized crossover country (popularized by Newton-John and others) on tour and at the Grand Ole Opry, which led to country music disc jockeys to stop playing her songs.[73] Singles like "I'm a Believer (In a Whole Lot of Lovin')" and "Mercy" only reached the US country top 50, while "I'm Giving You Denver" and "Hardly a Day Goes By" only reached the top 90.[28] Dealing with radio backlash and media publicity, United Artists dropped Shepard from their roster.[79][73] She then signed with the Scorpion label,[80] who released her final-charting single "The Real Thing" in 1978.[28]
1980–2016: Later years
In 1981, Shepard was among several Grand Ole Opry members to record a studio album under the title Stars of the Grand Ole Opry. Released by the First Generation label, Shepard's album consisted of re-recordings and some new material.[81] Shepard continued to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and to tour, both in the US and in the UK, where she had a strong fan base, until 2015. Her work was reissued by Bear Family Records.
In 2005, Shepard celebrated 50 years as a member of the Opry[82] and, at the time of her death, she was the longest-running living member of the Opry.[83] In 2011, Shepard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with songwriter Bobby Braddock and fellow Oklahoma singer Reba McEntire.[84] In 2014, Shepard's autobiography, Down Through the Years, was published.[85] On November 21, 2015, Shepard became the first woman to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 consecutive years—a feat that only one other person had achieved at the time (founding member Herman Crook of the Crook Brothers), and only one other, Bill Anderson, has reached since.[86] She retired from the stage that night.[87]
In her autobiography, Shepard revealed that her first marriage was at age 18 to a U.S. Navy officer whom she called Freddie. His last name was not given. The pair met through Melody Ranch band member Dixie Gardner. However, the marriage was later annulled after Shepard discovered that Freddie had a tendency to become violent and angry. In 1952, Shepard and her mother went to court and was granted an annulment by a judge.[1] After Hawkshaw Hawkins was killed in a plane crash, Shepard married Nashville police officer Archie Summers in 1966. The couple divorced in 1968, with Shepard citing his alcoholism. In 1968, she married musician Benny Birchfield.[33]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrWhitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 311.
^ abWhitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories, 1890-1954 The History of American Popular Music: Compiled from America's Popular Music Charts 1890-1954. Record Research Inc. ISBN978-0898200836.
Shepard, Jean (2014). Down Through the Years. Don Wise Productions. ISBN978-0944391068.
Skinker, Chris (1995). "The Melody Ranch Girl (box set biography book)". Bear Family Records. BCD-15905-EI.
Notes
^In her autobiography, Shepard stated she was briefly married to a Navy officer, with the given first name Freddie. However, she did not specify his last name.[1]
External links
Media related to Jean Shepard at Wikimedia Commons
