Kitty’s reply managed to convey a feminine weariness about being underestimated and a thinly veiled anger at being blamed for domestic strife. Written by a man, JD Miller, it was intended as an answer to the hit “Wild Side of Life” by Hank Thompson. The song’s emergence as a proto-feminist statement was largely accidental. On the verge of retirement, she’d only agreed to record “Honky Tonk Angels” for the $125 session fee. She was 33, had three children and little success with her own records though she was a popular element of the group show. When she cut the song, Wells was a featured singer in her husband’s group, Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys. While commonplace today, this was nothing short of a revolution in the 1950s, when “girl singers” were meant to be seen, and heard just a little. Her commercial success proved that female country music artists could sell records, make albums, headline concerts and match every success of their male counterparts. Sixty years ago, her 1952 rendition of the song “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” became the first chart-topping hit by a woman in country-music history. To me, Kitty Wells will always be the Queen of Country Music.Kitty Wells started her career as a “girl singer” in the 1940s and ended it as the “Queen of Country Music,” a mantle she assumed in the early 1950s and wore until her passing Monday at the age of 92. Reba McEntire:“She was a trailblazer for all the women in country music. She was a great inspiration to me as well as every other female singer in the country music business.”

If I had never heard of Kitty Wells, I don’t think I would have been a singer myself.”ĭolly Parton: “Kitty Wells was the first and only Queen of Country Music, no matter what they call the rest of us. Loretta Lynn: “Kitty Wells will always be the greatest female country singer of all times. When Kitty, 92, died on July 16, 2012, a host of country’s biggest stars shared their thoughts. Without Kitty, we may have never heard of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, or Reba McEntire. She received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Kitty in 1976. 1 hit with “Heartbreak U.S.A.” Over the course of her career, she charted more than 30 Top 10 hits. In 1964, Kitty scored her second solo No. Soon, other female artists would be given the opportunity to record their own albums. In 1957, she released her first studio album, Winner of Your Heart. In 1956, at a time when labels were reluctant to allow female artists to release albums, Kitty dropped Kitty Wells’ Country Hit Parade, which featured her biggest hits. She teamed with Red Foley on the 1954 No. Kitty followed up her chart-topper with a string of Top 10 hits in the 1950s, including “Making Believe,” “Searching (For Someone Like You),” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” among others. Kitty was welcomed into the Grand Ole Opry in 1952. Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Kitty Wells- It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (Lyrics in description) () Country Music’s Trailblazer 1 on the Billboard country charts, making Kitty the first solo female to score a country chart-topper. Kitty released the controversial single in June 1952. Miller-with Kitty’s vocals-turned the tables with the song’s lyrics: “ Too many times married men think they’re still single / That has caused many a good girl to go wrong.” 1 hit, “The Wild Side of Life,” which blamed women for male philandering. “Jay” Miller, was an answer-song to Hank Thompson’s 1952 No. However, an executive at Decca Records approach her about recording “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” The tune, which was penned by J.D. Soon after, Muriel adopted her stage name, Kitty Wells.īy 1952, Kitty was disenchanted with her career and contemplating retirement. He formed the duo Johnnie & Jack with Jack Anglin, and Muriel performed as the “girl singer” with the duo on radio shows in the early 1940s. She married aspiring country star Johnny Wright in 1937. Kitty was born Ellen Muriel Deason on Aug. In the 1950s, the traditional attitude of the era was that female artists could not sell records, be a force on the charts, or headline shows. While Hill’s comments caused a 21st-century uproar, his sentiments sounded just like those from the previous century. “If you want to make ratings in country radio,” said Hill to Country Radio Aircheck, “take the females out.”

Kitty wells