Jean Shepard - Biography
"Back then, you couldn't be a wimp," recalled Jean Shepard, one of country music's finest singer's of pure honky tonk, and the first post World War 2 female artist to have a million selling hit single, in her 1953 duet with Ferlin Husky, "A Dear John Letter," which was to be a major cross over pop hit as well.
Born November 21, 1934 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma- she was raised in Visalia, California, near Bakersfield. In 1948- at the age of 14, she was already playing bass in an all female country group called The Melody Ranch Girls, and in 1952 discovered by Hank Thompson, who helped her to get a record contract with Capitol Records. After her initial sucess with the first Ferlin Husky duet, they scored another massive crossover with a sequel titled "Forgive Me John." During this era she would chart many more singles, as her honky tonk style was the popular affectation of the day, songs such as "Take Possession," "A Satisfied Mind," "Beautiful Lies," and "I Thought Of You" securing Jean's prominence as one of the great female pioneers of country music.
As her honky tonk style was pushed aside for the more slick Nashville sound of the late 50s/early 1960s- Jean joined The Grand Ole Opry, married songwriter Hawkshaw Hawkins in 1960, and continued making records and performing, with minor chart sucesses such as "I Want To Go Where No One Knows Me," and "Have Heart Will Love." Hawkins died 3 years later- 1963- in the same plane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. After this she bagan charting again, her comback strong, with such Top Ten Hits as "Second Fiddle (To An Old Guitar)" and "If Teardrops Were Silver." Her duet with Ray Pillow "I'll Take The Dog" hit the Top Ten as well during this period. She continued to have hits into the late 1960s, but by 1970 her commercial fortunes had slowed again. She then roared back in 1973 with the Bill Anderson penned "Slippin' Away"- her biggest hit since the mid 1950's. Her chart hits continued well into the mid 70s- "At The Time" and "I'll Do Anything It Takes" among the biggest. Jean's feisty, tough persona lent well to her objection of the strong pop music influence that began to dominate country music in the mid 70s, when folks such as Olivia Newton John and John Denver were collecting CMA and Country Grammys for their work, over the many others who actually played pure country music for a living. Jean continued this crusade into the new millenium, when pop country arena schlocker Blake Shelton referred to traditional country music fans as "old farts and Jack asses." Jean responded "We’ve got a young man in country music who has made some pretty dumb statements lately. What did he say? That traditional country music is for old farts and jack-you-know-whats? Well, I guess that makes me an old fart. I love country music. I won’t tell you what his name is…but his initials is BS…and he’s full of it!"
Jean, now in her 80s, still performs with The Jean Shepard Show, is the longest living female member of the Gradn Ole Opry, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of fame in 2011.