Jean Shepard
Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard, was an American country singer who was considered one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her commercial success ran from the 1950s to the 1970s while also being a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 years.
Shepard was born in Oklahoma and raised in California with her nine siblings. Having a musical upbringing, she formed an all-female country-music band, The Melody Ranch Girls. She was heard by country artist Hank Thompson, who helped her get her first recording contract at age 18 with Capitol Records. Her second single, "A Dear John Letter" with Ferlin Husky, topped the country charts in 1953. In 1955, she had her first solo single top-10 successes with "A Satisfied Mind", "I Thought of You", and "Beautiful Lies". During this period she was among the first female country performers to headline shows and be played consistently on country music radio.
In 1963, Shepard's husband Hawkshaw Hawkins was killed in a plane crash. She considered ending her career, then returned and in 1964 had her first top-10 single in nine years, "Second Fiddle ". She had 15 more top-40 US country singles during the decade, including the top-10 recordings "If Teardrops Were Silver", "I'll Take the Dog", and "Then He Touched Me". With a dip in commercial success, Shepard became frustrated with Capitol's lack of promotion to her material and moved to United Artists Records. In 1973 at age 40 she had a comeback with the top-10 song "Slippin' Away". Four more of her singles reached the US country top 20 during the 1970s.
Shepard became part of the Association of Country Entertainers in the 1970s, which advocated for traditional country music. Her criticism of the genre's country pop trends ultimately cost Shepard her recording contract from United Artists. Ultimately, the ACE disbanded and Shepard filed for bankruptcy. Shepard continued touring and became popular in Europe, especially in the UK. She continued sporadically recording as well, releasing her last studio album in 2000. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2011 and continued performing through 2015. Her musical legacy influenced the future careers of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.
Early life
Ollie Imogene Shepard was born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma on November 21, 1933, one of 10 children born to Allie Mae Isaac Shepard and Hoit A. Shepard, sharecroppers who raised cotton, sugarcane and peanuts. Her father worked additional jobs, including sewing burlap sacks at the Paul's Valley Alfalfa Mill. 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 while Hoit Shepard received a government loan to sharecrop with another farmer. Along with many Oklahoma farmers during the Dust Bowl, the Shepard family moved west. In 1943, the family settled in Visalia, California.In Visalia, Shepard skipped the third grade at Lynnwood Elementary School. In high school, she attended an accredited country music course and participated in the school's glee club. She recalled being teased in her teen years for being an "Okie" who liked country music. In tenth grade, Shepard and some friends formed an all-female country music band named the Melody Ranch Girls. Shepard played the upright bass and sang lead vocals in the group. Her parents pawned their home's furniture to buy the instrument. She began playing alongside the Melody Ranch Girls every weekend during her high school years. Shepard recalled being so tired after gigs that her teachers would let her sleep during school hours. Shepard then graduated from high school at age 17.
The Melody Ranch Girls continued performing following high school, finding gigs in northern California, Oregon and Washington state. The group split after many of the band members got married. Prior to their disbandment, country performer Hank Thompson heard Shepard singing in the group. Thompson was impressed and told Shepard that he would secure her a recording contract. She heard back from Thompson several months later.
Hank Thompson brought an acetate recording of Shepard to Ken Nelson at Capitol Records. Female country artists were not yet in vogue, so Nelson was hesitant to sign her to a contract. He told Thompson, "There's just no place in country music for women. But every band needs a girl singer." Nelson then went to see Shepard perform live and was impressed. He offered 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, Shepard brought the contract to a radio executive who gave it his blessing. She officially signed with Capitol Records in 1952.
Career
1952–1962: Initial success
On September 30, 1952, Shepard made her first Capitol recordings in Hollywood, California. In February 1953, Capitol released her debut single, "Crying Steel Guitar Waltz". The single was co-billed with steel guitar player Speedy West in belief that female country acts could not sell records alone. The single did not reach the charts. Ferlin Husky then approached Nelson with a song previously recorded and played in California called "A Dear John Letter". The song told the story of a Korean War soldier who receives a breakup letter from his female partner. In May 1953, the song was recorded with Shepard singing and Husky performing a spoken recitation. In July 1953, it was issued as a single and reached the number one spot on the US country songs chart. It also crossed over to the number four position on the US pop chart. The duo then cut a follow-up release "Forgive Me, John", which reached the US country top five and the US pop top 30. Through 1953, the Husky-Shepard duo toured the United States for a series of shows, making an estimated $300 per gig. Because the legal age was 21 to cross state lines, Husky was appointed as Shepard's guardian.In 1954, Capitol recorded Shepard twice more. This resulted in four singles, including "Two Whoops and a Holler" and "Please Don't Divorce Me". Husky and Shepard 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. Around 1955, she joined the cast of the nationally broadcast Ozark Jubilee television show. On one broadcast, she performed a song she had recently heard called "A Satisfied Mind". Nelson was 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. Despite competing versions by Porter Wagoner and Red Foley, Shepard's version reached the number four position on the US country chart and became her first solo commercial success. Its follow-up, "I Thought of You", reached the number ten spot in 1955. Both of the singles' B-sides made the US country chart. Her back-to-back hits made Shepard one of the first solo female artists to make the US country top ten, along with Kitty Wells.
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, and she would remain a member for 60 consecutive years. With her induction, Shepard was one of only four women in the cast: Minnie Pearl, Kitty Wells and pianist Del Wood. In addition, Shepard's commercial success made her one of the first solo female artists in country music to headline shows. Shepard's fame prompted Capitol to issue her first studio album, Songs of a Love Affair, in May 1956. In May 1956, Songs of a Love Affair was released. Considered one of the first country music concept albums, Songs of a Love Affair was a collection of songs that explored the viewpoint of a woman whose spouse was cheating on her By this point, Shepard began to work steadily at the Grand Ole Opry as the cast was expected to make 26 shows per year. At the Opry, Shepard developed a romantic relationship with Hawkshaw Hawkins and the two later married. The pair then started touring together with an ensemble that included horses and Native American performers.
Capitol continued to release new material by Shepard during mid-1950s while still recording in California. However, after realizing she was paying out of pocket for travel. Ken Nelson then began flying to Nashville, Tennessee to produce her beginning in 1957. Despite a regular output of new single releases, Shepard was unable to have commercial success for several years. This was partly due to the influx of rock and roll and the pop-influenced Nashville Sound that overshadowed Shepard's honky tonk sound. One exception was 1958's "I Want to Go Where No One Knows Me", which made the top 20 of the US country chart. In December 1958, Capitol issued her second studio LP Lonesome Love, a concept album of love songs. In 1960, she finished sessions on her third studio LP, Got You on My Mind, which Capitol issued in 1961. Her fourth album Heartaches and Tears was released in 1962. Critics noticed a slight incorporation of the Nashville Sound into these albums, along with her usual honky tonk.
1963–1972: Death of Hawkshaw Hawkins, comeback and leaving Capitol Records
In 1963, Hawkshaw Hawkins died in a plane crash, which also took the lives of Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and the pilot Randy Hughes. Shepard was eight months pregnant and had a toddler at the time of Hawkins' death. After getting a settlement from the Piper Comanche company, she debated ending her career. Ultimately, she resumed it after being persuaded by Opry president Jack DeWitt. Shepard returned to the Opry stage several months after the crash. She returned to the recording studio in August 1963. One of the songs recorded following the accident was "Two Little Boys", a tune written for Shepard by Marty Robbins, which described how her children would carry on their father's legacy. "Two Little Boys" was the B-side to her 1964 single "Second Fiddle ". The latter was considered her comeback recording reaching number five on the US country songs chart, becoming her first charting single since 1959. It was nominated for a Grammy award in 1965.Under the production of Marvin Hughes, Shepard's next studio album was 1964's Lighthearted and Blue. The collection of cover tunes was her first to make the US Top Country Albums chart, rising to the number 17 position. Following her comeback, Shepard had a series of US charting country songs, including ten that reached the top 40 through 1968. In 1965, both "A Tear Dropped By" and "Someone's Gotta Cry" made top-40 appearances. Her 1966 single "Many Happy Hangovers to You", about a woman telling off an alcoholic husband, reached number 13 on the country chart. Two additional songs reached the country top ten in 1966: "If Teardrops Were Silver" and a duet with Ray Pillow called "I'll Take the Dog". In 1967, both "Heart, We Did All That We Could" and "Your Forevers " reached the top 20. All seven singles were included on corresponding studio LPs that made the US country survey. Her highest-peaking LPs were Many Happy Hangovers and Heart, We Did All That We Could, which both reached number six on the survey. Critics from Billboard and Record World praised Shepard's vocal delivery and highlighted the emotional depth found in her albums of this era.
In 1968, Shepard wed musician Benny Birchfield and started working with new record producers. This included Billy Graves and Kelso Herston. Shepard disliked how Herston often came into scheduled sessions drinking and wanted a change in collaborators. She chose Larry Butler, a songwriter and aspiring record producer. Butler met with Herston and got permission to work with Shepard. Her first recordings with Butler were released on the 1969 album Seven Lonely Days. After two years of lower-charting singles, its title track reached number 18 on the US country chart in 1969. 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. The song, which was included on her 1970 album A Woman's Hand, was nominated for a Grammy. 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", whose main character reluctantly chooses to stay with her partner. It was featured on her 1971 studio album Here & Now.
In the early 1970s, Shepard became frustrated with the increasing lack of attention Capitol Records was giving to her music. "I thought I was kinda lost in the shuffle," she later commented. 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. Furthermore, her studio albums Just as Soon as I Get Over Loving You and Just Like Walkin' in the Sunshine failed to make the US country albums survey. In 1972, Ken Nelson released her from her Capitol recording contract. "It was very hard for me. I cried like a baby," she remembered.