Country music and Grand Ole Opry icon Jeannie Seely dies at 85

USA Today

5 hours ago

Country music legend Jeannie Seely – who broke new ground and shattered glass ceilings in the genre – has died in hospice care.
Her rep Don Murry Grubbs confirmed the news Friday, Aug. 1 to The Tennessean, a part of the USA TODAY Network. The country soul singer appeared on the Grand Ole Opry radio program more times than any other performer and was the first singer to record a live album on the Opry stage.
"I feel very fortunate to be part of the Opry tradition and I truly am indebted to all the wonderful fans who have supported me over the years," Seely once said, according to Opry.com.
Her record for Opry appearances stands at 5,397 followed by Bill Anderson. Raised on a farm in Pennsylvania, she performed on local radio and television shows as a child and made her own breaks in the music business.
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Later, in the early 1960s, she moved to Los Angeles, and worked for a time at a Beverly Hills bank. Seely was so determined to get into the music business that she took a job as a secretary at a record company.
As a secretary, she started writing songs. Seely worked with seven-time Grammy winner Randy Newman – a mainstay in the music industry – to finish her first song, "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" which became a hit for blues singer Irma Thomas. She co-wrote songs with Glen Campbell ("Senses") and wrote another song ("It Just Takes Practice") that was recorded by Dottie West.
She toured in the western United States in 1964-65 and met Hank Cochran, the country music star from Mississippi who became her first husband. Later, moved to Nashville for good in 1965, and she first appeared on the Opry stage in 1966. Seely later told The Tennessean that "every emotion a person could feel was going through my mind and body, from nerves to sheer terror" during that first Opry performance.
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In 1968, a record year arrived for Seely: she became a full-time Opry member and won the third Grammy ever for best female country performance. The same year, Seely shocked the country music world, known for its traditional values, when she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry stage in a miniskirt.
"The relevance of that miniskirt was that I got away with wearing what my choice was," Seely told The Tennessean. "It didn't mean that all the other girls could wear a miniskirt. When I did that and got away with it, they were allowed to ... wear whatever they wanted to wear."
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Her trailblazing didn't end with her wardrobe choices. In the 1960s and '70s, women were not allowed to host the Grand Ole Opry show. Seely would often ask: 'Did you ever notice how much that smells like discrimination?"
And she became so popular, she got cast on "The Porter Wagoner Show," a musical variety program. When Seely left the show to tour the country, she was replaced by Dolly Parton. In 1977, she survived a serious car accident that broke her jaw and ribs when she crashed into a tree in Tennessee.
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In 1985, Seely became the first woman to host a half-hour segment of the Grand Ole Opry.
"That was a hard-won battle. That wasn't just given to me,' she said, later adding, 'that was a door that I kicked in incessantly to get open." After her hosting gig, there was a flood of women who hosted.
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"When I saw Lorrie Morgan, Pam Tillis, that era come up — they were able to walk out there (and) host a segment without that pressure, that stigma," Seely said. "I'm very proud of that."
Through the years, Seely worked with seemingly every luminary in country music. She wrote songs for Ernest Tubb and Merle Haggard. She produced an album by Little Jimmy Dickens. She sang duets with Jack Greene and Willie Nelson.
Seely tried acting, too, and made a cameo in the 1980 film "Honeysuckle Rose" which starred Nelson. She divorced her ex-husband Cochran in 1979 and married Nashville lawyer Gene Ward, who died last year, in 2010.
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Earlier this year, Seely underwent surgery on her back and suffered through complications that required more surgery. She had abdominal surgery in April. Then, she caught pneumonia.
Seely wrote a blog post in May on her website, "Jeannie Seely Miss Country Soul."
"Over the past several weeks, I've received so many wonderful messages of love and concern about being missed on the Grand Ole Opry and on 'Sundays with Seely' on Willie's Roadhouse," she told fans. "Thank you for those, and I assure you that I miss you just as much!"
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Seely hoped that she could "count on that support as I struggle through this recovery process," revealing that she had multiple back surgeries in March, two emergency abdominal surgeries in April and then 11 days in the intensive care unit plus a bout with pneumonia.
"Rehab is pretty tough but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine! The unsinkable Seely is working her way back."
In Nashville and beyond, the unsinkable Seely – who lifted all boats – will be remembered always.