Billie Jo Spears
Encyclopedia
Billie Jo Spears is an American
country music
singer. She reached the top-10 of the Country music charts
five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest hit being "Blanket on the Ground
", which, in 1975, became her only number one. She is known for her blues
y voice.
-sounding. This new type of Country was called countrypolitan, and the popular singers of this genre at the time were Crystal Gayle
, Lynn Anderson
, Kenny Rogers
, Ronnie Milsap
, and Mac Davis
. However, Spears, unlike so many of her contemporaries, did not follow the trends of the day, and proved to Nashville
that country music can still have a more earthy sound.
Spears was born in 1937 in Beaumont
, Texas
. She made her professional debut at age 13 at a country music concert in Houston, Texas
. She cut her first single while she was still a teenager called "Too Old For Toys, Too Young For Boys". The single was released by the indie label Abbot under the name "Billie Jean Moore". She also performed on the Louisiana Hayride at 13. After graduating high school
, she sang in nightclubs and sought a record deal. Spears' early career was orchestrated by famed country/rockabilly songwriter Jack Rhodes. Working out of his makeshift recording studio, Rhodes took it upon himself to provide Spears with material and clout in her early years. Spears moved from Texas to Nashville
, Tennessee
in 1964. She got her first recording contract with United Artists Records
, and worked with producer Kelso Herston. Her first singles brought her little to no success. Soon her producer moved over to Capitol Records
and Spears followed. She earned a recording contract
there in 1968.
who resigned a job where she was discriminated against. She gained four more top 40 country hits during the next two years and then went four years without a hit. During this time at Capitol, Spears recorded some cover versions of popular Country hits, like "Ode to Billie Joe
" (originally by Bobbie Gentry
) and "Harper Valley PTA
" (originally by Jeannie C. Riley
). She also recorded novelty songs, like "Get Behind Me Satan and Push". According to the book Country Music: The Rough Guide, her vocals in that song sounded similar to that of Loretta Lynn
. Soon however, she decided she would have more success it she switched record companies.
In 1975, Spears returned to United Artists Records
, which was now the home to some of country music's pop-based acts, like Kenny Rogers
. She returned to the charts in 1975 with "Blanket on the Ground" The song had been previously turned down by Nashville producers who feared controversy with the chorus line "slipping around", even though the tune was not about adultery
. The expected controversy never materialized, and it became her only number-one song. In the United Kingdom
the song climbed into the top ten of the UK Singles Chart
. An album of the same name was released that year, which was also a success.
Spears' followed up "Blanket on the Ground" with the Top Ten "What I've Got In Mind." The track did even better across the Atlantic
, turning out to be a top five British hit. Spears had successes with "Misty Blue
" (a song covered by numerous other artists, including Wilma Burgess
in the '60s, who made the song a Top ten Country hit), "'57 Chevrolet," "Love Ain't Gonna Wait For Us," "If You Want Me," and others. 1981's cover version
of Tammy Wynette
's 1960s hit, "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," was Spears' last voyage into America's
country top 20. Her Greatest Hits album was a Top Ten best seller, and furthered her fan base.
, Country Music People, during the 1990s when their article described Spears as "The Queen Mother of country music." She continued releasing albums in the United States throughout much of the 1980s. However, by the late '80s, she did not record as much. She recovered from triple bypass
surgery
in 1993, now makes her home in Vidor, Texas, and continues to tour.
In 2005, Spears released the album I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer. She reached the top-10 of the Country music charts
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest hit being "Blanket on the Ground
Blanket on the Ground
"Blanket on the Ground" is a song made famous by country music singer Billie Jo Spears. Originally released in 1975, the song became her first and only song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart...
", which, in 1975, became her only number one. She is known for her blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
y voice.
Early life and rise to fame
Although Spears had her biggest country hits in the 1970s, she sounded more earthy and more grounded on records than other country music singers during that time. This was because during the height of Spears' career in the 1970s, country's sound moved more popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-sounding. This new type of Country was called countrypolitan, and the popular singers of this genre at the time were Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
, Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s...
, and Mac Davis
Mac Davis
Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...
. However, Spears, unlike so many of her contemporaries, did not follow the trends of the day, and proved to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
that country music can still have a more earthy sound.
Spears was born in 1937 in Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. She made her professional debut at age 13 at a country music concert in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. She cut her first single while she was still a teenager called "Too Old For Toys, Too Young For Boys". The single was released by the indie label Abbot under the name "Billie Jean Moore". She also performed on the Louisiana Hayride at 13. After graduating high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, she sang in nightclubs and sought a record deal. Spears' early career was orchestrated by famed country/rockabilly songwriter Jack Rhodes. Working out of his makeshift recording studio, Rhodes took it upon himself to provide Spears with material and clout in her early years. Spears moved from Texas to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in 1964. She got her first recording contract with United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
, and worked with producer Kelso Herston. Her first singles brought her little to no success. Soon her producer moved over to Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
and Spears followed. She earned a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
there in 1968.
Height of her recording career
Spears' first hit came in 1969, when her "Mr. Walker It's All Over" reached number 4 on the Country chart. It also reached the Pop charts at #80. The song told of a secretarySecretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
who resigned a job where she was discriminated against. She gained four more top 40 country hits during the next two years and then went four years without a hit. During this time at Capitol, Spears recorded some cover versions of popular Country hits, like "Ode to Billie Joe
Ode to Billie Joe
"Ode to Billie Joe" is a 1967 song written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry , a singer-songwriter from Chickasaw County, Mississippi. The single, released in late July, was a number-one hit in the United States, and became a big international seller. The song is ranked #412 on Rolling Stones list of...
" (originally by Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry
Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...
) and "Harper Valley PTA
Harper Valley PTA
"Harper Valley PTA" is a country song written by Tom T. Hall that was a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968. Riley's record sold over six million copies as a single. The song made Riley the first woman to top both Billboard's Hot 100 and the U.S...
" (originally by Jeannie C. Riley
Jeannie C. Riley
Jeannie C. Riley is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" , which missed becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time...
). She also recorded novelty songs, like "Get Behind Me Satan and Push". According to the book Country Music: The Rough Guide, her vocals in that song sounded similar to that of Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
. Soon however, she decided she would have more success it she switched record companies.
In 1975, Spears returned to United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
, which was now the home to some of country music's pop-based acts, like Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
. She returned to the charts in 1975 with "Blanket on the Ground" The song had been previously turned down by Nashville producers who feared controversy with the chorus line "slipping around", even though the tune was not about adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. The expected controversy never materialized, and it became her only number-one song. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the song climbed into the top ten of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. An album of the same name was released that year, which was also a success.
Spears' followed up "Blanket on the Ground" with the Top Ten "What I've Got In Mind." The track did even better across the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, turning out to be a top five British hit. Spears had successes with "Misty Blue
Misty Blue
"Misty Blue" is a song written by Bob Montgomery in 1966 which has become a hit in the pop, C&W and soul fields through various versions, the most successful being the 1976 pop/soul hit by Dorothy Moore.-C&W hit versions:...
" (a song covered by numerous other artists, including Wilma Burgess
Wilma Burgess
Wilma Burgess was an American country music singer. She rose to fame in the mid 1960s and charted fifteen singles on the Billboard C&W charts between 1965 and 1975.-Background:...
in the '60s, who made the song a Top ten Country hit), "'57 Chevrolet," "Love Ain't Gonna Wait For Us," "If You Want Me," and others. 1981's cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
's 1960s hit, "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," was Spears' last voyage into America's
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country top 20. Her Greatest Hits album was a Top Ten best seller, and furthered her fan base.
Later career and life today
By the mid 1980s, her success in the United States had tapered off. However, she retained a following in the UK, and remains a popular live performer there. Spears has recorded a number of albums for the British market that had limited or even no release in the US. This level of fame in the UK was summed up by the magazineMagazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, Country Music People, during the 1990s when their article described Spears as "The Queen Mother of country music." She continued releasing albums in the United States throughout much of the 1980s. However, by the late '80s, she did not record as much. She recovered from triple bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
in 1993, now makes her home in Vidor, Texas, and continues to tour.
In 2005, Spears released the album I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.
External links
- [ Billie Jo Spears biography] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
- Billie Jo Spears Short bio & picture at Hux RecordsHux Records-External links:* * * * *...