Margie Singleton
Encyclopedia
Margaret Louis Ebey known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American
country music
singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones
and Faron Young
. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up With The Joneses" in 1964. She managed a successful solo career in the 1960s.
. As a young child, she was influenced by blues
and gospel music
. In 1949, at the age of 13, she married Shelby Singleton
. They worked at a munitions plant near Shreveport, Louisiana during the Korean War. She began to play guitar and write songs as a teenager after the birth of her first child, Stephen Singleton, in 1950. She had her second son, Sidney Singleton, in 1955.
In 1957, she signed with Starday Records, and released her first single that same year called "One Step (Nearer To You)". The flip side of the single was called "Not What He's Got". Both of these songs were self-penned. In 1958, she made her radio and professional debut on Louisiana Hayride
. That same year, she released another single called "Nothing But True Love", also written by Singleton. This single was more successful, becoming a minor hit on the country music chart, reaching the top 25. She regularly appeared on Louisiana Hayride before moving to Jubilee USA
in 1960.
where her husband Shelby Singleton was a producer. With his help, Singleton recorded a duet with George Jones
called "Did I Ever Tell You". The song became another hit for Singleton, and was released in 1961. The following year, the duo had equal success together with another country hit called "Waltz Of The Angels".
Singleton continued to be an avid songwriter. She wrote a pop music
hit for Brook Benton
called "Lie To Me". In 1963, he had another pop hit with another song written by Singleton called "My True Confession". The year 1963 was also the year Singleton made her debut on country music
's most coveted show, the Grand Ole Opry
; and had another hit with the song "Old Records". In addition to being a solo and duet star, she also sang as a back-up vocalist with The Jordanaires
. Numerous performers recorded many of her songs, including Teresa Brewer
, Tammy Wynette
and Charley Pride
. In 1964, Singleton teamed up with singer Faron Young
. Together they recorded the song "Keeping Up With The Joneses". That year, the song reached the country top 5, and became Singleton's biggest hit. The flip side of the single, "No Thanks, I Just Had One", was a Top 40 country hit. They continued to release single and record together.
By 1965, Singleton was divorced from Shelby Singleton. That same year, she married Leon Ashley
, and soon moved to United Artists Records
. In 1967, she moved to her husband's label, Ashley Records. That year, she recorded a cover version of the Bobbie Gentry
hit song "Ode to Billie Joe
", which reached the country Top 40. She had a Top 60 duet with her husband called "Hangin' On" in 1968. That same year, she appeared in a movie with Marty Robbins
called Road to Nashville. Her chart success was fading rapidly, although she continued to record, including recording the first version of "Harper Valley PTA
" that was later a huge crossover
hit by Jeannie C. Riley
.
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 and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Faron Young
Faron Young
Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up With The Joneses" in 1964. She managed a successful solo career in the 1960s.
Early life and rise to fame
She was born Margaret Ebey in 1935 in Coushatta, LouisianaCoushatta, Louisiana
Coushatta is a town in and the parish seat of rural Red River Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the east bank of the Red River. The community is approximately forty-five miles south of Shreveport on U.S. Highway 71...
. As a young child, she was influenced by 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...
and gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. In 1949, at the age of 13, she married Shelby Singleton
Shelby Singleton
Shelby Singleton was an American record producer and record label owner.-Early Life:...
. They worked at a munitions plant near Shreveport, Louisiana during the Korean War. She began to play guitar and write songs as a teenager after the birth of her first child, Stephen Singleton, in 1950. She had her second son, Sidney Singleton, in 1955.
In 1957, she signed with Starday Records, and released her first single that same year called "One Step (Nearer To You)". The flip side of the single was called "Not What He's Got". Both of these songs were self-penned. In 1958, she made her radio and professional debut on Louisiana Hayride
Louisiana Hayride
Louisiana Hayride was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music...
. That same year, she released another single called "Nothing But True Love", also written by Singleton. This single was more successful, becoming a minor hit on the country music chart, reaching the top 25. She regularly appeared on Louisiana Hayride before moving to Jubilee USA
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
in 1960.
The height of her career in the 1960s
Singleton released another single in 1959 called "Eyes Of Love". The song gave Singleton her first major hit when it reached the Top 20 in 1960. In 1961, she switched to Mercury RecordsMercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
where her husband Shelby Singleton was a producer. With his help, Singleton recorded a duet with George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
called "Did I Ever Tell You". The song became another hit for Singleton, and was released in 1961. The following year, the duo had equal success together with another country hit called "Waltz Of The Angels".
Singleton continued to be an avid songwriter. She wrote a pop music
Pop 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...
hit for Brook Benton
Brook Benton
Brook Benton was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.He made a comeback in 1970...
called "Lie To Me". In 1963, he had another pop hit with another song written by Singleton called "My True Confession". The year 1963 was also the year Singleton made her debut on 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...
's most coveted show, the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
; and had another hit with the song "Old Records". In addition to being a solo and duet star, she also sang as a back-up vocalist with The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...
. Numerous performers recorded many of her songs, including Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
, 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....
and Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
. In 1964, Singleton teamed up with singer Faron Young
Faron Young
Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
. Together they recorded the song "Keeping Up With The Joneses". That year, the song reached the country top 5, and became Singleton's biggest hit. The flip side of the single, "No Thanks, I Just Had One", was a Top 40 country hit. They continued to release single and record together.
By 1965, Singleton was divorced from Shelby Singleton. That same year, she married Leon Ashley
Leon Ashley
Leon Walton is an American country music artist, known profressionally as Leon Ashley. He is known mainly for his number 1 single "Laura ", which topped the country singles charts in 1967. This single was distributed on his own label...
, and soon moved 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:...
. In 1967, she moved to her husband's label, Ashley Records. That year, she recorded a cover version of the 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...
hit song "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...
", which reached the country Top 40. She had a Top 60 duet with her husband called "Hangin' On" in 1968. That same year, she appeared in a movie with Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
called Road to Nashville. Her chart success was fading rapidly, although she continued to record, including recording the first version of "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...
" that was later a huge crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
hit 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...
.
Later career
Singleton continued to record for her husband's label, but with no further chart entries. She has toured with her husband with the Country Music Spectacular, and with her husband's band, Strings of Nashville. She has since dropped out of the country music spotlight.Albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1962 | Duets Country Style (with George Jones George Jones George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette.... ) |
| 1965 | Cryin' Time |
| 1967 | Sings Country Music With Soul |
| 1968 | Harper Valley PTA |
| 1969 | New Brand of Country (with Leon Ashley Leon Ashley Leon Walton is an American country music artist, known profressionally as Leon Ashley. He is known mainly for his number 1 single "Laura ", which topped the country singles charts in 1967. This single was distributed on his own label... ) |
| Ode to Billie Joe | |
| You Gave Me a Mountain |
Singles
| Year | Single | US Country | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "Nothing But True Love" | 25 | Margie Singleton |
| 1960 | "Eyes of Love" | 12 | 20 Greatest Hits |
| 1961 | "Did I Ever Tell You" (with George Jones George Jones George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette.... ) |
15 | Duets Country Style |
| 1962 | "Waltz of the Angels" (with George Jones) | 11 | |
| 1963 | "Magic Star" | — | singles only |
| 1964 | "Old Records" | 11 | |
| "Keeping Up with the Joneses" (with Faron Young Faron Young Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars... ) |
5 | Golden Hits | |
| "No Thanks, I Just Had One" (with Faron Young) | 40 | singles only | |
| "Another Woman's Man, Another Man's Woman" (with Faron Young) |
38 | ||
| 1966 | "How Can We Divide These Little Hearts" (with Leon Ashley Leon Ashley Leon Walton is an American country music artist, known profressionally as Leon Ashley. He is known mainly for his number 1 single "Laura ", which topped the country singles charts in 1967. This single was distributed on his own label... ) |
— | |
| 1967 | "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... " |
39 | A New Brand of Country |
| "Hangin' On" (with Leon Ashley) | 54 | ||
| 1968 | "Wandering Mind" | 52 | |
| "You'll Never Be Lonely Again" (with Leon Ashley) | 55 | ||
External links
- Margie Singleton At LP Discography.com
- Margie Singleton At Hillbilly-Music.com
- [ Margie Singleton At Allmusic]