Ollie Imogene “Jean” Shepard, the trailblazing Country Music Hall of Famer who scored Top 10 hits with songs like “Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)” and “I’ll Take the Dog,” was born on this day in 1933.
Videos by American Songwriter
The child of sharecroppers in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, Jean Shepard formed an all-female country music band, the Melody Ranch Girls, at a time when most women in country music were reduced to their husbands’ side acts.
“As you know, there wasn’t none of us,” she said during her 2011 Country Music Hall of Fame induction speech. “But… I hung in there like a hair on a grilled cheese.”
Performing upright bass and lead vocals, Shepard caught the eye of country music legend Hank Thompson, who helped her secure a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1952. After scoring the No. 1 hit “A Dear John Letter” with country singer Ferlin Husky, she eventually struck out on her own. Scoring back-to-back hits in 1955 with “A Satisfied Mind” and “I Thought Of You,” Shepard became one of the first solo female artists to crack the US country top ten.
That same year, the Grand Ole Opry invited her to join its ranks. At the time of her death at age 82 in 2016, Shepard was the vaunted institution’s longest-running member.
[RELATED: 8 Trailblazing Women of Country Music]
Jean Shepard Overcame Tragedy For a Triumphant Comeback
Striking up a romantic relationship with fellow Opry member Harold “Hawkshaw” Hawkins, the pair began touring together and married in 1960. By then, Jean Shepard’s commercial success had begun to cool off somewhat after becoming one of the first female solo artists to headline country shows. At this point, rock-and-roll and pop influences were spilling onto the country charts. This left little room for Shepard’s more traditional honky-tonk sound.
Sadly, tragedy struck on March 5, 1963, when Hankins died in the same plane crash that took Patsy Cline’s life. The small Piper PA-24 Comanche was carrying Cline, Hawkins, and Lloyd “Cowboy” Copas back to Nashville following a performance in Kansas City, Missouri. Hankins left behind his eight-months-pregnant wife and their toddler son.
Devastated, Shepard contemplated walking away from country music entirely. Instead, she released “Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar),” her first chart hit since 1959. The song’s success spurred a comeback, cracking the U.S. country albums chart for the first time with her 1964 album Lighthearted and Blue.
After her death from complications of Parkinson’s and heart disease, Bill Anderson paid tribute to his fellow long-standing Opry member. “Jean was talented, funny, opinionated, passionate, and genuine to the core,” Anderson wrote on his website. “You might not always agree with her, but you always knew where she stood. She loved traditional country music, and didn’t have a lot of patience with those who didn’t.”
Featured image by David Redfern/Redferns
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.