On this day (January 5) in 1965, Dottie West entered the RCA-Victor Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record “Gettin’ Married Has Made Us Strangers.” Produced by Chet Atkins, the song would go on to be the fourth in a long string of hits for West.
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West is remembered as one of the most important women in country music history. With a career that spanned five decades, she helped elevate women in the genre and regularly served as a mentor to up-and-coming artists. West was also the first female country artist to take home a Grammy Award.
West released her debut single, “Angel on Paper,” in 1960. It and her next four singles failed to chart. Three years later, she found her first hit with “Let Me off at the Corner.” The non-album single peaked at No. 29 on the country chart. It was the first of 14 top 40 singles.
The decade also saw West finding success on the albums chart. Her debut, Here Comes My Baby, and her sophomore release, Dottie West Sings, peaked at No. 12 on the Top Country Albums chart. She followed those with multiple top 20 hits.
Dottie West Recorded a Song Written by Her Longtime Friend
“Gettin’ Married Has Made Us Strangers” was penned by Gary Geld and Pete Udell. “It Just Takes Practice,” the single’s B-side, was written by Jeannie Seely.
Seely and Dottie West were friends for decades. When West was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018–27 years after her tragic death–Seely was there to accept the honor on her behalf.
“She was the kind of girl you want for a friend,” Seely said. “Dottie’s path was never easy, but she had the strongest determination,” she added.
“Most of you who know Dottie well know that she loved little lights–candles everywhere and they all had to be burning all the time,” Seely recalled. “I can’t help but think that she’s gonna have every damn light in heaven burning tonight.”
Featured Image by Harry Langdon/Getty Images
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