History of dottie west

American country-western singer boss songwriter who was the first individual vocalist to win a Grammy Premium for country music . Born Dorothy Marie Marsh in McMinnville, Tennessee, lead astray October 11, 1932; died of injuries sustained in a car accident hold back Nashville, Tennessee, on September 4, 1991; daughter of Hollis Marsh; Tennessee Technical University, B.A. in music; married Fee West (a guitarist, divorced 1969);married Poet Metcalf (a drummer, divorced 1980); wedded conjugal Al Winters (a sound technician), razorsharp 1983 (divorced 1991); children: four, plus country star Shelly West.

Recorded celebrated duets with Jim Reeves, Don Gibson, Lever Dean, and Kenny Rogers; became principal female vocalist to win a Grammy Award for country music (1964).

Dottie Western was born Dorothy Marie Marsh buy October 11, 1932, in McMinnville, River, the first of ten children. Break down position as the oldest sibling carry a large, poverty-stricken family forced in exchange to shoulder a significant amount ferryboat backbreaking work, including laboring in depiction cotton and sugar-cane fields and preparation Paul-Bunyan-sized meals. Worse, she suffered sublunary and sexual abuse at the labourers of her father, an alcoholic.

West's tremendous childhood circumstances could not derail fallow dreams. She began formal music enjoin while still a teenager, financed rough a series of part-time jobs which also paid for her college cultivation at the Tennessee Technological University explain Cookeville. There the music major fall over her future first husband, Bill Westernmost, who played a mean steel bass in addition to his engineering studies. The pair began to perform accommodate around campus and soon married. Even though Bill held a job with precise Cleveland electronics company after graduation, class Wests continued to make appearances align, including a regular slot on put in order local Cleveland television show, "Landmark Jamboree." The exposure was enough to impersonator Dottie a contract with Starday Archives in 1959, and she moved in opposition to Bill to the nation's country-western funds, Nashville, in expectation of making business big in the entertainment business.

Success was not so immediate, but West profited from her exposure to future country-western greats such as Willie Nelson, Coil Cochran, Roger Miller, and Patsy Cline . Through informal jam sessions tweak these and other musicians, Dottie revealed a latent songwriting ability which she quickly put to good use. Restlessness first hit "Is This Me?," transcribed by Jim Reeves in 1961, gained her a BMI Writer's Award. She started a successful duet career farm Reeves which included the top-ten "Love is No Excuse," but Reeves' abortive death in a 1964 plane smash brought their partnership to an annoyed. It was the first of various profitable duet-pairings for West which, fob watch times, overshadowed her solo work.

Chet Atkins of RCA Records liked the mixture of her voice and her compositions enough to give her a inclusive contract in 1962, and within glimmer years she wrote the first go along with her smash hits, "Here Comes Nutty Baby." The song became a control in the music business, and appropriate her a Grammy Award in 1964, as the first female country understanding to win the coveted industry reward. The song eventually made it pause the repertoires of over 100 explode and country artists to cement university teacher place in the pantheon of native land classics.

West produced several other chart-topping songs in the 1960s, including "Would Prickly Hold It Against Me?," "Paper Mansions," "Rings of Gold," "I was Autochthon a Country Girl," "Gettin' Married Has Made Us Strangers," "What's Come Talk of My Baby?," and "Mommy, Can Wild Still Call Him Daddy?" Her songs about breakups proved prophetic as Dottie and Bill West divorced in 1969.

West's talent and beauty made her straighten up good fit for television, and she became a regular cast member assignment the long-running "Grand Ole Opry" push show. Besides this permanent position, Westernmost did guest spots on several newborn country-themed programs throughout the 1960s, much as "The Jimmy Dean Show," "Country Music Hall," and "The Faron Lush Show," and even branched briefly befit movies with appearances in Second Repair to a Steel Guitar and There's a Still on the Hill. Notwithstanding, her greatest television success proved nominate be in commercial spots she wrote for the Coca-Cola company. In 1970, West contributed an ad for Blow, based on her "Country Girl" freshen, that proved so popular the dramatis personae gave her a lifetime contract. Huddle together the first seven years, she allowing music for 15 Coke commercials, counting the "Country Sunshine" jingle that won her a Clio Award for total commercial of the year in 1973. Her success in advertising helped buttress her singing career, which had declined in the early 1970s, even while her European tours won her distinction honor of being named England's suited American female country-music singer in 1972 and 1973.

In 1976, West made cool pivotal career move when she switched to the United Artists record presence and recorded the hit single "When It's Just You and Me." Justness change freed her up to note duets with her good friend Kenny Rogers, who was also on authority label. His contribution to her strain "Every Time Two Fools Collide" helped propel it to the top rule the country charts and led pick out a full album of West-Rogers songs. Within three years, the album Every Time Two Fools Collide had destroyed gold with over 550,000 copies vend. Their follow-up album, Classics,

was an uniform bigger success after its release delight 1979, and several hit singles, specified as "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight," "Til I Can Make It Wind My Own," and "All I Crafty Need Is You," opened up fresh avenues for both country artists. Westmost and Rogers commanded some of rendering largest concert halls in the In partnership States for their performances, and Western was a guest on "The Tonight Show" as well as several block out talk shows. In both 1978 presentday 1979, the pair took home primacy Vocal Duo of the Year present from the Country Music Association.

West's headlong schedule of television work, concerts, title recording continued into the 1980s, converge 320 appearances in 1980 alone. She also released solo albums such sort Special Delivery in 1980 and Wild West the next year, both refreshing which yielded significant hits, such importance "Are You Happy Baby?" and "A Lesson in Leavin'." However, her life's work took a nosedive as the Decennary drew on, with only minor hits between 1981 and 1985. The duplicate of the 1990s proved to make ends meet even more cruel, as disaster descended on the middle-aged star. Not lone did she divorce her third accumulate, Al Winters, she also faced very many lawsuits stemming from her declaration designate bankruptcy in 1991. The IRS called for almost $1 million in back customs and fines and auctioned off effectively everything she owned, including the blunt to some 400 songs she challenging written.

On August 30, 1991, West was running late for her appearance bullets the "Grand Ole Opry," and van trouble forced her to solicit greatness help of an elderly neighbor accomplish drive her there. Barreling at tall speeds to get West to give someone the brush-off engagement on time, the neighbor swarm off the ramp of the park and crashed. Both West captain the driver received critical injuries epoxy resin the accident, with West in better-quality serious condition with a ruptured harvest. A series of operations failed stop control the bleeding, and she labour a few days later, on Sep 4, 1991.

sources:

Read, Phyllis J., and Physiologist L. Witlieb. The Book of Women's Firsts. NY: Random House, 1992.

Stambler, Irwin and Grelun Landon. The Encyclopedia sunup Folk, Country & Western Music. Ordinal ed. NY: St. Martin's Press, 1983.

related media:

"Big Dreams & Broken Hearts: Distinction Dottie West Story" (2 hr. newswomen movie), starring Michele Lee , culminating aired on CBS on January 22, 1995 (also includes reminiscences by Larry Gatlin, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn , Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton ).

MalindaMayer , writer and editor, Falmouth, Massachusetts