Jean Shepard

American country singer (1933–2016)

This article is about the American country singer. For the American writer, raconteur, and radio host, see Jean Shepherd.

Jean Shepard

Shepard performing at a benefit event, June 2006.

Born|

Ollie Imogene Shepard

(1933-11-21)November 21, 1933

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, U.S.

Died| September 25, 2016(2016-09-25) (aged 82)
Occupation| Singer
Years active| 1952–2015
Spouses|

* Freddie (last name not given)

(m. 1951; ann. 1952)​

* Hawkshaw Hawkins

(m. 1960; died 1963)​

* Archie Summers

(m. 1966; div. 1968)​

* Benny Birchfield

(m. 1968)​

Children| 3
Musical career
Genres|

* Country
* honky tonk

Instrument(s)| Vocals
Labels|

* Capitol
* United Artists
* Scorpion
* First Generation
* Round Robin
* Country Harvest
* Ernest Tubb
* Raney

Musical artist

Jean Shepard (born Ollie Imogene Shepard: November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016[1]) was an American honky-tonk singer-songwriter who is often acknowledged as a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the number-one spot. She recorded a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1981, and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955.

After Kitty Wells's 1952 breakthrough, Shepard quickly followed, and a national television gig and the Opry helped make her a star when few female country singers had enduring success. Her first hit, "A Dear John Letter", a 1953 duet with Ferlin Husky, was the first post-World War II record by a woman country artist to sell more than a million copies.[2]

## Early life[edit]

Ollie Imogene Shepard was born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. She was one of ten children born to[3] Hoit A. Shepard and Allie Mae Isaac Shepard. Both of her parents were sharecroppers[4] that raised cotton, sugarcane and peanuts.[5] Her father also had various jobs, including sewing burlap sacks at the Paul's Valley Alfalfa Mill.[6] When she was three, the family moved to Hugo, Oklahoma to be closer to her paternal grandparents. In Hugo, the Shepard family lived in a four-room house with little furniture[7] while Hoit Shepard received a government loan to sharecrop with another farmer.[8] Along with many Oklahoma farmers during the Dust Bowl, the Shepard family moved out west in search of a better life.[9] In 1943, the family settled in Visalia, California.[10]

In Visalia, Shepard skipped the third grade at Lynnwood Elementary School and then attended Visalia Union High School in September 1947. In high school, she attended an accredited country music course while also participating in the school's glee club.[11] She recalled being teased in her teen years for being an "Okie" who liked country music.[12] During her sophomore year, Shepard and her friends formed an all-female country music band named the Melody Ranch Girls. Shepard played the upright bass in the group.[13] Her parents pawned their home's furniture to buy the instrument for Shepard.[14] Along with playing the bass, Shepard also sang, claiming to have sang "90 percent" of the lead vocals in the group.[15] She then began playing alongside the Melody Ranch Girls every weekend during her high school years.[14][16] Shepard recalled being so tired after gigs that her teachers would let her sleep during school hours.[15] Because she skipped third grade, Shepard graduated from high school in 1950 at age 17.[11]

The Melody Ranch Girls continued performing following high school, finding gigs in northern California, Oregon and Washington state.[14] The group later split after many of her band members got married.[17] Prior to their disbandment, Shepard was singing in the group by country performer Hank Thompson.[18] He then recommended his producer at Capitol Records named Ken Nelson.[19] However, Nelson did not believe females artists had a place in country music. "There's no place in country music for women. But every band needs a girl singer," she remembered Nelson saying.[15] His hesitation led to a six month delay in Shepard signing with Capitol. Because she was under age 21, Shepard went before a court judge to get signed to the label.[20]

## Career[edit]

### 1953–56: Breakthrough[edit]

Hank Thompson discovered Shepard a few years later.[21] With Thompson's help, Shepard signed with Capitol Records in 1952, following the success of Kitty Wells's "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". Shepard cut four songs at her first session with popular band players Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West, Cliffie Stone, and Billy Strange. She recorded her first single for the label in 1952, "Crying Steel Guitar Waltz", but it failed to chart.[22] Shepard's first chart appearance was 1953's duet with Ferlin Husky, with "A Dear John Letter".[21] It was a number-one smash,[22] and also became a major crossover pop hit, peaking at number four on the Billboard pop chart. The song struck a chord with audiences as it was a half-spoken duet about a soldier in the Korean War. The duo's follow-up, "Forgive Me John", was another crossover hit, peaking in the top 10 on the country chart and the top 25 on the pop chart. Because at 20 she was still a minor, Shepard's parents signed her rights to Husky so she could tour.[23]

In 1955, Shepard joined ABC-TV's nationally telecast Ozark Jubilee for several years,[2] and recorded her first studio album, Songs of a Love Affair, written by Shepard. She also charted her first solo top-10 single, "A Satisfied Mind", that same year, backed by the number-13 hit, "Take Possession".[21] "A Satisfied Mind" peaked at number four on the Billboard country chart. Shepard had another top-five hit the same year with "Beautiful Lies". Its flip side, "I Thought of You", peaked in the country top 10. Her streak of hit singles led to an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry in 1955 as one of its few female stars; Kitty Wells and Minnie Pearl were the only others.[24]

Because she was a honky-tonk singer when the Nashville sound was popular, Shepard had just two charting country singles between 1956 and 1963. Those two singles, 1958's "I Want to Go Where No One Knows Me" and 1959's "Have Heart Will Love", earned her the title of Cash Box's Top Female Artist of 1959.[21]

In 1960, Shepard married fellow Opry star Hawkshaw Hawkins, whom she had met on Ozark Jubilee. He died three years later in the same plane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.[22] Shepard gave birth to their son Hawkshaw Jr. just one month after the crash. She later married country music musician and singer Benny Birchfield;[25] the two remained married until her death.[23] He was injured in a stabbing along with their granddaughter, who died, December 18, 2016, in his home in Tennessee.[26]

### 1964–78: Commercial resurgence[edit]

Jean Shepard in 1971

Shepard returned to the top 10 in 1964 with "Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)", which began a string of hits[21] and proved a commercial comeback. In 1964 and 1965, she had two top-40 hits with "A Tear Dropped By" and "Someone's Gotta Cry", from the Heart, We Did All That We Could LP released in 1967. In 1966, Shepard recorded a duet with country singer Ray Pillow titled "I'll Take the Dog", which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard country chart. This was followed by two solo hit singles the same year: the top-10 hit "If the Teardrops Were Silver" and the top-15 hit "Many Happy Hangovers to You".[27]

In 1967, Shepard had two top-20 hits with the title track of Heart, We Did All That We Could and the single "Your Forevers Don't Last Very Long".[28] The following year, she had only one top-40 hit, but continued to release albums, which included 1968's A Real Good Woman. In 1969, Shepard's LP, Seven Lonely Days, produced the hit single of the same name that reached the top 20. With the release of 1969's "Then He Touched Me", Shepard had a top-10 hit, followed by three hits in 1970, including the top-15 hit "Another Lonely Night". Shepard had one more top-40 hit with 1971's "With His Hand in Mine".[28]

In the early 1970s, Shepard moved to United Artists Records.[29] Her first single for the label in 1973, the Bill Anderson-penned "Slippin' Away", was her biggest solo hit since the 1950s.[24] The single peaked at number four on the Billboard country chart and charted on the Billboard pop chart, peaking outside the top 40.[30] Shepard's hits continued throughout the 1970s, though as the decade wore on, she hit the top 40 less frequently.[21] She had three top-20 hits in 1974, beginning with the number-13 smash "At the Time" and "I'll Do Anything it Takes (to Stay with You)". In 1975, Shepard recorded an album of songs written by Bill Anderson titled Poor Sweet Baby (and Ten More Bill Anderson Songs). Both singles from the album were top-20 hits on the Billboard country chart between 1974 and 1975, and were her last top-40 singles.[citation needed]

Shepard was known in country music as a "staunch traditionalist" and created some controversy when she served as president of the Association of Country Entertainers, formed in response to Olivia Newton-John's CMA Female Vocalist of the Year win in 1974.[28] The organization was intended to keep country music "pure" and criticized the pop influences at the time.[24]

In 1975 and 1976, Shepard recorded two albums, I'm a Believer and Mercy/Ain't Love Good, and then left the label in 1976. In response, United Artists released a Greatest Hits compilation. Between 1977 and 1978, she recorded for the smaller GRT label, which produced minor hit singles on the Billboard country chart. She had her last charting record in 1978 under the label with "The Real Thing".[31]

### 1980–2016: Later years[edit]

After leaving GRT at the end of the 1970s, Shepard did not record again until 1981, when she released a final studio album under the label Laserlight titled, Dear John, which included remakes of her hits, including "A Dear John Letter" and "Slippin' Away", and also included a new song, "Too Many Rivers". She continued to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and to tour, both in the US and in the UK, where she had a strong fan base,[21] until 2015. Her work was reissued by Bear Family Records.[24]

In 2005, Shepard celebrated 50 years as a member of the Opry[32] and, at the time of her death, she was the longest-running living member of the Opry.[33] In 2011, Shepard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with songwriter Bobby Braddock and fellow Oklahoma singer Reba McEntire.[34] In 2014, Shepard's autobiography, Down Through the Years, was published.[35] On November 21, 2015, Shepard became the first woman to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 consecutive years—a feat that only one other person had achieved at the time (founding member Herman Crook of the Crook Brothers), and only one other, Bill Anderson, has reached since.[36] She retired from the stage that night.[30]

On September 25, 2016, Shepard died of Parkinson's disease at the age of 82.[37]

Shepard was posthumously featured in Ken Burns' Country Music in 2019.

## Personal life[edit]

In her autobiography, Shepard revealed that her first marriage was at age 18 to a man named Freddie (she did not provide his last name). The pair met through Melody Ranch band member Dixie Gardner. However, the marriage was later annulled after Shepard discovered that Freddie had a tendency to become violent and angry. In 1952, Shepard and her mother went to court and was granted an annulment by a judge.[38] After Hawkshaw Hawkins was killed in a plane crash, Shepard married Nashville police officer Archie Summers in 1966. The couple divorced in 1968, with Shepard citing his alcoholism. In 1968, she married musician Benny Birchfield.[39]

## Discography[edit]

Main article: Jean Shepard discography

* Songs of a Love Affair (1956)
* Lonesome Love (1958)
* Got You on My Mind (1961)
* Heartaches and Tears (1962)

## References[edit]

### Footnotes[edit]

1. ^ Grimes, William (September 27, 2016). "Jean Shepard, a Female Country Voice With Muscle and Ambition, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
2. ^ a b Grand Ole Opry.com. Grand Ole Opry members – Jean Shepard retrieved June 20, 2008.Archived May 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ "Country singer Jean Shepard dies; was Grand Ole Opry staple". The Washington Post. September 25, 2016. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
4. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 25. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
5. ^ Shepard, p. 31.
6. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 27. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
7. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 29. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
8. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 31. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
9. ^ Wolff, Kurt (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides Ltd. p. 195-196. ISBN 978-1858285344.
10. ^ Cooper, Dan. "Jean Shepard Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
11. ^ a b Shepard 2014, p. 51. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
12. ^ Shepard, 2014 & p-52. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014p-52 (help)
13. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 53-54. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
14. ^ a b c Bufwack & Oermann 2003, p. 158.
15. ^ a b c Shepard 2014, p. 55. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
16. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 54-55. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
17. ^ Wolfe, Allison (November 20, 1998). "Ladies We Like: Jean Shepard". Lady Fest.org.
18. ^ Thanki, Juli (November 11, 2015). "Opry to celebrate 'grand lady' Jean Shepard". Tennessean. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
19. ^ Burns, Ken. "Jean Shepard Biography". PBS. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
20. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 63-66. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
21. ^ a b c d e f g Dan Cooper & Stephen Thomas Erlewine Jean Shepard biography & profile Allmusic.com; retrieved June 19, 2008.
22. ^ a b c Wolff, Kurt (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Orla Duane, Editor. London: Rough Guides Ltd. p. 195.
23. ^ a b Country Music. About.com Jean Shepard at Country Music.about.com Archived February 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Country music's Legends Corner; retrieved June 19, 2008.
24. ^ a b c d Country Universe.com 100 Greatest Women of Country music – Jean Shepard (ranking – No. 34) retrieved June 19, 2008
25. ^ retrieved June 19, 2008 Lyrics by Jean Shepard & biography Archived October 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Sing365.com
26. ^ Jean Shepard's Husband Stabbed, Granddaughter Dead in Incident at Late Country Star's Home accessdate January 29, 2018
27. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research.
28. ^ a b c "Jean Shepard (1933–2016) – CMA World". September 25, 2016. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
29. ^ "Re: Strait in the HOF". Newsgroups.derkeiler.com. September 1, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
30. ^ a b "Grand Ole Opry Icon Jean Shepard Dead at 82". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
31. ^ "Jean Shepard | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
32. ^ "Great Ladies of the Opry/Grand Ole Opry Live Classics". Countrymusic.about.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
33. ^ "Opry's oldest member is now Ralph Stanley". WIXY.com. March 11, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2016.[permanent dead link]
34. ^ "Reba McEntire among Country Hall of Fame inductees". Reuters. March 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
35. ^ "Jean Shepard Reflects on Her Life 'Down Through The Years'". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
36. ^ Hollabaugh, Lorie (July 6, 2023). "Bill Anderson To Be Honored As Longest-Serving Grand Ole Opry Member". MusicRow.com. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
37. ^ "Country Music Hall of Famer Jean Shepard dead at 82". Tennessean.com. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
38. ^ Shepard 2014, p. 56-58. sfn error: no target: CITEREFShepard2014 (help)
39. ^ Bufwack & Oermann, p. 159. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBufwackOermann (help)

### Books[edit]

* Bufwack, Mary A.; Oermann, Robert K. (2003). Finding Her Voice: Women in Country Music: 1800–2000. Nashville, TN: The Country Music Press & Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 0-8265-1432-4.
* Shepard, Jean (2014). Down Through the Years. Don Wise Productions. ISBN 978-0944391068.

## External links[edit]

Media related to Jean Shepard at Wikimedia Commons

* Jean Shepard biography at Opry.com
* Jean Shepard biography at CMT.com

* v
* t
* e

Jean Shepard

* Discography

Studio albums|

* Songs of a Love Affair
* Lonesome Love
* Got You on My Mind
* Heartaches and Tears

Compilation albums|

* The Best of Jean Shepard

Songs|

* "A Dear John Letter"
* "Forgive Me, John"
* "A Satisfied Mind"
* "Take Possession"
* "Beautiful Lies"
* "I Thought of You"
* "I Want to Go Where No One Knows Me"
* "Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)"
* "Many Happy Hangovers to You"
* "I'll Take the Dog"
* "If Teardrops Were Silver"
* "Heart, We Did All That We Could"
* "Your Forevers (Don't Last Very Long)"
* "Seven Lonely Days"
* "Then He Touched Me"
* "Another Lonely Night"
* "Slippin' Away"
* "At the Time"
* "I'll Do Anything It Takes (To Stay with You)"
* "Poor Sweet Baby"
* "The Tip of My Fingers"

See also|

* Bill Anderson
* Hawkshaw Hawkins
* Ferlin Husky
* Ray Pillow

* v
* t
* e

Members of the Grand Ole Opry

Current members|

* Trace Adkins
* Lauren Alaina
* Bill Anderson
* Kelsea Ballerini
* Bobby Bare
* Mandy Barnett
* Dierks Bentley
* Clint Black
* Garth Brooks
* Henry Cho
* Terri Clark
* Luke Combs
* John Conlee
* Dailey & Vincent
* Diamond Rio
* Sara Evans
* Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers
* Crystal Gayle
* Vince Gill
* Emmylou Harris
* The Isaacs
* Alan Jackson
* Chris Janson
* Jamey Johnson
* Alison Krauss
* Lady A
* Little Big Town
* Patty Loveless
* Dustin Lynch
* Barbara Mandrell
* Martina McBride
* Ashley McBryde
* Del McCoury
* Charlie McCoy
* Scotty McCreery
* Reba McEntire
* Ronnie Milsap
* Eddie Montgomery
* Craig Morgan
* Lorrie Morgan
* Gary Mule Deer
* The Oak Ridge Boys
* Old Crow Medicine Show
* Brad Paisley
* Jon Pardi
* Dolly Parton
* Carly Pearce
* Stu Phillips
* Jeanne Pruett
* Rascal Flatts
* Riders in the Sky
* Darius Rucker
* Don Schlitz
* Jeannie Seely
* Blake Shelton
* Ricky Van Shelton
* Ricky Skaggs
* Connie Smith
* Mike Snider
* Marty Stuart
* Pam Tillis
* Randy Travis
* Travis Tritt
* Josh Turner
* Carrie Underwood
* Keith Urban
* Rhonda Vincent
* Steve Wariner
* Gene Watson
* The Whites
* Mark Wills
* Trisha Yearwood
* Chris Young

Former members|

* Roy Acuff
* David "Stringbean" Akeman
* Jack Anglin
* Eddy Arnold
* Ernest Ashworth
* Chet Atkins
* DeFord Bailey
* Bashful Brother Oswald
* Humphrey Bate
* Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers
* Margie Bowes
* Rod Brasfield
* Jim Ed Brown
* The Browns
* Carl Butler and Pearl
* Archie Campbell
* Bill Carlisle
* Martha Carson
* The Carter Sisters
* Maybelle Carter
* Johnny Cash
* June Carter Cash
* Roy Clark
* Zeke Clements
* Patsy Cline
* Jerry Clower
* Stoney Cooper
* Wilma Lee Cooper
* Cowboy Copas
* Charlie Daniels
* Skeeter Davis
* The Delmore Brothers
* The DeZurik Sisters
* Little Jimmy Dickens
* Joe Diffie
* Danny Dill
* Jimmy Driftwood
* Roy Drusky
* The Duke of Paducah
* Holly Dunn
* The Everly Brothers
* Lester Flatt
* Red Foley
* Curly Fox
* Lefty Frizzell
* Troy Gentry
* Don Gibson
* Billy Grammer
* Jack Greene
* The Gully Jumpers
* Theron Hale
* Tom T. Hall
* George Hamilton IV
* Sid Harkreader
* Hawkshaw Hawkins
* George D. Hay
* Hoot Hester
* Goldie Hill
* David Houston
* Jan Howard
* Ferlin Husky
* Stonewall Jackson
* Sonny James
* Norma Jean
* Jim & Jesse
* Johnnie & Jack
* George Jones
* Grandpa Jones
* The Jordanaires
* Doug Kershaw
* Hal Ketchum
* Bradley Kincaid
* Pee Wee King
* Hank Locklin
* Lonzo and Oscar
* Bobby Lord
* The Louvin Brothers
* Charlie Louvin
* Ira Louvin
* Bob Luman
* Loretta Lynn
* Uncle Dave Macon
* Rose Maddox
* Mel McDaniel
* Jesse McReynolds
* McGee Brothers
* Bill Monroe
* George Morgan
* Moon Mullican
* Willie Nelson
* Jimmy C. Newman
* Bobby Osborne
* Sonny Osborne
* Johnny Paycheck
* Minnie Pearl
* Webb Pierce
* Ray Pillow
* Ray Price
* Charley Pride
* Del Reeves
* Jim Reeves
* Leon Rhodes
* Tex Ritter
* Marty Robbins
* Johnny Russell
* Rusty and Doug
* Earl Scruggs
* Jean Shepard
* Mississippi Slim
* Carl Smith
* Fiddlin' Arthur Smith
* Hank Snow
* Red Sovine
* Ralph Stanley
* Texas Ruby
* B. J. Thomas
* Uncle Jimmy Thompson
* Mel Tillis
* Tompall & the Glaser Brothers
* Ernest Tubb
* Justin Tubb
* Leroy Van Dyke
* Porter Wagoner
* Billy Walker
* Charlie Walker
* Kitty Wells
* Dottie West
* Keith Whitley†
* Slim Whitman
* The Wilburn Brothers
* Don Williams
* Hank Williams
* Boxcar Willie
* The Willis Brothers
* Chubby Wise
* Del Wood
* Marion Worth
* Johnnie Wright
* Tammy Wynette
* Faron Young

†Honorary former member; was scheduled to be invited, but died before the invitation was extended

Pending members|

* T. Graham Brown
* Scotty McCreery

* v
* t
* e

Country Music Hall of Fame 2010s

* Jimmy Dean (2010)
* Ferlin Husky (2010)
* Billy Sherrill (2010)
* Don Williams (2010)
* Bobby Braddock (2011)
* Reba McEntire (2011)
* Jean Shepard (2011)
* Garth Brooks (2012)
* Hargus "Pig" Robbins (2012)
* Connie Smith (2012)
* Bobby Bare (2013)
* Jack Clement (2013)
* Kenny Rogers (2013)
* Hank Cochran (2014)
* Ronnie Milsap (2014)
* Mac Wiseman (2014)
* Jim Ed Brown and The Browns (2015)
* Grady Martin (2015)
* The Oak Ridge Boys (2015)
* Charlie Daniels (2016)
* Fred Foster (2016)
* Randy Travis (2016)
* Alan Jackson (2017)
* Jerry Reed (2017)
* Don Schlitz (2017)
* Ricky Skaggs (2018)
* Dottie West (2018)
* Johnny Gimble (2018)
* Brooks & Dunn (2019)
* Ray Stevens (2019)
* Jerry Bradley (2019)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic

Artists|

* Grammy Awards
* MusicBrainz

Other|

* SNAC

*[m.]: married
*[ann.]: annulled
*[div.]: divorced
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template