Country Music Hall of Fame inducts Jean Shepard

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Peter Cooper


Two Oklahoma songbirds and a Florida-reared master of words and melody entered the Country Music
Hall of Fame Sunday night as Reba McEntire, Jean Shepard and Bobby Braddock received country
music’s highest honor during the Hall’s Medallion Ceremony.

The invitation-only event drew a bevy of cross-generational all-stars as artists including George Jones,
Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Bill Anderson and Elizabeth
Cook raised voices in tribute to the new inductees. And while McEntire is the inductee best known to
contemporary country radio listeners, she was quick to credit her Okie predecessor Shepard for paving
the way for modern female singers’ successes.

“Jean Shepard did so much for women in country music,” McEntire said. “I’m honored to be going into
the Hall of Fame with her.”

Indeed, Shepard, 77, found rare success as a woman in country music in the early 1950s, just after Kitty
Wells scored a top hit with “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” and long before country record
label executives were convinced of the value of releasing records with female lead singers. She was
raised a sharecropper’s daughter, in a home without running water or electricity. Her family saved
money to buy a new battery each year to power their AM radio, and she drew inspiration from listening
to the country sounds coming from Nashville’s WSM AM 650 signal. Shepard’s first producer, the now-Hall
of Famer Ken Nelson, figured there wasn’t a place in country music for women, but her tone-true vocals
and palpably emotional performances convinced him otherwise.

The records Shepard recorded with Nelson, including “A Dear John Letter” (with Ferlin Husky), “A
Satisfied Mind” and “Beautiful Lies” helped to overcome gender barriers in country, and on Sunday, Hall
director Kyle Young said Shepard and her fans “effectively created the climate change that parted the
clouds for Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette in the next decade and beyond.” The “beyond” part extends
into the present, as Shepard has starred on the Grand Ole Opry since the mid-1950s.

“This is way too long in coming,” said Country Music Hall of Famer (and Rock and Roll Hall member)
Brenda Lee. “She busted down the doors.”

Those were the doors McEntire, 56, raced through in becoming what Young called “the most successful
female country performer of her generation.” Indeed, McEntire has become the go-to heroine of
contemporary country females including Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride, both of whom sang in her
tribute Sunday night. For more than a quarter century, she has been a chart-topper, scoring hits
including “Whoever’s In New England” (sung Sunday by Garth Brooks), “How Blue,” “Is There Life Out
There” and, this year, “Turn On The Radio.” She sold more than 33 million albums in the 1980s and ’90s
and extended her notoriety onto television and Broadway, and her rangy, emotive style ushered in an
era of octave-hopping, gymnastic vocals.

“There’ve been a lot of changes in country music,” Shepard said. “I love some of them. I love Reba.”

On Sunday, Young told the story of McEntire’s rural childhood, her days traveling the rodeo circuit with
her family, her slow and unsteady rise to country music stardom and her impact as a singer, actress,
publisher and businesswoman.

“Following a 1987 divorce, she moved to Nashville and founded Starstruck Entertainment, a diversified
entertainment company that earned her the moniker “country music’s Oprah,” Young said.

Another Oklahoman, Brooks, appeared to sing “Whoever’s In New England,” and other performances of
McEntire hits came from Trisha Yearwood (with sister Susie McEntire), Gill and the one-time duo of Kelly
Clarkson and Martina McBride.

Braddock, 70, was inducted on the strengths of his songwriting credits, which include classics “He
Stopped Loving Her Today” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” as well as modern hits “People Are Crazy” and “Time
Marches On.” Braddock’s induction was a call for celebration in Nashville songwriting community, as
evidenced by the attendance of Matraca Berg and Hall of Famer Bill Anderson (who provided a
laughter-rich “formal” introduction). Before the ceremony, Anderson mused on Braddock’s lyrical skills.

“He writes things that are so funny, and then he’ll write something that will bring a tear to your eye,”
Anderson said. “He’s one of the greats.”

Sunday’s formalities assured Braddock, McEntire and Shepard have been affirmed as standing among
country’s greats. Their bronze plaques will hang in the Hall’s rotunda, alongside Hank Williams, Johnny
Cash, Patsy Cline and the rest. The often unflappable McEntire wept at the moment’s enormity as she
sat in a room filled with industry pros, with now-fellow Hall members and with Dolly Parton, who inducted
her into the Hall.

“We kind of have a lot in common,” Hall of Famer Parton said from the podium.

Now, they’re members of country’s most rarified club.
Reach Peter Cooper at 615-259-8220 or pcooper@tennessean.com.

This entry was posted in Country HOF Awards, News and tagged bill anderson, Blake Shelton, bobby
braddock, brenda lee, country, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, dolly parton, elizabeth cook,
Ferlin Husky, Garth Brooks, George Jones, grand ole opry, jean shepard, kelly clarkson, Ken Nelson,
loretta lynn, Martina McBride, matraca berg, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, tammy wynette, Trisha
Yearwood, vince gill, wsm. Bookmark the permalink.


Source : HERE

She made this song famous near 1955 but I don't know if this is an original. This is beautiful.

Porter Waggoner:

PurplePeopleEater a écrit:

She made this song famous near 1955 but I don't know if this is an original.

Nope. the original can be listened to here :


http://wired-for-sound.blogspot.fr/2010/05/red-hayes-on-starday-164.html

The original version by the writer of the song is :

Red Hayes - A Satisfied Mind / Doggone Woman (Starday 164)








Hayes explained the origin of the song in an interview: "The song came from my mother. Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years. I put a lot of thought into the song before I came up with the title. One day my father-in-law asked me who I thought the richest man in the world was, and I mentioned some names. He said, 'You're wrong, it is the man with a satisfied mind.'" The song has been covered by a variety of well-known artists.

Tupelo Mississipi Flash a écrit:

PurplePeopleEater a écrit:

She made this song famous near 1955 but I don't know if this is an original.

Nope. the original can be listened to here :


http://wired-for-sound.blogspot.fr/2010/05/red-hayes-on-starday-164.html

The original version by the writer of the song is :

Red Hayes - A Satisfied Mind / Doggone Woman (Starday 164)








Hayes explained the origin of the song in an interview: "The song came from my mother. Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years. I put a lot of thought into the song before I came up with the title. One day my father-in-law asked me who I thought the richest man in the world was, and I mentioned some names. He said, 'You're wrong, it is the man with a satisfied mind.'" The song has been covered by a variety of well-known artists.

Yes, I am sure you are correct.

In this instance, "original", I do mean HER original studio recording by "Jean Shepherd in 1955", I think I have heard another version by her without all of the acoustic instruments. A version not as lovely.

I don't have "sound" right now but maybe later I will find it.

Thank You For Your Response!