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Kitty Wells

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Kitty Wells was born Ellen Muriel Deason in Nashville in 1919. She sang as a child, learned guitar from her father and as a teenager performed with her sisters on local radio. At eighteen she married Johnnie Wright, who later became half of the duo Johnnie & Jack. Her stage name came from the folk ballad Sweet Kitty Wells. A first contract with RCA Victor produced no hits, and in 1950 she was dropped.

Music and breakthrough

In 1952 she recorded It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels for Decca, in Owen Bradley's studio. The song was an answer to The Wild Side of Life by Hank Thompson and defended the woman in a world where all the blame was put on her. Some radio stations refused it, and the Grand Ole Opry briefly banned it, but the public wanted to hear it. It became the first number one on Billboard's country chart by a female singer. Later came Heartbreak U.S.A. in 1961, duets with Red Foley and Webb Pierce, and hits such as Making Believe, Amigo's Guitar and Password.

Influence

Her music is honky tonk, direct and unadorned, with a message in her songs that is often unusually sharp. She was the first female country singer with an LP of her own, in 1956, and in 1969 the first with her own television show. Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton continued her line with songs that attacked the same double standard. In 1976 came the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 1991 a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was called the Queen of Country Music.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels and notice the line in which she throws the blame back at the men, and how few instruments are needed to say it.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: Artists