Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Queen of Country

Kitty Wells died on July 16 at the age of 92. She's being described in some places as the first female country superstar, which is not true, but it is true that Wells was the first female musician to have a number 1 hit on Billboard's country music list, with this, which is probably her best known song:



It was an answer song to Hank Thompson's "The Wild Side of Life", using the same basic folk melody with variations. The answer was wildly popular, knocking the very popular "The Wild Side of Life" out of its No.1 spot and becoming even more widely known, which is notable since NBC radio banned it, and she was often not allowed to sing it because it was thought too suggestive.

I think this, "Paper Mansions," is one of her best ones, though:



Will Your Lawyer Talk to God is a pretty good one, too.