Anderson heard Smith sing again on a shared New Year’s Day bill in Canton, Ohio, and after the show he encouraged her to move to Nashville. We provide you with the latest breaking news and videos straight from the entertainment industry. [6] These pressures eventually led Smith to seek solace in both her family life and religion, becoming a Born Again Christian in the spring of 1968. We strive for accuracy and fairness. With her new recording contract, she was marketed as a country pop artist and was pressured into recording softer material. Smith said she would never meet again after divorcing Haynes in the mid-1990s. [28] The second single did not chart and Epic failed to release any further singles or an album. [27] Her next single (released on That's the Way Love Goes) was written by Dallas Frazier called "Ain't Love a Good Thing", which peaked at No. [12] Her steel guitar player Weldon Myrick is often credited with creating what Smith has called "The Connie Smith Sound". [21] In May 1967 Smith released an album of songs written entirely by Bill Anderson entitled Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson. Currently, he was married to Cindy Cash, a daughter of Johnny Cash . The song peaked at No. [9] In addition, the album also peaked at No.

[5] That day at the park, country artist Bill Anderson heard Smith perform and was impressed by her voice. Connie Smith has been married four times. Her mother divorced her father when she was seven and married Tom Clark. Her debut 1977 Monument album, Pure Connie Smith, only spawned one single, entitled "Coming Around", which peaked outside the Top 40. She is best known for her vocal style and has been very influential to many women in the same industry. Finally, they had two more kids together, reaching up to fifteen kids in total. Still, they have become one … [24], In 1971, Smith's cover of Don Gibson's 1960 single "Just One Time" reached No. Smith performing live at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007, 1998–present: Comeback and current activities, Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith, If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs, I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before), Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used to Do), I Got a Lot of Hurtin' Done Today/I've Got My Baby On My Mind, "Terri Gibbs, The Singer Who Happens to be Blind", "Billboard chart positions: Connie Smith singles", "Heart, soul and talent: Connie Smith's recipe for great country music", "100 Greatest Women – Connie Smith (#24)", "Garth Brooks, Connie Smith, Hargus “Pig” Robbins join Country Music Hall of Fame", "Spirits Of Marty Stuart And Connie Smith Finally Unite (first appeared in a printing of, "Connie Smith and Marty Stuart Offer Marriage Tips", "CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music", "Connie Smith -- Country Music Hall of Fame", "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time", Connie Smith at the Grand Ole Opry's website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Connie_Smith&oldid=986807270, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Best Country and Western Single – "Once a Day", Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female – "Once a Day", Best Country and Western Vocal Performance, Female – "Ain't Had No Lovin'", Most Outstanding Female Country and Western Vocalist, Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Female – "Cincinnati, Ohio", Best Country Vocal Performance, Female – "Ribbon of Darkness", Best Sacred Performance – "Whispering Hope" (with, Best Inspirational Performance – "All the Praises", 40 Greatest Women of Country Music – Rank (#9), Best Country Collaboration with Vocals – "Run to You" (with, 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time – Rank (#69), This page was last edited on 3 November 2020, at 03:12. [14] Her next two singles, "If I Talk to Him" and "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)", both reached No.

As she is loved by many peoples. Perhaps overly compared to and identified with Patsy Cline, Smith is still considered by many to be one of the best and most underrated vocalists in country history. [23] The first single, "A Far Cry from You" (1985), was written by Alternative country artist Steve Earle and reached No.

If you are 13 years old when were you born? This change of sound was evident on her next two studio albums Born to Sing (1966) and Downtown Country (1967). First solo female country artist to have a number one record for 8 weeks. [4] In 1959, Smith graduated from Salem-Liberty High School as the class salutatorian. Smith later returned to Nashville to do some demo recording by Anderson that he planned on pitching to other country singers.

Connie doesn’t seem to be quite active in social media. It had been a dream of Smith's to become a member since childhood, remembering saying at the age of five, "Someday I’m gonna sing on the Grand Ole Opry. The single peaked at No. In 2012, Smith was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The label released two singles over the course of two years. [41], Connie Smith's sound is defined by the Nashville Sound musical style, primarily during her breakthrough years in the 1960s. When Marty Stuart was 12-years old he met country music singer Connie Smith and literally fell in love. Elizabeth Gardner (Anchor) Bio, Age, Husband, Children, WRAL, Net Worth, Salary. In January 1964, Smith ran into Anderson again at a country music package concert, where he invited her to perform with him on Ernest Tubb's Midnite Jamboree program in Nashville, Tennessee.

All Rights Reserved. "[13] In the mid-60s Smith was temporarily fired from the Grand Ole Opry for not being on the show for twenty six weeks out of the year, which was the required number of weeks to stay a member at the time. [34] It consisted of ten tracks, nine of them co-written by both Smith and Stuart. There are not many rumors and controversy about her. She won the contest and five silver dollars. This was followed by another top ten single in 1970, entitled "I Never Once Stopped Loving You", which reached No. Smith achieved nineteen Top Ten hits through 1973. Her parents were from West Virginia, and the family moved there when Smith was five months old. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Virtually every other record Smith released for the next decade was a top ten smash for her and she also racked up numerous Grammy award nominations. The couple would frequently tour together Connie’s roadshows in the 1970s.

She is best known for her 1964 hit song "Once a Day", which spent 8 weeks at No. Connie Smith’s high standing in the country music world was acknowledged when she became the first woman to be named artist in residence by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. her stage name from her first husband. The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Multiply. She eventually went into semi-retirement in 1979. Later, they moved to Dungannon, Ohio. [20], In February 1967, Smith released an album on RCA Camden entitled Connie in the Country, which mainly featured cover versions of country hits recorded at the time, including songs by Loretta Lynn and Buck Owens. "[36] Also in 1998, Smith made a second cameo appearance in a film, portraying a "Singer at the Rodeo Dance" in The Hi-Lo Country starring Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup.

The pair had three children: Jeanne, Julie, and Jodi Haynes.

[23] Smith later explained in an interview with Razor & Tie that she felt RCA showed a lack of respect for her and she felt she would have been happier recording elsewhere. [5][6], Because Chet Atkins found himself too busy with other artists, Bob Ferguson acted as Smith's producer on her first sessions and would continue to work as her producer until her departure from RCA. Marty is 17 years younger than Connie. It would later become a top ten hit for Anderson.

CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Smith remained one of country's top female stars into the late 1970's when she decided to step back a bit from the limelight. Their musical friendship would turn romantic, leading to their marriage in 1997.

Her birth name was Constance June Meador and she acquired her stage name from her first husband. General Watkins, 84 , died July 31, 2013. In May, she returned to Nashville and cut four demos of Anderson’s songs, which led Chet Atkins to sign Smith to RCA Records. [30] In 1975, she released her second gospel album with the label, entitled Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel, which was a tribute to the gospel material that Hank Williams recorded.

Her debut single "Once a Day" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in November 1964 and remained at the top position for eight weeks. As she focused more heavily on religion, Smith became known for her outspoken religious demeanor at concerts and music venues. "[31] Meanwhile, both of Smith's albums under the label stiffed upon release. They had one child together on March 9, 1963, named Darren Justin. Before splitting nearly a year after marriage, they had a boy, Kerry Watkins. In 1998, Marty helped produce Smith’s comeback album on the Warner Bros. label, Connie Smith. [15] Like her first album, Cute 'n' Country reached No. It's not that there aren't many amazing vocalists in the field, and plenty of legends among them. Harlan Howard, Kostas, Johnny Russell, and Dallas Frazier also wrote songs that were included on the album. Jerry is a ferroanalyst at the Inter-Lake Iron Corporation in Beverly, Ohio. [3], In August 1963, she entered a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio.

She later commented that, "...it was an honor, not a favor" to record an album of all Bill Anderson songs. With her new contract, she insisted that she would be able to record one gospel album a year. The thirty-minute program features traditional country music performed by both Stuart and Smith, as well as radio personality Eddie Stubbs. She also had a son, Kerry Watkins with Jack Watkins and three daughters: Jeanne, Julie, and Jodi Haynes, with Marshall Haynes. Smith has won two awards from both Billboard Magazine and Cash Box. Her vocal style has been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. See instructions. George Jones cited Smith as his favorite female singer in his 1995 autobiography. In addition, its B-side, "Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" (originally intended for Skeeter Davis), was also written by Anderson and peaked within the Top 25 on the same singles chart.

[2] When she was seven, her mother divorced her father and married Tom Clark. [18] Spawned from Born to Sing and Downtown Country were the singles "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and "The Hurtin's All Over", which both peaked within the Top 5 on the Hot Country Singles chart. Connie escaped by turning on the radio and listening to the singers she idolized, including Kitty Wells and Jean Shepard. If … Smith has been writing new songs for her next album since 2008. She also favored certain songwriters throughout her career.

[6] In 1971, she released her third gospel album, Come Along and Walk with Me, which Smith later stated was her favorite gospel record out of the many she has made.