Connie Smith
Connie Smith | |
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Born | Constance June Meador August 14, 1941 Elkhart, Indiana, U.S. |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1964–present |
Known for | "Once a Day" |
Spouses |
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Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941)[1][2] is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity has been noted between her vocal style and the stylings of country vocalist Patsy Cline. Other performers have cited Smith as influence on their own singing styles, which has been reflected in quotes and interviews over the years.
Discovered in 1963, Smith signed with
In the early 1970s, Smith began recording Gospel music more frequently as she became more serious in her Christianity. As she focused more heavily on religion, Smith became known for her outspoken religious demeanor at concerts and music venues. At the same time, Smith spent more time raising her five children than focusing on music. She eventually went into semi-retirement in 1979. Smith returned to recording briefly in the mid-1980s with Epic Records. However, it was not until her collaboration with Marty Stuart in the 1990s that she returned permanently. Their musical friendship became romantic, leading to their marriage in 1997. The pairing led to Connie Smith, Smith's first studio album in 20 years. Critically acclaimed, Smith began performing again and has recorded two more studio albums.
Smith has been nominated for 11
Early life
Connie Smith was born Constance June Meador to parents Wilma and Hobart Meador in Elkhart, Indiana.[3] Her parents were originally from West Virginia, and when Smith was five months old, the family returned there. They later moved to Dungannon, Ohio.[4] Her biological father was an alcoholic, and he was abusive to Smith's family.[4][5] "There were some tough times that I went through as a young child," she told an interviewer.[6]
Her mother divorced her biological father when she was a child and remarried to Tom Clark. Smith's stepfather brought eight children to the marriage, and Meador brought five (including Smith). The couple later had two more children together, totaling 15 children.[4] Smith was influenced by music in her childhood. Her stepfather played mandolin, while her brother played fiddle, and her other brother played guitar. On Saturday nights, the family tuned into the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast.[4] She took up the guitar following a lawnmower accident, which nearly cut her leg off. While in the hospital recovering, she was given a guitar and learned how to play different chords.[7] Smith did not perform publicly until high school when a friend invited her to sing Connie Francis's pop hit "My Happiness".[8]
With only one-tenth of a point behind the valedictorian,[8] Smith graduated from Salem-Liberty High School in 1959 as the class salutatorian.[5] Following graduation, she worked as telephone operator in Lowell, Ohio. She also worked as a drugstore clerk, a dental assistant and in a grocery store.[8] At age 19, she married her first husband, Jerry Smith.[9] Smith's husband encouraged her singing, and she began performing with more frequency. Her first professional performance was at the 1962 Washington County Fair. She then briefly joined the cast of Saturday Night Jamboree, a local country music television program. Smith was fired following her first performance, later theorizing it was because she was pregnant.[8] She then successfully auditioned for and landed a spot on a similar program for WSAZ-TV.[10]
Despite performance opportunities, Smith intended to remain a housewife and mother.[1][11] In August 1963, Smith entered a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio. Performing Jean Shepard's "I Thought of You", Smith won the talent contest and five silver dollars.[12] Judging the contest was country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson, who was instantly impressed by her voice. "At first I thought they were playing a record and she was lip sync'ing it," he later explained.[10]
In January 1964, Smith ran into Anderson again at a country music package concert in Canton, Ohio. He invited her to perform with him on
Career
1964–1967: "Once a Day" and peak success
After signing Smith to RCA,
Smith started performing more regularly with "Once a Day"'s success. Bill Anderson briefly served as her manager, but was replaced by Charlie Lamb. Smith made her first network television appearance in October 1964 on ABC's
Bill Anderson fulfilled his promise to RCA Victor and continued writing Smith's next single releases.[25] Producer Bob Ferguson and steel guitar player Weldon Myrick created a "high" and "punchy" production that Ferguson thought would sound pleasing on car radios.[26] "I thought it was an awfully thin sound, but it wound up being very popular," Myrick recalled.[27] In 1965, RCA issued Smith's follow-up single written by Anderson titled "Then and Only Then", which reached number four on the Billboard country songs chart.[3] It was followed by another Anderson-written top 10 single titled "I Can't Remember".[19] In October 1965, the latter song appeared on Cute 'n' Country, Smith's second studio album.[28] Although she disliked the name of the LP,[26] it became her second disc to top the Billboard country albums chart.[23] She had additional top five Billboard country singles through early 1966 with Anderson's "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)" and Priscilla Mitchell's "If I Talk to Him".[29] In 1965, Smith became a member of the Grand Ole Opry radio show.[30]
In 1966, Ferguson felt pressured from RCA headquarters to market Smith's sound toward "middle-of-the-road" country pop material. Smith was against the pop production but nevertheless agreed to try it. The pair did several sessions featuring a string instrumentation. The style appeared on her next studio releases Born to Sing (1966) and Downtown Country (1967). Both albums featured full orchestras in the background and cover versions of singles by pop artists of the time.[31] Featured on the LPs were the singles "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and "The Hurtin's All Over", which both reached the Billboard country top five.[19] During this time, Smith appeared in several country music vehicle films, where she performed many of her current hit recordings.[32] In 1966, she appeared in the films Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar and The Las Vegas Hillbillys, the latter of which starred Jayne Mansfield. In 1967, she appeared in The Road to Nashville and Hell on Wheels.[33] Smith's touring schedule also increased. In 1966, she formed her own touring band named the Sundowners and later married the band's guitar player Jack Watkins.[34]
In February 1967, RCA's subsidiary budget label Camden released Smith's next studio LP titled Connie in the Country. The LP included covers of popular country recordings of the era and "Cry, Cry, Cry", a single by Smith that reached the top 20.[19][35] In May 1967, RCA released an album of songs written solely by Bill Anderson titled Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson. Smith later commented that "it was an honor, not a favor" to record an album of all Anderson tunes. It included covers of Anderson's hits such as "City Lights" and "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome".[36] Included on the album was "Cincinnati, Ohio", which Smith released as a single and brought the song to the Billboard country top five.[19] Its success later inspired the city of Cincinnati, Ohio to declare its own Connie Smith Day in June 1967.[36] Smith remained at her commercial zenith through 1967 with a continued series of top 10 recordings.[3] Her further hits included the "I'll Come Runnin'", "Burning a Hole in My Mind", "Baby's Back Again" and "Run Away Little Tears".[19] Three of these recordings were included on Smith's 1967 album I Love Charley Brown, which reached the country LPs top 20.[37]
1968–1972: Setbacks, gospel music and continued country music success
By 1968, Smith had reached the height of her career. She was making multiple appearances on film and television while attempting to balance touring with a family life.[33][3] The pressures of various responsibilities stressed Smith to a point where she nearly left her career. In 1968, she discovered Christianity, which brought solace to her personal and professional life.[1][34][38] Ultimately, she chose to continue with her career and recorded for RCA every few months.[39] However, she reduced her touring schedule. She devoted the remainder of her time to family life and made efforts to appear on more Christian music programs. She worked alongside ministers Billy Graham and Rex Humbard. She also appeared on several Christian television shows.[34]
With Smith's commitment to RCA, the label continued releasing new albums and singles with regularity.[39] With her new religious convictions, Smith also made it a priority to include gospel recordings on her secular albums. This remained a theme throughout her career.[40] In 1968 and 1969, RCA Victor released the studio LPs Sunshine and Rain, Back in Baby's Arms and Connie's Country. These recordings yielded a cover of Marty Robbins's "Ribbon of Darkness". Smith's version reached the top 20 of the Billboard country singles chart.[41][19] In Canada, "Ribbon of Darkness" became her first song to top their RPM Country chart.[42] Entering the 1970s, Smith made the top 10 of the North American country charts with less frequency, but continued having commercial success.[3][1] The singles "You and Your Sweet Love" and "I Never Once Stopped Loving You" (both written by Bill Anderson) made the Billboard country top 10 in 1970.[3] Her fifteenth studio LP of the same name was released in 1970 and made the top 20 of the Billboard country albums chart.[23]
During this period, Smith also teamed with country singer-songwriter Nat Stuckey to record two duet studio albums. The idea was crafted by Smith's producer (Bob Ferguson) and Stuckey's producer (Felton Jarvis). Both men thought the artists' voices would "blend well".[43] The duo's first duet sessions produced a cover of Sonny James's "Young Love", which reached the top 20 of the Billboard country songs chart.[19] Their first album of the same name featured covers of country and pop songs of the era.[43] In an effort for Smith record more gospel music, the duo cut a spiritual-themed LP in 1970 titled Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith. Christian radio programs often opened their shows with the duo's gospel music, which influenced RCA to release "If God Is Dead (Who's That Living in My Soul)" as a single in 1970.[44] The song peaked in the lower reaches of the Billboard country chart.[19]
Journalists and writers took notice of Smith's RCA work following 1968. Biographer and writer Barry Mazor found that Smith's recordings had "a new delicacy of phrasing that shows itself".[45] Mazor also found her albums to have more distinctive qualities, calling 1970s I Never Once Stopped Loving You to be "one of her most consistent and strongest albums".[46] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised Smith's recordings from 1968 to 1972, highlighting the strength of her vocals: "She may have been given some of the best songs, but the thing is, she deserved them: few others could give them grace and soul, as this always entertaining box amply proves."[47] Authors Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann commented that her later RCA singles, "stand the test of time as among the most powerful country female vocal performances of the 1970s."[33]
In the early 1970s, Smith started recording more songs penned by Dallas Frazier. The pair had become close friends, which prompted Frazier to write songs for Smith that reflected situations in her personal life.[48][49] Both Smith and Frazier described her 1970 single "Where Is My Castle" as being autobiographical of her recent marital troubles. "Anybody knows that its cathartic to sing how you feel about things," Smith later said.[50] "Where Is My Castle" reached the top 20 of both the Billboard and RPM country singles charts.[19][42] In 1971, RCA released Smith's cover of Don Gibson's "Just One Time". Backed by a large rhythm section, the recording reached number two on the Billboard and RPM country charts, becoming her most commercially successful single of the 1970s.[19][51] Her eighteenth studio LP of the same name reached number 14 on the Billboard country albums chart and featured liner notes written by Loretta Lynn.[51][23]
With Smith being among RCA's top-selling recording artists, she had enough leverage to coax executives to let her record another gospel album. The result was 1971's Come Along and Walk with Me. The studio album featured gospel tracks written by spiritual writers such as Dottie Rambo.[52] In 1972, Smith had three back-to-back top singles on the Billboard country chart: "Just for What I Am", "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" and "Love Is the Look You're Looking For".[3] RCA released the singles on three separate LPs: Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time (1972), If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs (1972) and Love Is the Look You're Looking For (1973).[48] Her most commercially successful album was If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs, which reached number 14 on the Billboard country albums chart.[23] The studio project was recorded as a tribute to Dallas Frazier and featured 10 songs written by him. Frazier also sang several duets with Smith on the project. Before leaving her contract with RCA, the label released more LPs, including the compilation Dream Painter (1973).[48] Its title track charted in the Billboard top 40.[19]
1973–1979: Record label switches, pop music incorporation and semi-retirement
In 1973, RCA promised to give Smith a better royalty and more creative control if she renewed her contract. In an updated contract, these terms were not met. Upon hiring a lawyer, she left RCA and was offered a contract by Columbia Records.[53] In 1973, Smith signed a new recording contract with Columbia Records.[54] The label gave her more creative control including the opportunity record one gospel album per year.[3] At Columbia, she met with Clive Davis, who agreed to produce her. However, the label dismissed Davis before they could work together. Instead, producer Billy Sherrill chose to work with Smith. However, a disagreement about religion ended the pairing before it began. She started recording alongside producer George Richey, who recently had success writing material for George Jones and Tammy Wynette.[53]
At Columbia, Smith was pressured into recording with more pop production than before. "From Day One at the new label, even more than before, it was a constant tussle, because I just am who I am," recalled Smith.[55] However, she remained active in song selection and the recording process.[56] Smith's first Columbia LP titled A Lady Named Smith (1973) included pop production such as string instrumentation and overdubbed background vocals.[57] The LP reached number 31 on the Billboard country albums chart.[23] Richey agreed to release "Ain't Love a Good Thing" as her first Columbia single. Instead, the Richey-Smith co-written song "You've Got Me (Right Where You Want Me)" proved to be the first label single. The decision disappointed Smith enough that she chose to end their professional relationship.[58] The last Richey-produced project was Smith's first Columbia gospel LP titled God Is Abundant. The album of religious material climbed to number 20 on the Billboard country albums chart.[23][59]
Smith chose
Music critics noticed a change in Smith's vocals following her Columbia switch. When reviewing the compilation, Connie Smith Sings Her Hits, Thom Jurek of Allmusic commented that she lost the "grain" in her voice. Jurek went on to write "It could be said, that regardless of the material, she never made a bad record; the tunes were carefully chosen it's true, but she never tried to hide the hardcore twang in her vocal style."[54] Smith's biographer, Barry Mazor, found her voice to "lower in range by this point" and saw evidence of Columbia attempting to "push her recorded vocal into the upper end of her range".[60] Other critics noticed stylistic changes but observed no change in her singing. NPR's Ken Tucker found her recordings in this era to feature more pop instrumentation but did not "obscure the passion and pain she communicated so fearlessly".[64]
In 1975, Columbia released both of her 1974 gospel projects.
In 1977 Smith moved to Fred Foster's Nashville label Monument Records. She was pressured into recording more country pop material than before and was given singing lessons by a songwriter. "He [Fred Foster] wanted to mold me into something That I wasn't comfortable with," Smith commented. "That's why that never worked."[69] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine found her Monument music to have "state-of-the-art production that dates instantly, walks the line between crossover pop and country-pop rather clumsly, and lacks good material."[70] Monument released two LPs of Smith's material between 1977 and 1978.[69] Her only commercially successful Monument single was a cover of Andy Gibb's "I Just Want to Be Your Everything". The single climbed to number 14 on the Billboard country chart. Yet, her other Monument releases reached progressively-lower positions on the country chart between 1978 and 1979.[70] Furthermore, Smith had five children by this point and felt pressured to be at home with her family. Ultimately, Smith decided to leave her country music career entirely to focus on raising her children and tending to her religious needs.[69]
1983–present: Return to recording and performing
For three years, Smith remained in semi-retirement, committing only to occasional performances at the Grand Ole Opry, where she remained a member. At the Opry, she only performed gospel songs. However, she decided to return to her career in 1983. She re-signed with Monument Records, but left after label filed for bankruptcy. Instead, singer and songwriter Ricky Skaggs helped her secure a new recording contract to Epic Records.[71][34] The first single, "A Far Cry from You" (1985), was written by Alternative country artist Steve Earle.[72] It reached number 71 on the Hot Country Songs chart.[19]
One day in the mid-1990s, Smith was at her home talking to one of her daughters on the phone. After telling her mother what she was going to do that night, her daughter asked Smith what her plans for that night were. Because she did not have anything fun planned, Smith lied so her daughter wouldn't have to worry about her. After the conversation ended, Smith realized that she didn't need her own children worrying about her at the start of their adult lives and decided that it was time to return to her career.
Smith's 1998 project attracted limited commercial attention, but was given critical praise for its traditional and contemporary style. Kurt Wolff of the book Country Music: The Rough Guide commented that the album sounded "far gutsier than anything in the Reba and Garth mainstream".[1] Thom Jurek of Allmusic gave the release four out of five stars, calling it "a solid effort", also commenting "it stands head and shoulders over most of the stuff that's come out of Nash Vegas in over a decade. Even if it doesn't sell a copy, it's a triumphant return for Smith. She hasn't lost a whit of her gift as a singer or as a writer."[75] 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.
In August 2003, she released a gospel album with country artists
In November 2008, Smith joined the cast of
In August 2021, Smith's next studio album was released on the
Personal life
Smith has been married four times. In 1961, she married Jerry Smith, a ferro-analyst at the Inter-Lake Iron Corporation in Beverly, Ohio. They had one child together, born on 9 March 1963, named Darren Justin. (In the late 1970s, Darren went to Europe to become a missionary; he is currently a psychologist.)[14][86] In the mid-1960s, the couple divorced and Smith married the guitarist in her touring band, Jack Watkins. They had a son before separating nearly a year after marrying. Shortly afterward, Smith married telephone repairman Marshall Haynes. In the early 1970s, Haynes frequently toured with Connie on her road show. The couple had three daughters.[34]
After divorcing Haynes in the early 1990s, Smith stated that she never would marry again.[14] However, on 8 July 1997, she married for the fourth time, this time to her producer, country artist Marty Stuart. Stuart began producing her after writing songs for Smith's 1998 comeback album. Stuart described encountering Smith 26 years earlier, after attending her concert: "I met Connie when I was 12 years old. She came to the Indian reservation in my hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi to work at a fair. She hasn't changed a bit. She looked great then and she looks great now."[87] Stuart said he told his mother then that he was going to marry Connie Smith. Smith explains how they have sustained their marriage : "Make the Lord the center...and commit."[88]
Smith revealed in a New York Times interview that she had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in February 2021. She was hospitalized, developing sepsis and pneumonia. She eventually made a full recovery.[12] "They asked me if my heart stopped, did I want to be revived, and I said 'Of course, I don't want to be a COVID statistic,'" she told the Nashville Scene.[89]
Musical styles and vocal ability
Connie Smith's sound is defined by the
Smith's vocal delivery has also been considered to be part of her musical style. Writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted in 2012 that Smith sings with a "cool, authoritative ease, a skill that brought her to the attention of some of Nashville's finest songwriters."[47] Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann called her singing "a pillar-of-fire delivery sobbed with desolation."[90] Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated that Smith's vocals offer "sophisticated emotional delivery" and that "her control and phrasing remain a high-water mark today."[91]
Legacy and honors
Smith is considered by many critics and historians to be one of country music's more celebrated and respected artists.[74][3][92] In his review of Smith's 1996 compilation The Essential Connie Smith, Jurek explained why Smith's vocals are usually compared to Cline's, "Connie Smith is perhaps the only female singer in the history of country music who can truly claim to be the heiress to Patsy Cline's throne. It's not that there aren't many amazing vocalists in the field, and plenty of legends among them. But in terms of the pure gift of interpretation of taking virtually any song and making it a country song of class and distinction, Smith is it."[93]
Writers and journalists have also cited Smith as an integral piece of country music history. Mary A. Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann categorized her as one of country's "heroines of heartbreak", due to her emotional vocal delivery. Bufwack and Oermann further stated that along with Tammy Wynette, Smith was among the genre's "most towering country voices of the 1960s and 1970s" who "sang from the depths of despair" and "spoke for conservative Middle America in both music and life."[90]
Many artists in the country music industry have cited Smith as a significant musical influence or one of their favorite musical artists. George Jones cited Smith as his favorite female singer in his 1995 autobiography.[74] Elvis Presley had many of Smith's albums in his record collection at his Graceland home and intended on recording Smith's version of "The Wonders You Perform", but never got around to doing so.[14] In a discussion with country songwriter Fred Foster, Dolly Parton famously said "You know, there's really only three female singers in the world: Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, and Connie Smith. The rest of us are only pretending."[94]
Smith has been given honors and achievements as part of her legacy. In 2002, she was ranked in the top ten of
In March 2021, Smith's legacy was further cemented by the Library of Congress, which added "Once a Day" to the National Recording Registry.[100] In April 2021, Smith's husband, Marty Stuart, announced a documentary to be released about her life and career titled Connie: The Cry of the Heart. "Studying the depth of what Marty and Connie have achieved in the industry and then discovering their ability to predict the business trends around their legacy makes me very excited to be part of what they are doing," said Nick Kontonicolas, who will help broadcast the documentary on his network.[101]
Discography
Studio albums
- Connie Smith (1965)
- Cute 'n' Country (1965)
- Miss Smith Goes to Nashville (1966)
- Connie Smith Sings Great Sacred Songs (1966)
- Born to Sing (1966)
- Downtown Country (1967)
- Connie in the Country (1967)
- Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson (1967)
- Soul of Country Music (1967)
- I Love Charley Brown (1968)
- Sunshine and Rain (1968)
- Connie's Country (1969)
- Young Love (with Nat Stuckey) (1969)
- Back in Baby's Arms (1969)
- Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith (with Nat Stuckey) (1970)
- I Never Once Stopped Loving You (1970)
- Where Is My Castle (1971)
- Just One Time (1971)
- Come Along and Walk with Me (1971)
- Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time (1972)
- If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs (1972)
- A Lady Named Smith (1973)
- God Is Abundant (1973)
- That's the Way Love Goes (1974)
- I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before) (1974)
- I Got a Lot of Hurtin' Done Today/I've Got My Baby On My Mind(1975)
- Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel (1975)
- Joy to the World (1975)
- The Song We Fell in Love To (1976)
- I Don't Wanna Talk It Over Anymore (1976)
- Pure Connie Smith (1977)
- New Horizons (1978)
- The Best of Connie Smith (1989)
- By Request (1995)[102]
- Clinging to a Saving Hand (1995)[103]
- Connie Smith (1998)
- Sharon White) (2003)
- Long Line of Heartaches (2011)
- The Cry of the Heart (2021)
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1966 | The Las Vegas Hillbillys | Herself | cameo | [33] |
Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar | Herself | cameo | [33] | |
1967 | The Road to Nashville | Herself | cameo | [33] |
Hell on Wheels | Herself | cameo | [33] | |
1998 | The Hi-Lo Country | Singer at rodeo dance | [104] | |
2008–2014 | The Marty Stuart Show | Herself | 153 episodes | [78] |
Awards, nominations and honors
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Billboard Magazine
|
Most Promising Female Country Artist | Won | [105] |
1965 | Grammy Awards | Best Country and Western Single – "Once a Day" | Nominated | [67] |
Best New Country and Western Artist | Nominated | |||
Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female – "Once a Day" | Nominated | |||
Billboard Magazine | Most Promising Female Country Artist | Won | [105] | |
Billboard Magazine | Favorite Female Country Performer | Nominated | [105] | |
Favorite Album (1964–1965) – Connie Smith | Nominated | [105] | ||
Cash Box
|
Most Promising Female Country Vocalist | Won | [105] | |
Country Music Review | Most Promising Female Singer | Won | [105] | |
1966 | Grammy Awards | Best Sacred Recording – Connie Smith Sings Great Sacred Songs | Nominated | [67] |
Best Country and Western Vocal Performance, Female – "Ain't Had No Lovin'" | Nominated | |||
Billboard Magazine | Favorite Female Country Performer | Nominated | [105] | |
Favorite Country Album – Cute 'n' Country | Nominated | [105] | ||
Cash Box | Most Programmed Female Artist | Won | [105] | |
Country Music Life Award | Favorite Female Artist | Won | [105] | |
Record World | Top Female Vocalist | Won | [105] | |
Most Outstanding Female Country and Western Vocalist | Won | [105] | ||
1967 | Billboard Magazine | Top Country Artist, Female Vocalist | Nominated | [105] |
Cash Box | Most Programmed Female Artist | Nominated | [105] | |
Record World | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | [105] | |
Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | [105] | |
1968 | Grammy Awards | Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Female – "Cincinnati, Ohio" | Nominated | [67] |
1969 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | [106] |
Grammy Awards | Best Country Vocal Performance, Female – "Ribbon of Darkness" | Nominated | [67] | |
1970 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | [107] |
Record World | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | [108] | |
1971 | Grammy Awards | Best Sacred Performance – "Whispering Hope" (with Nat Stuckey) | Nominated | [67] |
1972 | Music City News Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | [105] |
Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | [107] | |
1974 | Grammy Awards | Best Inspirational Performance – "All the Praises" | Nominated | [67] |
Music City News Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | [105] | |
1975 | Music City News Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | [105] |
1976 | Grammy Awards | Best Gospel Performance – Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel | Nominated | [67] |
1979 | Music City News Awards | Gospel Group/Act of the Year | Won | [109] |
2002 | Country Music Television
|
40 Greatest Women of Country Music | Won | [110] |
2007 | Country Universe | 100 Greatest Women – Rank (#24) | Won | [111] |
2010 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals – "Run to You" (with Marty Stuart) | Nominated | [67][112] |
2011 | West Virginia Music Hall of Fame | Inducted | Won | [96] |
2012 | Country Music Association | Country Music Hall of Fame induction | Won | [113] |
2017 | Rolling Stone | 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time – Rank (#69) | Won | [114] |
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f Wolff, Kurt. "Ch. 8 – It's Such a Pretty World Today: The Nashville Sound Arrives". In Orla Duane (ed.). Country Music: The Rough Guide. London, England: Rough Guides Ltd.
- ^ Burns, Ken. "Connie Smith Biography". PBS. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Bush, John. "Connie Smith: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Escott 2001, p. 4.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 6.
- ^ a b "Connie Smith Interview". Country Stars Central. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- about.com. Archived from the originalon February 25, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Escott 2001, p. 5.
- ^ Betts, Stephen L. (March 6, 2012). "Country Music Hall of Fame Adds Garth Brooks, Connie Smith, Hargus 'Pig' Robbins". The Boot. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ a b Escott 2001, p. 7.
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 6–8.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b c d e Interview with Connie Smith for Ralph Emery Live on RFD-TV
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 8–10.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 10.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 38.
- ^ a b Escott 2001, p. 12.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ White, Dan. "Terri Gibbs, The Singer Who Happens to be Blind". Faith Writers. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 14–16.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Connie Smith chart history (Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ Cooper, Dan. "Connie Smith > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 14.
- ^ a b Escott 2001, p. 18.
- ^ Cooper, Peter (June 3, 2014). "Famed steel player Weldon Myrick dies at 76". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 19.
- ^ "Opry Member: Connie Smith". Grand Ole Opry. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Escott 2001, pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bufwack & Oermann 2003, p. 294.
- ^ a b c d e Escott 2001, p. 28.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 22.
- ^ a b Escott 2001, p. 24.
- ^ Smith, Connie (April 1968). "I Love Charley Brown (LP Liner Notes and Album Information)". RCA Victor. LSP-4002.
- ^ Friskics-Warren, Bill (October 15, 1998). "Queen of Broken Hearts". Nashville Scene. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 7.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 7-8.
- ^ Mazor 2012, pp. 21–25.
- ^ a b c "Search results for "Connie Smith"". RPM. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 27.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 27-31.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 8.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 35.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Just for What I Am: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ a b c Mazor 2012, p. 47.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 36-37.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 37.
- ^ a b Mazor 2012, p. 41.
- ^ Mazor 2012, p. 42.
- ^ a b Mazor 2021, p. 11.
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Connie Smith Sings Her Hits > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 9.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 18-21.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 37-39.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 12.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 38-39.
- ^ a b Mazor 2021, p. 13.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 41-42.
- ^ a b Mazor 2021, p. 15.
- ^ a b Mazor 2021, p. 20.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (February 7, 2022). "Connie Smith shines as an interpreter of heartbreak on 2 new releases". NPR. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 44-45.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 21-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Connie Smith: Artist". Grammy Awards. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ Mazor 2021, p. 22-23.
- ^ a b c d Mazor 2021, p. 24.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Greatest Hits on Monument: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ Hurst, Jack (July 28, 1985). "AFTER YEARS OF TRYING TO GET OUT, CONNIE SMITH TRYING TO GET BACK IN". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ "Connie Smith – Too Cool to Be Forgotten". No Depression. September 1, 1998. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ Escott 2001, p. 30.
- ^ a b c d Coyne, Kevin John (June 8, 2008). "100 Greatest Women – Connie Smith (#24)". Country Universe. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
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- ^ "Marty Stuart Show kicks off Saturday". Country Standard Time. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Weeks, Isaac. "Rural America's Hottest Cable Channel Scrambles to Replace Country Music's Beloved 'Marty Stuart' Show". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Upcoming and Recent CD Releases". Country Standard Time. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ Leggett, Steve. "Long Line of Heartaches: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ^ Mueller, Andrew. "Smith's first LP since 1998, both classic and classicist in feel". BBC. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ^ Crone, Madeline (August 2021). "Connie Smith Shares Marty Stuart-Produced 'The Cry of the Heart', Her First LP in Over A Decade". American Songwriter. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
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- ^ "Spirits Of Marty Stuart And Connie Smith Finally Unite (first appeared in a printing of Country Weekly in 1997)". Marty Stuart.com. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ Gallagher, Pat (July 8, 2010). "Connie Smith and Marty Stuart Offer Marriage Tips". TheBoot.com. The Boot. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
- ^ Himes, Geoffrey (August 19, 2021). "Connie Smith and Marty Stuart Apply Natural Grace on The Cry of the Heart". Nashville Scene. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ a b Bufwack & Oermann 2003, p. 292.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Born to Sing: Connie Smith: Songs, reviews, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Born to Sing: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
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- ^ Escott 2001, p. 1.
- Country Music Television. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ a b "Connie Smith". West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
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- ^ Thanki, Juli. "Connie Smith celebrates 50 years with Grand Ole Opry". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ Johnston, Maura. "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time (Lynn Anderson)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
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- ^ "Connie Smith - Clinging to a Saving Hand". AllMusic. 1995. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "Sight and Sound". University of California. 9 (7–12): 45. 1999.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Escott 2001, p. 36.
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Books
- Escott, Colin (May 8, 2001). Born to Sing (Box Set Biography). ISBN 3-89795-770-1.
- Mazor, Barry (February 27, 2012). Just for What I Am (Box Set Biography). ISBN 978-3-89916-638-5.
- Mazor, Barry (November 5, 2021). The Latest Shade of Blue: The Columbia Recordings 1973 – 1976 (Box Set Biography). Bear Family Records. BCD-17609.
- 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.