Jeannie C. Riley
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2021) |
Jeannie C. Riley | |
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Warner Bros. Records MCA Records |
Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson; October 19, 1945)[1] is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA", which missed by one week simultaneously becoming the Billboard Country and Pop number-one hit.[2]
Riley later saw moderate country music chart action but never again duplicated the success of "Harper Valley PTA". She became a born-again Christian in the mid-1970s and began recording gospel music during the late 1970s.
Early life and rise to fame
Riley was born in Anson, Texas, United States.[3] As a teenager, she married Mickey Riley and gave birth to a daughter, Kim Michelle Riley, on January 11, 1966.[1] The family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, after receiving a letter from Weldon Myrick, who heard a demo tape of Riley's and believed she could be successful.[1] Riley worked as a secretary for Passkey Music in Nashville while recording demos on the side.[4]
Riley's career was stagnant until former
Success of "Harper Valley PTA"
"
Riley became an overnight sensation as the single earned her the
The song's success helped Riley make country music history in 1969 as the first female vocalist to have her own major network variety special, Harper Valley U.S.A., which she hosted with Jerry Reed. The show featured performances by Mel Tillis and the song's writer, Tom T. Hall.[7]
The song spawned a 1978 film and a 1981-82 television series, both titled Harper Valley PTA and starring Barbara Eden as the widow Mrs. Johnson.[3]
After "Harper Valley PTA"
"Ever since '
Harper Valley P.T.A.' this woman has just known soap operas aren't made up, and even in Nashville her accent qualifies her to play the Avenging Hick. The credibility isn't always a virtue, but I'm a sucker for the accent—especially on 'The Girl Most Likely,' in which poor-but-proud-and-how Jeannie gloats over the surprise marriage of that stuck-up Suzie Jane Grout (spelling phonetic)."
—Review of Jeannie C. Riley's Greatest Hits in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[8]
During the late 1960s and into the very early 1970s, Riley ranked among the most popular female vocalists in the country music industry. She had five
Other hits following "Harper Valley PTA" include "The Girl Most Likely," "There Never Was A Time," "The Rib," "The Back Side of Dallas," "Country Girl," "Oh Singer," and "Good Enough to Be Your Wife."[3]
Riley became known as much for her
Late 1970s and the 1980s
Riley's success brought a number of offers from Hollywood, and she appeared with Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Bette Davis, Tom Jones, Ed Sullivan and others on various television programs.[5]
Riley left Plantation Records for
Riley became a born-again Christian and began recording gospel music in the mid-1970s.[9] As result of her conversion, she distanced herself from "PTA" for a time due to its content. The song remained part of her live set, however, and she still performs it in her shows. She published her 1980 autobiography, From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top, which told the story of pop-music stardom and later move to gospel music.[3] Riley released a gospel album with the same title in 1981.[3]
Personal life
Jeannie and Mickey Riley divorced in 1970 at the height of her career.[3] Following her shift from country music to gospel, they remarried in 1975 and settled in Franklin, Tennessee. After the release of her autobiography, From Harper Valley to the Mountaintop, and a gospel album of the same name in 1980, she suffered a bout of depression and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The Rileys divorced again in 1991. Two years later, Mickey moved back in to help Jeannie battle depression—an arrangement that continued until he remarried three years later. Jeannie married Billy Starnes, a childhood friend, in 2012.[10]
Riley sued Big Lots' parent company, Consolidated Stores Corporation, for $250,000 in 2003 after suffering from a fall the previous year. Riley stated that injuries from the fall kept her from performing and resulted in lasting disability.[11]
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | Chart Positions | RIAA | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | US | CAN | |||
1968 | Harper Valley PTA | 1 | 12 | 5 | Gold |
Sock Soul | — | — | — | — | |
1969 | Yearbooks and Yesterdays | 9 | 187 | — | — |
Things Go Better with Love | 14 | 142 | — | — | |
1970 | Country Girl | 25 | — | — | — |
The Generation Gap | 34 | — | — | — | |
1971 | The Girl Most Likely | — | — | — | — |
Greatest Hits | 22 | — | — | — | |
Jeannie | 34 | — | — | — | |
1972 | Give Myself a Party | — | — | — | — |
Down to Earth | 43 | — | — | — | |
The World of Country | — | — | — | — | |
1973 | When Love Has Gone Away | 40 | — | — | — |
Just Jeannie | — | — | — | — | |
1977 | From Nashville with Love | — | — | — | — |
1979 | Wings to Fly | — | — | — | — |
1980 | Greatest Hits Volume Two | — | — | — | — |
1981 | From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top | — | — | — | — |
1984 | Total Woman | — | — | — | — |
1986 | Jeannie C. Riley | — | — | — | — |
1991 | Here's Jeannie C. | — | — | — | — |
1995 | Praise Him | — | — | — | — |
The Best | — | — | — | — | |
2000 | Good Ol' Country | — | — | — | — |
2002 | The Very Best of Jeannie C. Riley | — | — | — | — |
2013 | Harper Valley P.T.A.: The Plantation Recordings 1968-1970 | — | — | — | — |
Singles
Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country [12] |
US [12] |
CAN Country [13] |
CAN [14] | |||
1968 | "Harper Valley PTA"A | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Harper Valley PTA |
"The Girl Most Likely" | 6 | 55 | 1 | 34 | Yearbooks and Yesterdays | |
1969 | "The Price I Pay to Stay" | 35 | — | 22 | — | Sock Soul |
"There Never Was a Time" | 5 | 77 | 12 | 76 | Things Go Better With Love | |
"The Rib" | 32 | 111 | — | — | ||
"The Back Side of Dallas" | 33 | — | — | — | ||
1970 | "Country Girl" | 7 | 106 | 16 | — | Country Girl |
"Duty, Not Desire" | 21 | — | 13 | — | The Generation Gap | |
"My Man" | 60 | — | — | — | ||
1971 | "Oh, Singer" | 4 | 74 | 5 | 62 | Jeannie |
"Good Enough to Be Your Wife" | 7 | 97 | 22 | 67 | ||
"Roses and Thorns" | 15 | — | 15 | — | ||
"The Lion's Club" | — | — | 36 | — | — | |
"Houston Blues" | 47 | — | — | — | Give Myself a Party | |
1972 | "Give Myself a Party" | 12 | — | 37 | — | |
"Good Morning Country Rain" | 30 | — | — | — | Down to Earth | |
"One Night" | 57 | — | — | — | ||
1973 | "When Love Has Gone Away" | 44 | — | — | — | When Love Has Gone Away |
"Hush" | 51 | — | — | — | Just Jeannie | |
"Another Football Year" | 57 | — | — | — | — | |
1974 | "Missouri" | — | — | — | — | Just Jeannie |
"Plain Vanilla" (with The Red River Symphony) | 89 | — | — | — | — | |
1976 | "The Best I've Ever Had" | 94 | — | — | — | |
"Pure Gold" | — | — | — | — | ||
1977 | "Reach for Me" | — | — | — | — | |
1979 | "It's Wings That Make Birds Fly" | — | — | — | — | Wings to Fly |
1982 | "From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top" | — | — | — | — | From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top |
1984 | "Return to Harper Valley" | — | — | — | — | Total Woman |
1991 | "Here's to the Cowboys"[15] | — | — | — | — | Here's Jeannie C. |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
- A "Harper Valley PTA" was certified Gold by the RIAA. "Harper Valley PTA" also made the Adult Contemporary Charts, hitting #4. In the UK, it went to #12 Pop.
Charted B-sides
Year | Single | Peak positions | Original A-side | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country [12] |
US [12] |
CAN Country [13] | |||
1969 | "Things Go Better With Love" | 34 | 111 | 3 | "The Back Side of Dallas" |
1970 | "The Generation Gap" | 62 | — | — | "My Man" |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Note: The single of "Things Go Better With Love" and "The Back Side of Dallas" seems to have been published in several different formats. Some label "Things Go Better..." as the A side while others do not letter the sides. One photo available online of an unlettered single has the "Back Side ..." side stamped "PLUG SIDE". Evidently the label changed its mind at least once about which side to promote.[16]
Music videos
Year | Video |
---|---|
1991 | "Here's to the Cowboys" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award Program | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | Grammy Awards | Record of the Year , "Harper Valley PTA" |
Nominated |
Best New Artist |
Nominated | ||
Best Female Country Vocal Performance "Harper Valley PTA" |
Won | ||
CMA Awards |
Single of the Year, "Harper Valley PTA" | Won | |
Album of the Year, "Harper Valley PTA" | Nominated | ||
Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | ||
1969 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance , "The Back Side of Dallas" |
Nominated |
CMA Awards |
"Female Vocalist of the Year" | Nominated |
In 2019, Riley was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.[17]
References
- ^ a b c "Jeannie C. Riley Biography". 26 August 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-26. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas | WFAA.com | Music". 12 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
- ^ a b "Jeannie C. Riley Harper Valley". 26 August 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-08-26. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Jeannie C. Riley". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ISBN 978-0-214-20512-5.
- ^ "Harper Valley, U.S.A. (1969)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Murphy, Brien. 'Harper Valley' singer finds strength in faith. Archived 2008-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Abilene Reporter-News, August 12, 2000. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ Woodward, Lorie A. (17 January 2019). "Country Singer Jeannie C. Riley's Road to Love". Roundtop.com. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ Staff 7/17/2003, CMT com. "Riley Sues Store Over Injury". CMT News. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
- ^ a b "Search results for "Country Singles"". RPM. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Search results for "Top Singles"". RPM. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. July 20, 1991.
- ^ "Jeannie C. Riley - The Back Side Of Dallas". Discogs.com. 1969.
- ^ "2019 - Texas Country Music Hall of Fame". Tcmhof.com. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
External links
- Jeannie C. Riley at IMDb
- Jeannie C. Riley at AllMusic
- Donna O’Neil, 15 August 2012 From 'Harper Valley' to happiness: Jeannie C. Riley has a new lease on life and a new-old love Williamson Herald
- Katie Stavinoha Jeannie C. Riley Journeys From Harper Valley to Brenham Roundtop.com