Connie Smith

Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) 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 RCA Victor Records the following year and remained with the label until 1973. Her debut single "Once a Day" was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart in November 1964 and remained at the top position for eight weeks, the first time a female artist had achieved this feat, with Smith holding the record for over 50 years until it was broken by Trisha Yearwood. The song became Smith's biggest hit. Smith's success continued through 1960s and mid 1970s with 19 more top-ten hits (including " Then and Only Then"; " Ain't Had No Lovin'"; "Cincinnati, Ohio"; " I Never Once Stopped Loving You"; and " Ain't Love a Good Thing") on the country songs chart.

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 would return 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 would turn romantic, leading to their marriage in 1997. The pairing led to Smith's first studio album in 20 years, '' Connie Smith''. Critically acclaimed, Smith began performing again and has since recorded two more studio albums.

Smith has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, including eight nominations for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She has also been nominated for 1 Academy of Country Music award and 3 Country Music Association awards. ''Rolling Stone'' included her on their list of the 100 greatest country music artists and '' CMT'' ranked her among the top ten in their list of the 40 greatest women of country music. She has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry cast since 1965. In 2012, Smith was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Early life

Connie Smith was born Constance June Meador to parents Wilma and Hobart Meador in Elkhart, Indiana. Her parents were originally from West Virginia, and when Smith was five months old, the family returned there. They would later move to Dungannon, Ohio. Her biological father was an alcoholic and he was abusive to Smith's family. "There were some tough times that I went through as a young child," she told an interviewer.

Her mother divorced her biological father when she was a child and re-married to Tom Clark. Smith's stepfather brought eight children to the marriage, while Meador brought five (including Smith). The couple later had two more children together, totaling to fifteen children. 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 would tune into the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast. 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. Smith did not perform publicly until high school when a friend invited her to sing Connie Francis's pop hit " My Happiness".

With only one-tenth of a point behind the valedictorian, Smith graduated from Salem-Liberty High School in 1959 as the class salutatorian. 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. At age 19, she married her first husband, Jerry Smith. Smith's husband encouraged her singing and she began performing with more frequency. Her professional performance was at the 1962 Washington County Fair. She then briefly joined the cast of the Saturday Night Jamboree, a local country music television program. Smith was then fired following her first performance, later theorizing it was because she was pregnant. She then successfully auditioned for and landed a spot on a similar program for WSAZ-TV.

Despite performance opportunities, Smith intended to remain a housewife and mother. 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. Judging the content 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.

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 Ernest Tubb's ''Midnite Jamboree'' program in Nashville, Tennessee. When Smith performed on the program in March 1964 she found out that she would not be performing with Anderson, but instead with Ernest Tubb. Impressed by her performance, Loretta Lynn introduced herself after the show and gave her career advice.Interview with Connie Smith for ''Ralph Emery Live'' on RFD-TV After performing on the program, Smith returned to Nashville that May to record demos by Anderson that he planned on pitching to other country artists. Anderson's manager Hubert Long brought the demo recording to the RCA Victor label where producer Chet Atkins heard it. Also impressed by her vocals, Atkins offered Smith a recording contract, and she eventually signed on June 24, 1964.

Career

1964–1967: "Once a Day" and peak success

After signing Smith to RCA, Chet Atkins found himself too busy with other artists. Instead he enlisted Bob Ferguson to act as Smith's producer. The pair developed a close professional relationship and Ferguson remained her producer until she departed from RCA. "I couldn't have asked for a better person to work with. He is one of the finest men I've ever know," Smith later said. Smith's first session took place on July 16, 1964, where she recorded four songs. Three of these tracks were written by Bill Anderson, who agreed to write material for Smith. Two days later, Smith made her debut on the ''Grand Ole Opry''. One of the four songs recorded on July 16 was "Once a Day", which was chosen to be Smith's debut single. "Once a Day" was released in August 1964 and reached number one on the ''Billboard Magazine'' Hot Country Singles chart on November 28. It remained at the number one position for eight weeks between late 1964 and early 1965. "Once a Day" became the first debut single by a female country artist to reach number one. For nearly 50 years the single held the record for the most weeks spent at number one on the ''Billboard'' country chart by a female artist.

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 '' The Jimmy Dean Show''. In March 1965, RCA Victor released her self-titled debut album It also reached the number one spot, spending a total of seven weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart. Dan Cooper of ''Allmusic'' gave the disc a positive reception and described Smith as "a down-home Streisand fronting The Lennon Sisters."

Bill Anderson fulfilled his promise to RCA Victor and continued writing Smith's next single releases. Producer Bob Ferguson and steel guitar player Weldon Myrick

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