Melba Joyce Montgomery (born October 14, 1938) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and songwriter. She is known for a series of duet recordings made with

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

, Gene Pitney and

Charlie Louvin Charles Elzer Loudermilk (July 7, 1927 – January 26, 2011), known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Op ...

. She is also a solo artist, having reaching the top of the country charts in 1974 with the song, "

No Charge "No Charge" is a country music song, written by songwriter Harlan Howard. It was first recorded by country singer Melba Montgomery, whose 1974 version was a #1 country hit in both the US and Canada, as well as making #39 on the US pop charts. I ...

". Born in Tennessee but raised in Alabama, Montgomery had a musical upbringing. Along with her two brothers (songwriters Carl and Earl Montgomery), she placed in a talent contest which brought her to the attention of Roy Acuff. For several years she toured the country as part of his band until she signed with

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

in 1963. At United Artists, Montgomery collaborated with George Jones on a series of duets. Their first was 1963's " We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds", which became a top five single on the country charts. For several years, Jones and Montgomery toured and recorded together. Among their other singles was " What's in Our Heart", " Let's Invite Them Over" and "Party Pickin'". Montgomery became more identified as a duet artist as the decade progressed. She recorded with both Gene Pitney and

on several charting country singles. However, her solo career was ovesrhadowed until she moved to Elektra Records in 1973. Her 1974 song about motherhood called "No Charge" became a commercial success in several genres. It was followed by a series of charting singles, including the top 20 " Don't Let the Good Times Fool You" (1975). Montgomery continued her solo career. In 1977, she reached the top 40 of the country charts again with a cover of the song, "

Angel of the Morning "Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands, but first charting by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' ...

". In the eighties, she released several recordings including the album ''I Still Care'' and the charting single "Straight Talkin'". In the nineties, Montgomery began working as a songwriter in the country music community. She wrote songs that were recorded by a series of artists. Among them was George Strait, who recorded " What Do You Say to That", which became a top ten country single. Montgomery has also continued sporadically releasing music as a country artist. Her most recent album was 2010's ''Things That Keep You Going'', issued on RPM Music.

Early life

Melba Joyce Montgomery was born into a musical family in Iron City, Tennessee, United States. Siblings, Carl and Earl Montgomery, later became songwriters in the country music field. She was raised in Florence, Alabama where her father taught vocal lessons in the local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church. Montgomery first began singing in the Methodist church and was later given a guitar at age ten. Montgomery and her two brothers formed a trio in their late teens. At age 20, the trio won an amateur talent contest held at Nashville radio station WSM's Studio C, which at that time housed the Grand Ole Opry. Impressed by her singing, talent content judge, Roy Acuff, invited Montgomery to tour with him in replace of singer, June Webb. Montgomery toured with Acuff from 1958 until 1962. She also briefly recorded three singles for the Nugget label in 1962.

Career

1963–1972: Breakout success with George Jones and career as a duet artist

In 1963, Montgomery signed her first major-label recording contract with

. Her music was discovered by

(who was also on United Artists) who persuaded producer

Pappy Daily Harold W. Daily (February 8, 1902 – December 5, 1987), better known as "Pappy" Daily, was an American country music record producer and entrepreneur who cofounded the Texas-based record label Starday Records. Daily worked with many of the well-kn ...

to sign her to the label. The pair began recording as a duet partnership beginning in 1963. Montgomery wrote their first duet single called " We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds". In 1963, the single climbed to number three on the American '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. The song became Montgomery's breakout single. It was followed by the double-sided top 20 ''Billboard'' single, " Let's Invite Them Over"/" What's in Our Heart". The recordings were included on Jones and Montgomery's first studio album, also titled '' What's in Our Hearts''. The disc reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Country LP's list in 1963. Their second studio disc, '' Bluegrass Hootenanny'' (1964), reached number 12 on the country LP's survey. Other singles by the pairing made the ''Billboard'' country top 40 through 1967: "Please Be My New Love", "Multiply the Heartaches" and "Party Pickin'". George Jones and Melba Montgomery--1960s

George Jones and Melba Montgomery--1960s

Between 1963 and 1968, Jones and Montgomery recorded a series of duet singles and albums together. Their songs centered on themes about couples committing infidelity or comedic-themed songs about marital conflicts. The songs were then blended with Montgomery's Appalachian vocal harmonies. Critics and writers took notice of the Jones-Montgomery duets. In reviewing a 1996 compilation, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

found their songs to "illustrate how well-suited the pair was for each other" and that Montgomery was perhaps "Jones' best duet partner." Wade Jessen of ''Billboard'' described the blending of their voices to have "electrifying intensity". The duo toured together routinely throughout the 1960s as well. "It was such an honor to get to record and work shows with him. I’ve been very very blessed through my career," Montgomery recalled. Montgomery also had a solo career during this period. Her 1963 solo singles, "Hall of Shame" and "The Greatest One of All", both made the top 30 on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart. Her solo recordings of this era were also produced by Pappy Daily. Her debut studio album was released in 1964 by United Artists called ''America's Number One Country and Western Girl Singer''. It was followed in August 1964 by her second solo album, ''Down Home''. Along with

, Montgomery moved to

Musicor Records Musicor Records was a New York City-based record label, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder and distributed by United Artists Records. In 1965, UA employee and A&R man Arthur Talmadge (a co-fo ...

in 1966. The same year, Montgomery collaborated with Gene Pitney on the single, " Baby Ain't That Fine". The song rose to number 15 on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart in 1966. A collaborative album between the pair was also released in 1966 titled ''Being Together''. Along with her collaborative recordings, Musicor continued releasing solo albums by Montgomery. In 1966, the label issued her first album of

sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...

titled ''Hallelujah Road''. Other solo albums like ''Don't Keep Me Lonely Too Long'' (1966) contained traditional country material. However, none of her solo singles were commercially-successful. Only 1967's "What Can I Tell the Folks Back Home" made the ''Billboard'' country chart, peaking at number 61. At Capitol Records, she began being produced by Pete Drake. He was successful in pairing her as a duet partnership with

. Their 1970 single, " Something to Brag About", went to number 18 on the country songs chart. It was followed by their 1971 studio LP of the same name, which made it to number 45 on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart. Five more of their duet singles made the country chart through 1972, including the top 40 entries "Did You Ever" and "Baby You've Got What It Takes".

1973 – 1980: Solo career

In 1973, Montgomery switched to Elektra Records, where she focused more on a solo career. On her debut album for the label, Montgomery had a top-40 hit single, "Wrap Your Love Around Me", her first solo single to reach this far on the country charts in nearly 10 years. Released in 1974, "No Charge" became a number-one country hit on the ''Billboard'' country chart, as well as top-40 hit on the ''Billboard'' pop chart. The song and the album became successful, and Montgomery's only top 10-hit as a solo artist. The

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

of Montgomery's follow-up album, ''Don't Let the Good Times Fool You'', reached the top 15 in 1975, the only top-40 hit from the album. Subsequent singles also released from the album, "Searchin' (For Someone Like You)" and "Your Pretty Roses Come too Late" did not bring much success. However, in 1977, under United Artists, Montgomery released a self-titled album, and a cover version of Merrilee Rush's pop hit, "

" that reached the top 25. The single was Montgomery's last major country hit. In 1986, Montgomery released her last single, "Straight Talkin'", which peaked at number 78.

1981 – present: songwriting

Since the 1990s, Montgomery has focused her career on songwriting. She has written songs for such artists as George Strait, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, George Jones,

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

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, Terri Clark,

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, Jim Lauderdale, Sara Evans,

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, Leon Russell, J.D. Souther,

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanned more than four de ...

, and many more. She co-wrote George Strait's top-five single " What Do You Say to That" with Jim Lauderdale. Montgomery has written many of her songs with various co-writers such as Jim Collins,

Leslie Satcher Leslie Winn Satcher (born 1962) is a singer-songwriter based on Nashville, Tennessee. She has recorded two albums of her own, and has additionally co-written several singles for such artists as George Strait, Martina McBride, Pam Tillis, Gretc ...

, Jerry Salley, Steve Leslie, Jim Lauderdale,

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, J. D. Souther, Stephony Smith, Bill Anderson,

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, Kathy Louvin,

Carl Jackson Carl Eugene Jackson (born September 18, 1953) is an American country and bluegrass musician. Jackson's first Grammy was awarded in 1992 for his duet album with John Starling titled "Spring Training." In 2003 Jackson produced the Grammy Award-wi ...

, Larry Cordle, Larry Shell, Buddy Cannon, Jim "Moose" Brown, Tommy Polk,

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, Al Anderson, Clint Daniels, Tommy Karlas, Tommy Collins, and her brothers Earl "Peanutt" Montgomery and Carl Montgomery.

Personal life

Montgomery wed musician, Jack Salomon, in 1968. Salomon first performed in George Jones's touring band called The Jones Boys and later became a session musician in Nashville. In 2014, Salmomon died at the age of 71.

Discography

Awards and nominations

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International Bluegrass Music Awards The International Bluegrass Music Awards is an award show for bluegrass music presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Awards are voted based on professional membership in the IBMA. Award winners 2021 award winners Th ...

, Collaborative Recording of the Year , , align="center", , -

References

External links

Official websiteCMT.com: Melba MontgomeryMelba Montgomery Attends Martha Carson's 80th Birthday Celebration
* Melba Montgomery Biography at Allmusicbr>Slipcue Country Music Guide - artist profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Melba 1938 births American country singer-songwriters American women country singers American women songwriters Capitol Records artists Country musicians from Alabama Country musicians from Tennessee Elektra Records artists Living people Musicians from Florence, Alabama People from Lawrence County, Tennessee People from Wayne County, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Alabama Singer-songwriters from Tennessee United Artists Records artists