Judy Mae Rodman (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...
Robbins; May 23, 1951)
[California Birth Index, 1905-1995] 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, o ...
singer and songwriter. In the mid-1980s, she was a successful recording artist; making it all the way to number one on the
Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart in 1986 with the song "
Until I Met You
"Until I Met You" is a song written by Hank Riddle and recorded by American country music artist Loretta Lynn for her 1980 album '' Lookin' Good''.
American country music artist Judy Rodman recorded and released a version in April 1986 as the ...
." She also won the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...
's "Top New Female Vocalist" award in 1985.
Today, Rodman is a singer, songwriter, producer and vocal instructor in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
, Tennessee.
Her recorded songs include
LeAnn Rimes
Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...
's number-one hit "
One Way Ticket (Because I Can)" (co-written with Keith Hinton). She has also developed ''Power, Path & Performance''; a vocal technique she teaches and sells on CDs.
Early life and rise to fame
Rodman was born Judy Mae Robbins on May 23, 1951, in
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural mu ...
, California.
She was singing by the time she was four years old, and playing the
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...
by age eight. Rodman's parents moved often. After living in so many places, Rodman's musical tastes included eclectic sounds like
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
and
Calypso music. When Rodman was 17 years old, she began singing
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
s. Her voice was heard nationally on a
Jeno's Pizza commercial. Rodman left for college at eighteen to study music. Her college roommate was future female Country vocalist
Janie Fricke
Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen singles in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' ...
. The two became fast friends and were hired as jingle singers for the
Tanner Agency
Tanner may refer to:
* Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides
People
* Tanner (given name),
* Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Wei ...
in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, Tennessee. Rodman also sang with a local nightclub band called Phase II.
In the mid-1970s, Rodman worked primarily as a background vocalist. In 1980, Judy married
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...
and professional fisherman, John Rodman and the couple moved to
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
, Tennessee. Rodman continued to record radio and TV jingles for mainstream companies while trying to break into the country music business.
Country music stardom in the 1980s
Soon, Rodman switched occupations and went back to singing background vocals. She backed Country stars
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...
,
Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...
and more. She also sang back up for legendary Blues performer
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
. Rodman soon decided she wanted to become a Country singer. Success came when she was soon signed to
MTM Records
MTM Records was an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of MTM Enterprises, the production company of the same name owned by actress Mary Tyler Moore.
Howard Stark was the label's ...
.
She was the first artist to be signed to the fledgling record label.
Her debut single, "I've Been Had By Love Before," entered the Top forty of the Country singles chart (#40). Her next single, "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone," did as well (#33). By the end of 1985, she peaked at number thirty with her self-penned song "I Sure Need Your Lovin". Also that year, Rodman won the coveted
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...
's "Top New Female Vocalist" award.
Judy Rodman released her first album in 1986. It was simply titled ''
Judy
Judy is a short form of the name Judith.
Judy may refer to:
Places
* Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States
* Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Animals
* Judy (dog) (1936–1950), ...
'', and it contained the three previously unreleased singles from 1985 as well as new material. One of the new songs, "
Until I Met You
"Until I Met You" is a song written by Hank Riddle and recorded by American country music artist Loretta Lynn for her 1980 album '' Lookin' Good''.
American country music artist Judy Rodman recorded and released a version in April 1986 as the ...
," became a number one Country hit. The song spent the week of July 19 at the top of the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...
chart list.
Rodman had continuing chart success that year. "
She Thinks That She'll Marry
"She Thinks That She'll Marry" is a song co-written (with DeWayne Orender) and recorded by American country music artist Judy Rodman. It was released in October 1986 as the fifth single from the album '' Judy'' and reached #9 on the ''Billboard'' ...
" was the next single released off of the ''
Judy
Judy is a short form of the name Judith.
Judy may refer to:
Places
* Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States
* Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Animals
* Judy (dog) (1936–1950), ...
'' album. It became a top ten Country hit as well; peaking at number nine.
In 1987, Rodman's second album entitled ''
A Place Called Love'' was released. The album spawned two top ten Country hits: "
Girls Ride Horses Too
"Girls Ride Horses Too" is a song recorded by American country music artist Judy Rodman. It was released in February 1987 as the first single from the album '' A Place Called Love''. The song reached #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & ...
" and a cover of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's "
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by Bob Dylan first released on ''John Wesley Harding''. It features Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, and two other Nashville musicians, Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums, both of ...
".
Several singles from Rodman's forthcoming third album proved modestly successful with radio, but the MTM Records label folded. Subsequently, the album was never released. The same proved true with her record labelmates,
The Girls Next Door
''The Girls Next Door'' (also known as ''The Girls of the Playboy Mansion'') is a reality television series which focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion. The series was created by executive pro ...
.
After MTM records
liquidated
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...
, Rodman eventually faded away from the country music spotlight, but not out of the business altogether.
New horizons
Soon, Rodman faded off ''Billboard''
's Country Music charts. This around the same time Neo-Traditional Country singers were entering Nashville and the Country market's taking up spots on the country music charts, and finding their way on the Top 10 and Top 20 on the charts. Singers like,
George Strait
George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited fo ...
,
Randy Travis
Randy Bruce Traywick (born May 4, 1959), known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country music and gospel music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor.
Active from 1978 until being incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, he has recor ...
,
Kathy Mattea
Kathleen Alice Mattea (born June 21, 1959) is an American country music and bluegrass singer. Active since 1984 as a recording artist, she has charted more than 30 singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, including four that re ...
,
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 ...
,
Ricky Van Shelton
Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: "Somebod ...
,
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...
, and
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...
all found their way to making hits on the Country charts around this time. Country-Pop-styled vocalists, like Rodman, and her friend
Janie Fricke
Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen singles in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' ...
to name a few, were soon finding less and less success on the Country charts.
However, Rodman found different ways to keep herself busy in the music industry. Around this time, Rodman worked in the recording studio as a track producer, vocal producer and background singer once again. As a new decade approached, she re-found success as a
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
as well. She wrote songs for
Warner-Chappell
Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...
music,
Chrysalis Music
Chrysalis Music is a British independent music publisher.
The company's roots started in west London in 1967 when Chris Wright and Terry Ellis formed the Ellis-Wright Agency. It was formed to manage and book the bands Ten Years After, and Clouds ...
, and her own publishing company,
Favorable Wind Songs. One of many successful compositions were
LeAnn Rimes
Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chris ...
No. 1 hit, "One Way Ticket" and the
Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...
/
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd or simply Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964) is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles, incl ...
duet, "Girl Thang". She also developed her own vocal training method and began working with all kinds of genres of singers, including singer/songwriter
Radney Foster
Radney Muckleroy Foster (born July 20, 1959) is an American country music singer-songwriter, musician and music producer. Initially a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Foster made his recording debut as part of the Foster & Lloyd duo, recordin ...
, new pop artists
Mat Kearney
Mathew William Kearney (; born December 1, 1978) is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, and based in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, he has a total of five top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart.
''Just Kids'' was released on February 24 ...
and
Emil Bishaw
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*''Emil and the Detective ...
and country artists
Bryan White
Bryan Shelton White (born February 17, 1974) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's '' Between Now ...
and Australian star
Shea Fisher
Shea Fisher (Born in Portland Victoria in April 1988) is an Australian-born country music singer. She has moved to the United States to begin a career in country music, signing to Stroudavarious Records that year. She also has a record deal ...
and musical theater projects like her own
Runaway Home
Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to:
Engineering
* Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable
* Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic pro ...
and We the People.
Today, Rodman is a busy professional vocal coach, recording studio producer and songwriter, as well as continuing her recording session singing and live performances. Her trademarked vocal training method is called "Power, Path, and Performance". Rodman currently sells CD vocal training products available on her official website.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
Judy Rodman Official WebsiteCMT.com: Judy RodmanJudy Rodman Productions website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodman, Judy
1951 births
Living people
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from California
MTM Records artists
Country musicians from California