Kitty Wells

Kitty Wells (born Muriel Deason on August 30, 1919) is an American country musician from Nashville, Tennessee, known from about 1955 as the Queen of Country Music.

Related Topics:
August 30 - 1919 - Country music - Nashville, Tennessee - 1955

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Wells debuted on WSIX, a Nashville-area radio station. There, she met and married Johnnie Wright. With Wright and his sister, Louise Wright, Wells toured as Johnnie Wright & the Harmony Girls. With the addition of Louise's Jack Anglin, the band became known as the Tennessee Hillbillies and then became the Tennessee Mountain Boys. When Anglin was drafted in 1942, Wright and Wells continued performing together, and she took the name Kitty Wells from a folk ballad called "I'm A-Goin' to Marry Kitty Wells". When Anglin returned, he and Wright formed the duo Johnny & Jack with Wells occasionally performing back-up vocals. By 1947, the duo was appearing regularly at the Grand Ole Opry, mostly performing with Wells (who did appear with the pair for the Louisiana Hayride).

Related Topics:
WSIX - Radio station - Johnnie Wright - Louise Wright - Jack Anglin - 1942 - I'm A-Goin' to Marry Kitty Wells - Johnny & Jack - 1947 - Grand Ole Opry - Louisiana Hayride

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Wells began recording gospel with RCA (with Johnnie & Jack on instrumental accompaniment), then switched to Decca for her first hit, 1952's "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which was a response to "The Wild Side of Life" by Hank Thompson. The song was controversial for its feminist stance, then unheard of in country music, paving the way for future strong female country singers like Tammy Wynette, Bonnie Raitt and Loretta Lynn.

Related Topics:
Gospel - RCA - Decca - 1952 - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Hank Thompson - Feminist - Tammy Wynette - Bonnie Raitt - Loretta Lynn

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Wells then released a series of major hits, including "Paying for That Back Street Affair" (1953, answer song to Webb Pierce's "Back Street Affair"). During the remainder of the 50s, she had 23 hits which charted in the top ten. Her career began declining in the 1960s, though she continued recording and performing into the 1990s.

Related Topics:
1953 - Answer song - Webb Pierce - 1990s

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In 1974, Wells was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1991, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Related Topics:
1974 - Country Music Hall of Fame - 1991 - Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

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In 1997, she recorded a Medley of "The Wild Side of Life" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" along with Hank Thompson and Tanya Tucker.

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