|
Jeannie Seely is among a select group of country artists who have scored No. 1 hits as a solo artist, as a duet partner, and as a songwriter.
Born on July 6, 1940, in Titusville, Pennsylvania – the town where the world’s very first oil well was drilled in 1859 – Jeannie grew up as the youngest of Leo and Irene Seely's four children. The family's two-story farmhouse still stands along a dirt road outside of nearby Townville, a community of about 300 folks located in the north-western corner of the state.
Jeannie's interest in music was influenced strongly by her parents. Leo Seely worked hard on the family's farm and at a Titusville steel mill, but found time on weekends to play the banjo and call local square dances. Irene Seely would sing with her daughter every Saturday morning while the two baked bread together.
“I grew up in a time when all the neighbours gathered together to help each other get the hay in and that kind of thing,” recalls Jeannie. “It seemed like everybody back in the country played guitars and fiddles, and when we got together there was always pickin’ and singin’.”
Jeannie is in fact credited for breaking the "calico curtain" by being the first woman to wear a mini-skirt on the Grand Ole Opry stage. "I really didn't think anything of it at the time, but it did cause quite a stir," she laughs. "The Opry manager even called me into his office."
During the late 80's Jeannie starred in several major stage productions. She played Jean Shepard’s daughter and Lorrie Morgan’s mother in the 1986 country musical called Takin' It Home. In 1988 she portrayed "Miss Mona" in a sold-out run of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and the following year took a non-musical role as the title character in Everybody Loves Opal.
In 1988 Jeannie published her own book, Pieces of a Puzzled Mind, containing a collection of Jeannie's unique witticisms. Also known as "Seely-isms" around Nashville, Jeannie notes that many of the sayings actually began as song titles or opening lines.
Throughout the 80’s and 90’s Jeannie appeared frequently on shows like “Nashville Now”, “Crook and Chase”, “Music City Tonight”, “Grand Ole Opry Live”, “You Can Be A Star”, “Family Feud”, and “Prime Time Country”. She served as a regular host of “Opry Backstage”, interviewing everyone from new and upcoming acts to superstars like Garth Brooks.
|
