Friends and neighbors!
We’ve got a big show planned for you this week. We’re calling it Queens of Country and we’ll be playing all of your favorite country tunes from all of your favorite female country stars!
Starting way back in the early 20th century, women struggled to find a true voice in country music. It was very much a “boys-club” and women were often portrayed as one-dimensional characters.
The female musicians were making their presence known, however. Led in the charge by women like Mother Maybelle Carter, who invented a style of guitar playing called the Carter Scratch, which was a precursor to the Travis Picking guitar style. And “Aunt” Samantha Bumgarner, who is believed to be the first person of either sex to be recorded playing the 5-string banjo.
The tides began to shift; however, when in 1935, Patsy Montana became the first female country singer to sell a million singles when she released “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” While certainly groundbreaking, this was simply a nudge in the right direction. Things for women in country music would remain largely unchanged for the following two decades.
That was, until Kitty Wells released “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” in the early 1950’s. Kitty presented a female voice that had never been heard before in country music, and it would become the first No. 1 Billboard country hit for a solo female artist. It was a little provocative, and with a heaping spoonful of attitude. The door was now cracked, and ready for the following generations of female country stars to kick it off it’s hinges!
Of course, over the years many female country singers have come and gone, but some classics never go out of style: Patsy, Reba, Tammy, Wynona, Dottie, Jean, Skeeter, Wanda… There are so many classics that we couldn’t possibly fit them into one show, but we sure tried!
This week is packed to the gills with as many female country legends as we could manage, and we’re covering the 50’s all the way up to the 90’s. I know you’ll love it.
So, don’t miss this weeks Country Music Greats Radio Show, The Queens of Country.
Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you on the radio!
