by Bill Whitney

Created on: February 11, 2008   Last Updated: December 31, 2009

There are many great ladies in country music and I could write quite a long dissertation if I covered all of them but I will just talk a little about the ones I feel were the pioneers and the best.

Any discussion of unforgettable classic country singers would have to include Kitty Wells. She was born Muriel Deason and was no doubt probably the most country or maybe even hicky of the early country females. She is retired from singing but she still makes public appearances now and then. She is pushing 90 now ans is still just as country as she was when she started.

One of my very favorites was Patsy Cline. Born Virginia Hensley, her rich almost soulful voice was so great on songs like the classic "Crazy" I think that of all the classic women singers she might have had the best actual voice of all of them. too bad that we lost Patsy so early in her career at such a young age. Patsy was only thirty years old when she was killed in that fateful plane crash.

You can't talk classic and classy country women without talking about "The Coal Miner's Daughter" Loretta Lynn. She was and still is such a neat lady. She had so many good songs all through here career. Three of MY favorites of hers were "Fist City" and "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man", and "Tippy Toeing". There were many many good ones but those two were my very favorites.

She married her beloved "Mooney" when she was only thirteen years old and she was a grandmother at twenty eight. She and Mooney had many good years together and undoubtedly a few that weren't so good but she stuck by him till he died. There place at Hurricane Mills Tennessee is quite a place and I was privileged to get to meet them both when we were there one time. Really neat people.

Of course when you talk about standing by your man you can't forget the Great Tammy Wynette. She had a brief marriage to the great George Jones that produced a daughter Georgette. She and Hillary stood by their man.

I read all thirteen of the other articles on this subject and not ONE of them even mentioned my favorite of all of them. That was Margo Smith, "The Tennessee Yodeler" Golly can that lady yodel and I could just listen to her for Hours. I have been to ten of her concerts over the years and Have an autographed picture of her and me at a concert. She is the best and is now doing the gospel music tour with her daughter but still yodels when asked and does a yodeling concert once in a while. She is a petite cute little lady that is an awesome yodeler.

Of course you can't talk about classic country without talking about the incomparable Dolly Parton. She is one classy lady and can sing like nobody's business She has had so many good song s and several good movies and a long happy marriage to a great guy that I have had occasion to meet several times at various construction and paving expos in the Southeast. I have met Dolly several times too. Once at Dollywood in Tennessee and once at a Seminole Booster party at Tallahassee with one of Florida State's finest, Burt Reynolds. I like Dolly and she is pure class.

You can't leave off the unforgettable twang of the great little redhead, Reba Mc Entyre. She isn't quite as classic but she isn't near as old either. She has been very successful and I love to see her host the ACMs.

Tanya Tucker with "Delta Dawn", Barbara Mandrel with "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" and Lynn Anderson with "I've Been Everywhere" are some others worth mentioning.

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