Jean Shepard Views
Jean Shepard was born November 21, 1933 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, but was raised in Visalia, California near Bakersfield. As a teenager, she played bass in the Melody Ranch Girls, an all-female band formed in 1948. Hank Thompson discovered Shepard a few years later.[2] With Thompson's help, Shepard signed with Capitol Records in 1952, following the success of Kitty Wells' It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels Shepard cut four songs at her first session with popular band players Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West, Cliffie Stone and Billy Strange. She recorded her first single for the label in 1952, Crying Steel Guitar Waltz , but it failed to chart.[3]
She continued to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and tour, particularly in the UK, where she had a strong fan base.[2] Her work has also been reissued by Bear Family Records.[5] Although in her seventies, Shepard continues to regularly tour and perform. Her touring show, The Jean Shepard Show, has toured the U.S. and she performs at the Grand Ole Opry regularly.
Few country singers -- let alone female country singers -- working since the 1950s have produced a large body of work as enduring as Jean Shepard's. Her voice is pure country -- accent on both words. Born in Oklahoma, she grew up in Southern California, where Hank Thompson discovered her. She had her first Top Ten hit in 1953, and her last almost exactly 20 years later. In between, she cut one great record after another, mostly on Capitol Records. Nearly all of them crackle, no matter the topic, with honky tonk angel spunk. Born in Oklahoma, Shepard grew up in the area surrounding Bakersfield, CA. As a teenager, she began her musical career by playing bass in the Melody Ranch Girls, an all-female band formed in 1948. Hank chellip; sra" Read more
Few country singers -- let alone female country singers -- working since the 1950s have produced a large body of work as enduring as Jean Shepard's. Her voice is pure country -- accent on both words. Born in Oklahoma, she grew up in Southern California, where Hank Thompson discovered her. She had her first Top Ten hit in 1953, and her last almost exactly 20 years later. In between, she cut one great record after another, mostly on Capitol Records. Nearly all of them crackle, no matter the topic, with honky tonk angel spunk.
Jean Shepard Images
