Jeannie C. Riley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jeannie C. Riley | ||
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 Jeannie C. Riley's Here's Jeannie C. album
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson | |
| Born | October 19, 1945 | |
| Origin | Anson, Texas | |
| Genre(s) | Country Music, Gospel Music | |
| Occupation(s) | singer | |
| Years active | 1968-Present | |
| Label(s) | Plantation Records Warner Bros. Records MCA Records |
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| Associated acts |
Lynn Anderson, Dottie West, Jeannie Seely | |
| Website | Jeannie C. Riley Official Website | |
Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson on October 19, 1945) is a Country Music singer. She is best known for her 1968 Country and Pop hit "Harper Valley PTA". She became the first woman to have a single become a Country and Pop #1 hit at the same time. Following the success of the song, she had more success on the Country charts.
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[edit] Early Life & Rise to Fame
She is known for her major 1968 hit "Harper Valley PTA" that made her the first ever female singer to have a song go to No. 1 on both the country and pop music charts. The record quickly became one of the most legendary country music songs of all time. Written by Tom T. Hall, the song was released on the Plantation Records label.
She was born in 1945 in Anson, Texas. Even though she was only a teenager at the time, she married Mickey Riley. Together, they moved out to Nashville, Tennessee. Out in Nashville, Jeannie worked as a secretary for songwriter Jerry Chesnut. During this time, she was looking for a record company to record for, and she finally landed a deal with the label Little Darlin' Records, which was co-owned by Johnny Paycheck. The songs that Jeannie recorded for Little Darlin' didn't really go anywhere first. It was until former Mercury Records producer, got a demo tape of Riley's voice. The producer, Shelby Singleton was working on making his own label called Plantation Records. She worked with Singleton to record the Tom T. Hall demo song Singleton liked, which was "Harper Valley PTA".
[edit] The Success of "Harper Valley P.T.A."
"Harper Valley PTA" was released in 1968. The song immediately became a massive hit for Riley and went to #1 on the Country charts, as well as a #1 Pop hit. The song talked about how a woman by the name of Mrs. Johnson confronts a a group of mothers on the PTA who were talking bad about her behind her back. The song was not based on a real-life event, but shows it could happen to anyone.
She became a much talked about overnight sensation, and the song earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the Country Music Association Single of the Year award. The song itself was a phenomenon that led to a 1978 motion picture and the 1981 Harper Valley PTA television show. Riley made country music history in 1969 as the first female vocalist to have her own major network variety special.
[edit] After "Harper Valley PTA"
During the late 1960's and well into the 1970's, Riley ranked among the most popular female vocalists in the country music industry with five Grammy nominations and four Country Music Association nominations. However, Jeannie C. Riley was not a one-hit wonder. She continued to have success on the Country charts again and again form 1969 well into the late 1970s. As for success on the Pop charts, Riley only seemed to achieve one successful hit, which was of course "Harper Valley PTA".
Other hits following the success of "Harper Valley PTA" include "The Girl Most Likely", "There Never Was A Time", "The Rib" and "The Back Side of Dallas". Other hits include "Country Girl", "Oh Singer", and "Good Enough to Be Your Wife". She also had a more risky profile. During the height of her career she would wear quite glitzy and showy clothing, such as miniskirts and go-go boots. It was first criticized by some, but then quickly gotten used to. Many Country singers would follow Riley's "sexy" image, like Dottie West, Margo Smith and Barbara Mandrell. Although Riley wasn't happy with her image either, she knew that this would bring her more success than she ever even dreamed of.
[edit] Decline & Life Today
Her beauty and popularity brought a number of offers from Hollywood and she appeared with Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Bette Davis, Tom Jones, Ed Sullivan, and others on various television programs.
In the 1970s, she became a Born Again Christian and began recording Gospel Music with some frequency. In 1981, she recorded the gospel song "From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top", which told her story of stardom in Pop music to moving more into Gospel music. However, her life has been plagued by bouts of severe depression that at one point left her bed-ridden for six years. Jeannie C. Riley wrote an autobiography, From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top that was published in 1980 and brought her much renewed attention.
She continued to tour and record through to the 1990s with less frequently and now states she is retired from the music industry.
Jeannie now has an official myspace page.
[edit] Depression
In 1995, Jeannie C. Riley told Country Music she was diagnosed with being bipolar. She had also said she suffered from a depression. This depression kept her bed-ridden for six years. She said was at the near point of death. However, with the help and supporty of family and friends, she is back on her feet and is away from being bed-ridden.
[edit] Trivia
- Jeannie C. Riley was the first female Country singer to have a #1 Country and Pop hit. This success didn't come until 1981 when Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" went to #1 on both the Country and Pop charts.
- "Harper Valley PTA" was recorded in Norwegian by Norwegian singer Inger Lyse Rypdal.
- "Harper Valley PTA", was ranked at #95 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Hit Singles
| Year | Single | Album | U.S. Country | US Pop | |
| 1968 | "Harper Valley PTA" | Harper Valley PTA | #1 (3 Weeks) | #1 | |
| 1968 | "The Girl Most Likely" | Yearbooks and Yesterdays | #6 | #55 | |
| 1969 | "Things Go Better With Love" | Things Go Better With Love | #34 | - | |
| 1969 | "The Back Side of Dallas" | Things Go Better With Love | #33 | - | |
| 1969 | "There Never Was a Time" | Things Go Better With Love | #5 | #77 | |
| 1969 | "The Rib" | Things Go Better With Love | #32 | - | |
| 1970 | "Country Girl" | Country Girl | #7 | - | |
| 1970 | "Duty Not Desire" | Generation Gap | #21 | - | |
| 1970 | "The Generation Gap" | Generation Gap | #62 | - | |
| 1970 | "My Man" | Generation Gap | #60 | - | |
| 1971 | "Good Enough to Be Your Wife" | Jeannie | #7 | #97 | |
| 1971 | "Oh Singer" | Jeannie | #4 | #74 | |
| 1971 | "Roses and Thorns" | Jeannie | #15 | - |
[edit] Selected Albums
| Year | Album | |
| 1968 | Sock and Soul | |
| 1968 | Harper Valley PTA | |
| 1969 | Yearbooks And Yesterdays | |
| 1969 | Things Go Better With Love | |
| 1970 | Country Girl | |
| 1970 | Generation Gap | |
| 1971 | The Girl Most Likely | |
| 1971 | Greatest Hits | |
| 1971 | Jeannie | |
| 1972 | Give Myself a Party | |
| 1972 | Down On Earth | |
| 1973 | When Love Has Gone Away | |
| 1973 | Just Jeannie | |
| 1977 | From Nashville With Love | |
| 1979 | Wings to Fly | |
| 1981 | From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top | |
| 1984 | Total Women | |
| 1986 | Jeannie C. Riley | |
| 1991 | Here's Jeannie C. Riley | |
| 1995 | Praise Him | |
| 1995 | The Best | |
| 2000 | Good Ol' Country |
[edit] Awards
[edit] Grammy Awards
[edit] Country Music Association
- 1969: Single of the Year for "Harper Valley PTA"
[edit] Sources
- Country Music: The Rough Guide; Wolff, Kurt; Penguin Publishing
- LP Discography.com
- All Music.com
