Norma Jean (singer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Norma Jean Beasler | |
| Also known as | "Pretty Miss Norma Jean" | |
| Born | January 30, 1938 | |
| Origin | Wellston, Oklahoma | |
| Genre(s) | country music | |
| Occupation(s) | country singer | |
| Instrument(s) | guitar | |
| Years active | 1960-1973, 1982- today | |
| Label(s) | RCA Records, Columbia Records | |
| Associated acts |
Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Liz Anderson, Bobby Bare, Kitty Wells | |
Norma Jean [1] , born Norma Jean Beasler January 30, 1938 in Wellston, Oklahoma, recorded and sang professionally simply as "Norma Jean". She is also well-known by the nickname "Pretty Miss Norma Jean", her regular introduction by Porter Wagoner on his television series, on which she was a regular from 1961-67.
Norma Jean had her own radio show in Oklahoma as a teenager (as did lifelong best friend Wanda Jackson) and first attracted national attention on Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee television series in 1958. Her initial recordings on Columbia Records from 1959-1962 were unsuccessful but her stint with RCA Records from 1963-1974 made her one of country music's leading female vocalists.
[edit] Career
From 1961 to 1967 she was the "girl singer" on television's Porter Wagoner show and toured with him as part of his road show as well. Norma Jean retired from the road and the series in 1967 to marry Jody Taylor and move back to Oklahoma. Her replacement with Wagoner was a newcomer named Dolly Parton.
Norma Jean's biggest record successes include "Let's Go All the Way" (1964), "Go Cat Go" (1964), "I Wouldn't Buy a Used Car from Him" (1965), "Pursuing Happiness" (1966), "Heaven Help the Working Girl" (1967), and "The Kind of Needin' I Need" (1971). Her biggest hit was a unusual recording with Bobby Bare and Liz Anderson titled "The Game of Triangles" (1966) a wife/husband/other woman drama that hit the top 5 in Billboard magazine and earned the trio a Grammy nomination. Divorced from Taylor and later married to country musician George Riddle, she is now married to Al Martin.
Norma Jean inched back into the music industry in the 1980s with a few recordings and several personal appearances. In recent years, she has performed on a regular basis in Branson, Missouri. Norma Jean released her first album of new music, "The Loneliest Star in Texas", in over 15 years in 2005. Needless to say, Norma Jean is not to be confused with the metal band that goes by the same name Norma Jean.
