Jeannie C. Riley

Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson on October 19, 1945)^[1] is a country music singer. She is best known for her 1968 Country and Pop hit "Harper Valley PTA" (written by Tom T. Hall). She became the first woman to have a single become a Billboard Country and Pop number one hit at the same time.^[2] She had moderate success with Country music, but never duplicated the success of "Harper Valley PTA".

Early Life & Rise to Fame

Jeannie C. Riley is best-known for her 1968 hit, "Harper Valley PTA." The song made her the first female singer to have a song go to No. 1 on both the country music and pop music charts simultaneously.^[2] The record quickly became one of the most well-known country music songs of all time. Written by Tom T. Hall, the song was released by Plantation Records.

Riley was born in 1945 in Anson, Texas. As a teenager, she married Mickey Riley and gave birth to a daughter, Kim Michelle Riley on January 11, 1966.^[1] Later, they moved to Nashville, Tennessee after receiving a letter from Weldon Myrick, who heard a demo tape of Jeannie's and believed she could be successful.^[1] In Nashville, Riley worked as a secretary for Passkey Music while recording demos on the side.^[3]

Riley's career was stagnant until former Mercury Records producer Shelby Singleton received a demo tape of Riley's voice. Singleton was starting and succeeding with his own label, Plantation Records, at the time. He worked with Riley in the recording of the Tom T. Hall demo song that Singleton saw potential in, "Harper Valley PTA."^[3]

The Success of "Harper Valley PTA"

Jeannie C. Riley's Harper Valley PTA album.

"Harper Valley PTA" was released in 1968. The song immediately became a gigantic hit for Riley and went to number one on both the Billboard Pop and Country charts,^[2] a feat not repeated until 1981 when Dolly Parton released "9 to 5". The song is about a widowed woman by the name of Mrs. Johnson, who confronts a group of members of the PTA after her daughter brings home a note from school that's critical of her (Mrs. Johnson's) habits of wearing a mini-skirt, going out with men, and other behavior they don't approve of. The climax of the song comes when Mrs. Johnson turns the tables on the PTA and exposes their hypocrisy, one member at a time.

Riley and the song became a much 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. Riley also became one of the very few country artists ever nominated in the major pop Grammy categories of "Best New Artist" and "Record of the Year".

The song was a phenomenon which led to Riley making country music history in 1969 as the first female vocalist to have her own major network variety special "Harper Valley U.S.A., which she hosted along with Jerry Reed.^{[citation needed]} Then in 1978 motion picture and the 1981 Harper Valley PTA television show.

After "Harper Valley PTA"

During the late 1960s and into the very early 1970s, Riley ranked among the most popular female vocalists in the country music industry. She had five Grammy Award nominations and four Country Music Association nominations, and performed a duet with Loretta Lynn.[1] She had success on the country charts again, but on a lesser scale.

Other hits following "Harper Valley PTA" include "The Girl Most Likely," "There Never Was A Time," "The Rib," "The Back Side of Dallas," "Country Girl," "Oh Singer," and "Good Enough to Be Your Wife."

Riley became known as much for her sex appeal and beauty as for her music, foreshadowing Shania Twain and other contemporary female vocalists by nearly three decades. At a time when many country queens were wearing gingham dresses, Riley donned mini-skirts and go-go boots. Her mod persona opened many doors for country music, but Riley herself was not happy with her image, and she eventually abandoned it for a more conservative wardrobe.

Later '70 and the '80s

Riley's great success 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.^[4]

Riley left Plantation Records for MGM Records in 1972, recording several albums, but only two of her singles from the period, "Good Morning Country Rain" and "Give Myself A Party," cracked the top 30. Later stints at Mercury Records and Warner Bros. Records produced only a couple of charted singles, but Riley remained highly in demand as a concert artist well into the 1980s.

In the 1970s, she became a Born Again Christian and began recording gospel music.^[5] In 1980, she published her autobiography, "From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top," which told her story of stardom in pop music to moving more into gospel music. The following year, she released a new gospel album with the same title.

Depression

In the 1990s, Riley was suffering from clinical depression after her split from Mickey and severing ties with a manager that left her broke.^[5] She was bed-ridden for six years and was receiving disability payments as her weight expanded from a size 6 to a size 26.^[5] After family intervention and subsequent treatment for the chemical imbalance causing her depression, Riley says "I've never been so happy in all my life. I've never had such peace of mind. I trust the Lord with everything."^[5]

Discography

Albums

Singles

• ^A "Harper Valley PTA" was certified Gold by the RIAA.
• ^B B-side of the "The Back Side of Dallas."
• ^C B-side of "My Man."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official Jeannie C. Riley website
• Jeannie C. Riley at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeannie C. Riley at Allmusic
• Jeannie C. Riley at MySpace