Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears (actually: Billie Jean Spears * 14. January 1937 in Beaumont , Texas ; † 14. December 2011 in Vidor , Texas) was an American country - singer that her greatest successes in the 1970s, among other things, Blanket on the Ground .
Life
The songwriter Jack Rhodes, a friend of the family, wrote Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys for the then 13-year-old Billie Jo . She released the song under the name Billie Jo Moore on the B-side of a Mel Blanc single on a small independent label. Appearances on the Louisiana Hayride show followed . After these initial experiences in the music business, Spears first graduated from school, worked as a secretary and sang in nightclubs.
After visiting Nashville , producer Pete Drake became aware of her and asked her for some demo tapes. In 1964 she moved from Texas to Nashville, where she signed a contract with the United label. After her first singles all flopped, she moved to Capitol Records in 1968 . With He's Got More Love in His Little Finger , she had her first small hit in 1968. A year later she hit number four on the country charts with Mr. Walker, It's All Over . The following productions were again not too successful. Serious vocal cord problems repeatedly forced her to take longer breaks, in 1972 she had vocal cord surgery.
After a few stops at smaller labels, Spears returned to United Artists in 1974 . Here she made her breakthrough in 1975 with Blanket on the Ground . The song, produced by Larry Butler, reached number one on the country charts and also made it into the pop hit parade. In Germany the piece took 39th place. In 1976 she was voted the most promising young singer by the Academy of Country Music . A series of other hits followed, starting with What I've Got in Mind , Sing Me an Old Fashioned Song and Misty Blue via 57 Chevrolet , Love Ain't Gonna Wait for Us and 1977 If You Want Me until 1981 Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad , a remake of Tammy Wynette's ' 60s hit. This was Spear's last title to hit the top 20 on the US country chart.
After that, their popularity in the United States declined. She switched to smaller European labels and stayed in business for a few years, especially in Great Britain. In 1993 she had to undergo serious heart surgery. In 2005 she released another album with I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry . Billie Jo Spears died on 14 December 2011 in Vidor ( Texas ) at the age of 74 years from the effects of cancer.
Web links
- Works by and about Billie Jo Spears in the catalog of the German National Library
- Billie Jo Spears in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Short discography
- Biography, english
Individual evidence
- ^ Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet. German chart singles 1956–1980 . Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, p. 193
- ↑ http://www.country.de/2011/12/15/billie-jo-spears-ergende-krebsleiden/
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Spears, Billie Jo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spears, Billie Jean (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 14, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Beaumont (Texas) |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 14, 2011 |
| Place of death | Vidor (Texas) |