Molly O'Day

Molly O'Day (* 9 July 1923 as Lois Williamson LaVerne in McVeigh , Pike County , Kentucky , † 5. December 1987 ) was an American country music singer and one of the first female stars of country music .

Beginnings

O'Day came from a family of miners based in the Appalachians . Together with her brothers Cecil and Joe, she founded a band in which she played guitar. They first appeared on the radio in 1939. She took the name "Mountain Fern" and later "Dixie Lee Williamson". The radio stations were changed at short intervals. In 1940 she joined the band "Forty Niners" of guitarist Lynn Davis, whom she married a year later.

Career

O'Day soon succeeded in stepping out of the shadow of her husband. In 1946, the influential songwriter Fred Rose became aware of them and brokered a record deal with the Columbia label . In the first recording session, a number of pieces by the then unknown Fred Rose protégé Hank Williams were recorded, including her most famous hit Tramp On The Street .

However, health problems soon arose. Above all, it was states of exhaustion that repeatedly forced her to take breaks. The more popular she became, the more she suffered from the inevitable stress. In 1950 she gave up her career after only five years. But she remained connected to music. Together with her husband, she devoted herself entirely to religion and performed mainly in churches. Years later, some gospel albums were recorded at Columbia . From 1973 they had their own radio show together with Christian music.

In 1987, Molly O'Day died of cancer. In just five years, she had become one of the first female country music stars.

Discography

• 1950 - A Sacred Collection
• 1963 - The Unforgettable Molly O'Day
• 1966 - The Living Legend Of Country Music
• 1968 - The Heart And Soul Of Molly O'Day

Web links

• Molly O'Day
• Molly O'Day, Singer of Country Music in Roughhewn Style . The New York Times, December 8, 1987
• James Clell Neace: Country Music's "Molly O'Day" . 2000