Loretta Lynn (Photo by Russ Harrington)
The Top Ten Female Artists Who’ve Helped Shape Country Music
It’s Women’s History Month, so “Everything Nash” posted a list of the most influential female artists in country music history.
1. Loretta Lynn. Their opening line about her pretty much says it all. Quote, “It’s hard to imagine where country music would be without Loretta Lynn.”
2. Dolly Parton. She and Loretta were longtime friends. When Loretta passed away in October, Dolly said they were more “like sisters.”
3. Reba McEntire. She’s put out over 60 albums . . . more than 120 singles . . . and had a hit in every decade since the 1970s.
4. Tammy Wynette. She had a ton of hits in the ’60s and ’70s, including her biggest hit, “Stand by Your Man” in 1968.
5. Carrie Underwood. She brought in a ton of fans and gave country a big boost after winning “American Idol” in 2005.
6. Dottie West. Younger fans might not know a lot about her, but she was a big deal in the, ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s. She did a bunch of duets with Kenny Rogers, including “Every Time Two Fools Collide”. Sadly, she died at 58 after a car crash on her way to the Grand Ole Opry in 1991.
7. Patsy Cline. Some people might argue she belongs higher up on the list. She also died young, in a plane crash in 1963 when she was just 30 years old.
8. Trisha Yearwood. She was huge in the 1990s. Her very first single, “She’s in Love with the Boy”, was a #1 hit in 1991.
9. Jeannie Seely. Her biggest hit was “Don’t Touch Me” in 1966. She was also the first woman to regularly host segments on the Grand Ole Opry, and the first to wear a mini-skirt on stage . . . a CTammy Wynetteig deal back in the day.
10. Shania Twain. Her first album in 1993 was too poppy for some fans. But then her second album two years later had six #1 hits and help make country more mainstream.
Two more honourable mentions: They put Tanya Tucker at #11. She was only 13 when her first single, “Delta Dawn”, came out in 1972.
And at #12, Miranda Lambert. She holds the record for most ACM Awards, and has more CMAs than any other female artist.
