Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! March is women’s history month. To celebrate, I am going to post the history of country music’s greatest women. Since this is a huge project, I will be splitting it up into multiple posts. Today’s post is about the ladies from the 1920s through the 1950s.

The Bristol sessions were a series of recording sessions held in 1927. Among the artists who recorded during these sessions was The Carter Family. The Carter Family was made up of A.P. Carter along with two very talented ladies, Sara and Maybelle Carter. They recorded music from 1927 through 1941, and after they disbanded, Maybelle began performing with her daughters June, Anita, and Helen.

Another talented lady who made her debut in 1932 was Patsy Montana. Patsy had a hit in 1935 with “I Wanna Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” By the time she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, she had spent six decades as a performer, so it was definitely time for her to be inducted.

In 1939, another lady made her debut, but in a different way than all the others. Minnie Pearl was a well-educated, sophisticated lady who began dressing as a hillbilly and performing a comedy act. She joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1940, where she became a star. Minnie will always be remembered for her famous line, “Howdeeee! I’m just so proud to be here!” and her stories of her fictional hometown of Grinder’s Switch.

In 1949, two very talented ladies made their debuts. Kitty Wells started to become very popular in the 1950s with her song “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” That song was an answer to Hank Thompson’s song “Wild Side of Life,” in which he sang “I didn’t know God made honky-tonk angels, I might have known you’d never make a wife.” June Carter Cash also debuted in 1949. She was the daughter of Maybelle Carter, who I talked about earlier. She married Johnny Cash, and they became one of country music’s favorite duos.

In 1952, Jean Shepard made her debut. She began playing bass in an all female band called “The Melody Ranch Girls” before beginning a solo career. Her first charted song and only number one was in 1953 with “A Dear John Letter.”

Patsy Cline debuted in 1955. She was very successful, even though her career ended in 1963 when a plane crash took her life at the age of 30. She will always be remembered as one of the greatest country singers of all time.

Brenda Lee and Dolly Parton both made their debuts at a young age. Brenda released her debut single in 1956 when she was eleven years old. Her hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was recorded when she was only 13, and it has become a classic. Dolly released her debut single, “Puppy Love” in 1959 when she was 13 years old. Dolly’s career has lasted 65 years so far, and I’m sure she will have many more to come.

Please stay tuned for the rest of the posts for women’s history month. I’ll be back soon!