Jeannie Seely Still Going Strong

Country singer Jeannie Seely, a Titusville native, celebrated her 40th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and says she has no plans of slowing down.

A couple of days following the anniversary event, Seely performed at the Tennessee State Museum in conjunction with a new Sparke and Twangle exhibit. Then she headed to Dollywood where she was the featured entertainer for two weeks at GAC's "Great American Country Show."

Seely was inducted to the Grand Ole Opry in September 1967. Earlier that year Seely's hit, "Don't Touch Me," garnered a Grammy for best country vocal performance by a female, edging out recordings by Connie Smith, Dottie West, Jan Howard and Loretta Lynn. Seely was only the third female country artist to receive a Grammy.

"Don't Touch Me" hit No. 1 on major country charts, and Seely received "Most Promising New Artist" awards from Billboard, Cashbox and Record World. The song was written especially for Seely, but it has been recorded by numerous other country singers as well as pop, rhythm and blues, folk, reggae and soul artists.

Seely remembers her Opry induction, attended by her parents from Townville, as an emotional night. Of the 67 Opry members today, only 18 have tenure longer than Seely. Country legend Mel Tillis became a member only this year.

Opry membership is considered the second highest honor in country music, second only to induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Seely has not achieved that honor, but a reader-voted poll in The Tennessean this August listed her among the top 15 acts for Hall of Fame induction.

"What an honor just to be included with names like Jean Shepard, Tom T. Hall, the Oak Ridge Boys and Barbara Mandrell," Seely said. "I was definitely shocked to be on that list."

Seely is a member of the North America Country Music Hall of Fame and the George D. Hay Music Hall of Fame. Last November the R.O.P.E. (Reunion Of Professional Entertainers) organization named Seely "Songwriter of the Year."

In addition to Faron Young, who took Seely's song, "Leavin' And Sayin' Goodbye," to No. 1, five other Country Music Hall of Fame members - Willie Nelson, Ernest Tubb, Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Little Jimmy Dickens - are among the artists who have recorded Jeannie's compositions.

Seely recalls that the most unusual place she's written a song was on the way home to visit her mother in Pennsylvania.

"As I would be getting closer to home I would be getting more and more excited, and while I was in a restroom service station this song just hit me and I had nothing to write on," she said. "So I wrote it on toilet paper and they all teased me about it later. I was one stop away from being home, but I wrote the song as 'One Step Away.'"

Reflecting on her Pennsylvania roots. Seely said she performed at age 11 on radio station WMGW in Meadville, and by 16 she had sung on TV station WICU in Erie.

"Some of my favorite memories during those years are attending country music shows at Hillbilly Park near Franklin," she said. "I saw greats like Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley and Little Jimmy Dickens there. Also Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper."

"Something very special is that Jean Shepard actually remembers me approaching her to get a photograph signed there," Seely said. "I had in my mind exactly what I was going to say but when I got up to her, I couldn't say a word. Jean has told me she remembers I was studying her really hard, and that she knew she'd see me again someday. Well, today we're Opry sisters and very close friends, and I still have that photo she signed for me."

After graduating from Townville High School and working for three years at a Titusville bank, Seely moved to California where she honed her songwriting skills and became a regular act, along with an unknown Glen Campbell, on the "Hollywood Jamboree" television series.

Upon the encouragement of Dottie West who recorded one of her songs, Seely moved to Nashville in the fall of 1965.

"It's true that when I got here I only had $50 and a Ford Falcon to my name," she recalls. "Every record label in town initially turned me down, but Porter Wagoner hired me to replace Norma Jean as the female singer for his road show and television series."

Nicknamed "Miss Country Soul," Seely scored records on the Billboard country singles chart for 13 consecutive years and released over two dozen albums. She's made numerous appearances on national television shows, published her own book of witticisms, appeared in two motion pictures, and starred in numerous musicals and stage productions.

Known throughout her career as an individualist as well as for her infectious humor, Seely is widely recognized for changing the image of female country performers. She's credited for wearing the first mini-skirt on the Grand Ole Opry stage - and she was the first female to regularly host segments of the Opry.

Seely doesn't plan to cut back on performing.

"I think there's an excitement about it," she said. "I love to perform. I love being an entertainer. To see people laugh or to sing a ballad and bring tears to their eyes you know, you are making a bond with those people, you're making a connection."

"I feel like as people we are connecting as people. Our lives are pretty much all basically the same when you get right down to it. We all have the same hopes and dreams, the same life's ups and downs, disappointments, and heartbreak and joy. If we can connect on any kind of a level I think that's a good thing and it's a great feeling to me when I can do that."

"The folks back in Pennsylvania have been so good to me over the past 40 years," Seely added. "I am so thankful to have been raised in that area, and I'm so thankful for the longevity of my career which I owe to the country music fans in Pennsylvania and all around the world. I appreciate each and every one of them. I've been truly blessed."

Thanks to Ron Harman (Ron works at the Country Music Hall of Fame, is a member of the Country Music Association, and maintains Seely's Web site at www.JeannieSeely.com).