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Biography
Infobox musical artist || name = Jeannie C. Riley | image =Jeannie.jpg|Jeannie on The cover of Her 1981 album Jeannie C. Riley's Greatest Hits | caption = February 4, 1973 in the Lansing Civic Center (Lansing Michigan) | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson | alias = | Born = Birth date and age|1945|10|19|mf=y Anson, Texas , United States | origin = Anson, Texas | instrument = | genre = Country music , gospel music|gospel | occupation = Singing|Singer | years_active = 1968present | label = Little Darlin Records Plantation Records Capitol Records MGM Records Mercury Records Warner Bros. Records MCA Records | associated_acts = Connie Smith , Dottie West , Jeannie Seely | website = http://www.jeanniec.com JeannieC.com Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson , October 19, 1945) http://www.kanabel.com/jcrbiography.html Jeannie C. Riley Biography. Retrieved 2008-02-09. dead link|date=February 2011 is an United States|American country music and gospel singing|singer . She is best known for her 1968 country music|country and pop music|pop hit " Harper Valley PTA " (written by Tom T. Hall ), which missed (by one week) becoming the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Country and Pop List of (U.S.) Billboard country chart achievements#Songs that reached No. 1 on both the country and pop charts|number one hit at the same time .Tarradell, Mario. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/features/poprock2/011107ccdrMUSIConehit.2e827fbf.html Singular sensation: They popped onto the airwaves in a big way, and then they pooped out. Dallas Morning News , January 11, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-09. dead link|date=February 2011 In subsequent years, she had moderate chart success with country music, but never again duplicated the success of "Harper Valley PTA". She became a born-again Christian and began recording gospel music during the late 1970s.
Early life and rise to fame
Riley was born in 1945 in Anson, Texas . As a teenager, she married Mickey Riley and gave birth to a daughter, Kim Michelle Riley on January 11, 1966. Later, they moved to Nashville, Tennessee after receiving a letter from Weldon Myrick , who heard a demo tape of Jeannie's and believed she could be successful. In Nashville, Riley worked as a secretary for Passkey Music while recording demos on the side. http://www.kanabel.com/jcrharpervalley.html Jeannie C. Riley Harper Valley. Retrieved 2008-02-09. dead link|date=February 2011
Riley's career was stagnant until former Mercury Records producer Shelby Singleton received a demo tape of Riley's voice. Singleton was starting and succeeding with his own label, Plantation Records , at the time. He worked with Riley in the recording of the Tom T. Hall demo song that Singleton saw potential in, " Harper Valley PTA ." The record quickly became one of the best-known country music songs of all time.
The success of "Harper Valley PTA"
" Harper Valley PTA " was released in 1968. The song immediately became a hit for Riley and went to number one on both the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Billboard Hot 100|Pop and Hot Country Songs|Country charts, a feat not repeated until 1981 when Dolly Parton released " 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton song)|9 to 5 ". The song is about a widow ed woman by the name of Mrs. Johnson, who confronts a group of members of the Parent-Teacher Association|PTA after her daughter brings home a note from school that's critical of her (Mrs. Johnson's) habits of wearing miniskirt s, going out with men, and other behavior of which they do not approve. The climax of the song comes when Mrs. Johnson turns the tables on the PTA and exposes their hypocrisy , one member at a time.
Riley and the song became an overnight sensation, and the song earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the Country Music Association 'Single of the Year' award. Riley also became one of the very few country artists ever nominated in the major pop Grammy categories of "Best New Artist" and "Record of the Year". Globally it sold over five and a half million copies, and was awarded a music recording sales certification|gold disc by the R.I.A.A. just four weeks after the song's release. The album of the same name sold over one million units to gain a further gold disc for Riley.cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | pages= 246247 | isbn= 978-0-214-20512-5
The song was a phenomenon which led to Riley making country music history in 1969 as the first female vocalist to have her own major network variety special Harper Valley U.S.A. , which she hosted along with Jerry Reed.Citation needed|date=May 2007 Then in 1978 a film and the 1981 Harper Valley PTA (TV series)| Harper Valley PTA television show were made.
After "Harper Valley PTA"
During the late 1960s and into the very early 1970s, Riley ranked among the most popular female vocalists in the country music industry. She had five Grammy Award nominations and four Country Music Association nominations, and performed a duet with Loretta Lynn . http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=uGOKIYAkpAA dead link|date=February 2011 She had success on the country charts again, but on a lesser scale.
Other hits following "Harper Valley PTA" include "The Girl Most Likely," "There Never Was A Time," "The Rib," "The Back Side of Dallas," "Country Girl," " Oh Singer ," and "Good Enough to Be Your Wife."
Riley became known as much for her sex appeal and beauty as for her music, foreshadowing Shania Twain and other contemporary female vocalists by nearly three decades. At a time when many country queens were keeping a wholesome image by wearing gingham dresses, Riley kept in tune with typical late-60s fashion by donning miniskirt s and go-go boots for her stage outfits. Her Mod (subculture)|mod persona opened many doors (and perhaps started a sexual revolution) in country music, but Riley herself was not comfortable with her image, and she eventually abandoned it for a more conservative wardrobe. In the 1993 CBS documentary The Woman of Country , she noted that during the "Harper Valley" period, it was largely her publicist and manager who were responsible for creating and playing up her sexy image (replicating somewhat the look of the protagonist in the song).
Late 1970s and the 1980s
Riley's great success brought a number of offers from Hollywood , and she appeared with Bing Crosby , Dean Martin , Bette Davis , Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones , Ed Sullivan and others on various television programs. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0727064/ Retrieved 2008-02-09.
Riley left Plantation Records for MGM Records in 1972, recording several albums, but only two of her singles from the period, "Good Morning Country Rain" and "Give Myself A Party," cracked the top 30. Later stints at Mercury Records and Warner Bros. Records produced only a couple of charted singles, but Riley remained highly in demand as a concert artist well into the 1980s.
In the 1970s, she became a Born Again Christian and began recording gospel music . As result of her conversion, she distanced herself from the song for a time, due to its content. However, it was never removed from her live set and she still performs it. In 1980, she published her autobiography , From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top, which told her story of stardom in pop music to moving more into gospel music . The following year, she released a new gospel album with the same title.
Depression
In the 1990s, Riley was suffering from clinical depression after her split from Mickey and severing ties with a manager that left her broke.Murphy, Brien. http://www.texnews.com/1998/2000/local/riley0812.html 'Harper Valley' singer finds strength in faith. Abilene Reporter-News , August 12, 2000. Retrieved 2008-02-09. She was bed-ridden for six years and was receiving disability payments as her weight expanded from a US standard clothing size|size 6 to a size 26. After family intervention and subsequent treatment for her depression, Riley says "I've never been so happy in all my life. I've never had such peace of mind. I trust the Lord with everything."
Discography
Albums
Year
Album
Chart Positions
RIAA
US Country
US
CAN
1968
Sock and Soul
Harper Valley PTA
1
12
5
Gold
1969
Yearbooks and Yesterdays
9
187
Things Go Better with Love
14
142
1970
Country Girl
25
Generation Gap
34
1971
The Girl Most Likely
Greatest Hits
22
Jeannie
34
1972
Give Myself a Party
Down to Earth
43
The World of Country
1973
When Love Has Gone Away
40
Just Jeannie
1977
From Nashville with Love
1979
Wings to Fly
1981
From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top
1984
Total Woman
1986
Jeannie C. Riley
1991
''Here's Jeannie C. Riley
1995
Praise Him
The Best
2000
''Good Ol' Country
Singles
Year
Song
Chart Positions
Album
US Country
US
CAN Country
CAN
1968
" Harper Valley PTA "A
1
1
1
1
Harper Valley PTA
The Girl Most Likely "
6
55
1
34
Yearbooks and Yesterdays
1969
"The Price I Pay to Stay"
35
22
Sock and Soul
"There Never Was a Time"
5
77
12
76
Things Go Better With Love
"Rib"
32
111
"The Back Side of Dallas"
33
"Things Go Better With Love"B
34
111
3
1970
"Country Girl"
7
106
16
Generation Gap
"Duty Not Desire"
21
13
"My Man"
60
"The Generation Gap"C
62
1971
"Oh Singer"
4
74
5
62
Jeannie
"Good Enough to Be Your Wife"
7
97
22
67
"Roses and Thorns"
15
15
"The Lion's Club"
36
single only
"Houston Blues"
47
Give Myself a Party
1972
"Give Myself a Party"
12
37
"Good Morning Country Rain"
30
"One Night"
57
Down on Earth
1973
"When Love Has Gone Away"
44
When Love Has Gone Away
"Hush"
51
Just Jeannie
"Another Football Year"
57
single only
1974
"Missouri"
Just Jeannie
"Plain Vanilla" (with The Red River Symphony)
89
singles only
1976
"The Best I've Ever Had"
94
"Pure Gold"
1977
"Reach for Me"
1979
"It's Wings That Make Birds Fly"
Wings to Fly
1982
"From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top"
From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top
1984
"Return to Harper Valley"
Total Woman
A "Harper Valley PTA" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA .
B B-side of the "The Back Side of Dallas."
C B-side of "My Man."
Awards and nominations
Year !! Award Program !! Award !! Result
1968
Best New Artist
Best Female Country Vocal Performance "Harper Valley PTA"
CMA Awards
Album of the Year , "Harper Valley PTA"
Female Vocalist of the Year
1969
CMA Awards
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.jeanniec.com Official Jeannie C. Riley website
IMDb name|id=0727064|name=Jeannie C. Riley
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p1792|label=Jeannie C. Riley
Myspace|jonescountygirl|Jeannie C. Riley
Persondata | NAME =Riley, Jeannie C. | ALTERNATIVE NAMES =Stephenson, Jeanne Carolyn | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1945-10-19 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Stamford, Texas, USA | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Jeannie C. Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:American gospel singers Category:People from Abilene, Texas Category:Musicians from Texas Category:American Christians Category:E1 Music artists Category:Charly Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners
