Barbara Mandrell AutographBarbara Mandrell was born on Christmas Day in 1948. She began reading music and playing the accordion at the age of five. At age nine she was playing the steel-pedal guitar. In 1960, she was performing in Las Vegas with Joe Maphis as the "Sweetheart of Steel." After her Las Vegas stint, she went on tours with Johnny Cash, Red Foley and Tex Ritter and made her first TV appearances on "Town Hall Party" in Los Angeles and NBC's "Five-Star Jubilee."After touring with some of the biggest names in country music, Barbara's father formed the "Mandrell Family Band." The family members consisted of Barbara, her parents, and her two sisters, Louise and Irlene. The band's drummer, Ken Dudney, eventually became Barbara's husband. In 1966, Barbara recorded her first single "Queen for a Day" on Mosrite Records. Not long after that the family band broke up. While playing local Nashville clubs, Barbara signed with CBS Records. Her sisters sang backup for her. They called themselves "the DoRites." Her first hit for Columbia was a cover of Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long" in 1969. The next year, she made it into the Top 40 with "Playin' Around With Love." That same year she began recording duets with David Houston. In 1975, Barbara moved to the ABC/Dot label. There she made it to the Top Five with the single "Standing Room Only." She racked up several hits before achieving her first No 1 single in 1978, "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed." She then cemented her place at the top of country music with hits like (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", "Years," "'Till You're Gone," "One of a Kind Pair of Fools," and, what became her signature song, "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool." In 1979, Barbara won the the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year Award. She was named Entertainer of the Year in 1980 and 1981. In 1980, she became one of the most well known entertainers in the United States when she was tapped by NBC to star in her own variety series "Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters." The show had a successful run of two years, only ending when Barbara left the show because of severe vocal strain. She left on a high note, winning three People's Choice Awards and a Grammy.  In 1983, she opened a Las Vegas stage show, "The Lady Is a Champ," and released two albums, "In Black & White" and "Spun Gold." In 1984, she recorded an album of duets with Lee Greenwood, "Clean Cut." That same year she and two of her children were involved in a car accident. The accident ended her recording career, but she has continued performing. She has published her her autobiography, "Get to the Heart: My Story." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of fame in 2009. |
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