Connie Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Connie Smith
Smith performing live at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007
Born	Constance June Meador (1941-08-14) August 14, 1941 (age 83) Elkhart, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter
Years active	1964–present
Known for	"Once a Day"
Spouse(s)	Jerry Smith ​ ​ (m. 1961; div. 1966)​ Jack Watkins ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1967)​ Marshall Haynes ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1992)​ Marty Stuart ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	5
Musical career
Genres	Country Nashville Sound gospel
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	RCA Victor Columbia Monument Epic Warner Bros. Daywind Sugar Hill Fat Possum
Associated acts	Bill Anderson Nat Stuckey Barbara Fairchild Sharon White

Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador on August 14, 1941) is a famous American country music singer and songwriter. Her deep, powerful voice has been called very important and inspiring for women in country music. Many people say her singing style sounds a lot like the legendary country singer Patsy Cline. Other artists have said that Connie Smith influenced their own singing.

Connie was discovered in 1963 and signed with RCA Victor Records in 1964. She stayed with this record label until 1973. Her very first song, "Once a Day", was a huge hit. It was nominated for a Grammy Award and reached number one on the Billboard country songs chart in November 1964. It stayed at the top for eight weeks! This was the first time a female artist had done this, and Connie held that record for over 50 years. "Once a Day" became her biggest song ever. Connie continued to be very successful through the 1960s and mid-1970s. She had 19 more songs reach the top 10, including "Then and Only Then", "Ain't Had No Lovin'", "Cincinnati, Ohio", and "Ain't Love a Good Thing".

In the early 1970s, Connie started recording more gospel music because her Christian faith became very important to her. She became known for openly sharing her religious beliefs at concerts. At the same time, Connie spent more time raising her five children. She mostly stopped performing in 1979. She briefly returned to music in the mid-1980s with Epic Records. However, she came back permanently in the 1990s after working with Marty Stuart. Their musical friendship grew into love, and they married in 1997. This led to Connie Smith, her first studio album in 20 years. The album was praised by critics, and Connie started performing and recording again. She has released two more studio albums since then.

Connie Smith has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards. She has also been nominated for awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Rolling Stone magazine listed her as one of the 100 greatest country music artists. CMT ranked her among the top 10 greatest women in country music. She has been a member of the famous Grand Ole Opry since 1965. In 2012, Connie Smith was welcomed into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

About Connie Smith

Early Life and Discovery

Connie Smith was born Constance June Meador in Elkhart, Indiana. Her parents, Wilma and Hobart Meador, were from West Virginia. When Connie was five months old, her family moved back to West Virginia. They later moved to Dungannon, Ohio. Connie shared that she had some "tough times" when she was a young child.

Connie's mother divorced her biological father and later married Tom Clark. Tom already had eight children, and Connie's mother had five, including Connie. Then, the couple had two more children together, making a large family of fifteen kids! Music was a big part of Connie's childhood. Her stepfather played the mandolin, one brother played the fiddle, and another played the guitar. On Saturday nights, the family would listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. Connie started playing the guitar after an accident where a lawnmower nearly cut off her leg. While she was recovering in the hospital, she was given a guitar and learned to play chords. Connie did not perform publicly until high school. A friend asked her to sing Connie Francis's pop song "My Happiness".

Connie graduated from Salem-Liberty High School in 1959 as the class salutatorian. This means she was the second-highest-ranking student in her class. After high school, she worked as a telephone operator in Lowell, Ohio. She also worked as a drugstore clerk, a dental assistant, and in a grocery store. At 19, she married her first husband, Jerry Smith. Her husband encouraged her singing, and she started performing more often. Her first professional performance was at the 1962 Washington County Fair. She then joined a local country music TV show called the Saturday Night Jamboree for a short time. She was later let go after her first performance, and she thought it was because she was pregnant. She then successfully tried out for another similar show on WSAZ-TV.

Even with these chances to perform, Connie planned to be a housewife and mother. In August 1963, she entered a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio. She sang Jean Shepard's "I Thought of You" and won the contest, along with five silver dollars. The judge of the contest was country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. He was very impressed by her voice. He later said, "At first I thought they were playing a record and she was lip sync'ing it."

In January 1964, Connie met Bill Anderson again at a country music concert in Canton, Ohio. He invited her to perform with him on Ernest Tubb's Midnite Jamboree radio show in Nashville, Tennessee. When Connie performed on the show in March 1964, she found out she would be singing with Ernest Tubb, not Bill Anderson. Loretta Lynn was impressed by her performance and gave her career advice after the show. After performing, Connie returned to Nashville in May to record demo songs that Bill Anderson wanted to offer to other artists. Bill Anderson's manager, Hubert Long, took the demo recording to the RCA Victor label. Producer Chet Atkins heard it and was also impressed by her voice. Atkins offered Connie a recording contract, and she officially signed on June 24, 1964.

Rising to Stardom

Smith performing for a crowd of 5,000 people, August 1964.

After signing Connie to RCA, Chet Atkins was too busy with other artists. So, he asked Bob Ferguson to be Connie's producer. They worked very well together, and Ferguson remained her producer until she left RCA. Connie later said, "I couldn't have asked for a better person to work with." Connie's first recording session was on July 16, 1964, where she recorded four songs. Three of these songs were written by Bill Anderson, who agreed to write music for her. Two days later, Connie made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. One of the four songs recorded on July 16 was "Once a Day". This song was chosen as Connie's first ever single.

"Once a Day" was released in August 1964. It quickly reached number one on the Billboard Magazine country chart on November 28. It stayed at the top spot for eight weeks, from late 1964 to early 1965. "Once a Day" was the first debut single by a female country artist to reach number one. For almost 50 years, this song held the record for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard country chart for a female artist.

Connie started performing more often because "Once a Day" was so successful. Bill Anderson was her manager for a short time, but then Charlie Lamb took over. Connie appeared on national television for the first time in October 1964 on ABC's The Jimmy Dean Show. In March 1965, RCA Victor released her first album, Connie Smith. This album also reached number one, staying at the top of the Billboard country albums chart for seven weeks.

Bill Anderson kept his promise to RCA Victor and continued writing Connie's next hit songs. Producer Bob Ferguson and steel guitar player Weldon Myrick created a special "high" and "punchy" sound. Ferguson thought this sound would be great on car radios. In 1965, RCA released Connie's next song by Anderson, "Then and Only Then", which reached number four on the Billboard country chart. Another top ten song by Anderson, "I Can't Remember", followed it. In October 1965, "I Can't Remember" was on Connie's second album, Cute 'n' Country. Even though she didn't like the album's name, it became her second album to top the Billboard country albums chart. She had more top five country songs in early 1966, like Anderson's "Nobody But a Fool (Would Love You)" and Priscilla Mitchell's "If I Talk to Him". In 1965, Connie also became a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry radio show.

In 1966, RCA wanted Connie's music to sound more like "middle-of-the-road" country pop. Connie didn't like the pop sound, but she agreed to try it. They recorded several songs with string instruments. This new style appeared on her albums Born to Sing (1966) and Downtown Country (1967). Both albums had full orchestras and covers of songs by pop artists. The albums included the hit songs "Ain't Had No Lovin'" and "The Hurtin's All Over", which both reached the country top five. During this time, Connie also appeared in several country music movies, where she sang her popular songs. In 1966, she was in Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar and The Las Vegas Hillbillys. In 1967, she appeared in The Road to Nashville and Hell on Wheels. Connie's touring schedule also got busier. In 1966, she started her own band called the Sundowners. She later married the band's guitar player, Jack Watkins.

In February 1967, RCA released Connie's album Connie in the Country. This album included covers of popular country songs and a new song by Connie called "Cry, Cry, Cry", which reached the top 20. In May 1967, RCA released an album of songs written only by Bill Anderson called Connie Smith Sings Bill Anderson. Connie said it was an "honor" to record an album of all Anderson's songs. It included covers of Anderson's own hits like "City Lights" and "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome". The album also featured "Cincinnati, Ohio", which Connie released as a single. This song became a top five country hit. Its success led the city of Cincinnati, Ohio to declare their own "Connie Smith Day" in June 1967. Connie continued to have many top ten hits through 1967, including "I'll Come Runnin'", "Burning a Hole in My Mind", "Baby's Back Again" and "Run Away Little Tears".

Music and Faith

By 1968, Connie Smith was at the peak of her career. She was appearing in movies and on television, and trying to balance touring with her family life. All these responsibilities made her feel very stressed, and she almost quit her career. In 1968, she found Christianity, which brought her peace. She decided to continue her career but cut back on her touring. She spent more time with her family and tried to appear on more Christian music programs. She worked with ministers Billy Graham and Rex Humbard and appeared on several Christian TV shows.

Smith presenting "Instrumentalist of the Year" at the 1972 Country Music Association Awards.

Because Connie stayed with RCA, the label kept releasing new albums and songs regularly. With her new religious beliefs, Connie made sure to include gospel songs on her regular albums. This became a common theme throughout her career. In 1968 and 1969, RCA Victor released the albums Sunshine and Rain, Back in Baby's Arms and Connie's Country. These albums included a cover of Marty Robbins's "Ribbon of Darkness". Connie's version reached the top 20 on the Billboard country singles chart. In Canada, "Ribbon of Darkness" became her first song to reach number one on their RPM Country chart.

As the 1970s began, Connie had fewer top ten hits in North America, but she still had commercial success. The songs "You and Your Sweet Love" and "I Never Once Stopped Loving You" (both written by Bill Anderson) reached the Billboard country top ten in 1970. Her fifteenth album, I Never Once Stopped Loving You, was also released in 1970 and made the top 20 on the Billboard country albums chart.

During this time, Connie also teamed up with country singer-songwriter Nat Stuckey to record two duet albums. Their producers thought their voices would "blend well". Their first duet songs included a cover of Sonny James's "Young Love", which reached the top 20 on the Billboard country songs chart. Their first album, Young Love, featured covers of country and pop songs. To help Connie record more gospel music, the duo made a spiritual album in 1970 called Sunday Morning with Nat Stuckey and Connie Smith. Christian radio shows often played their gospel music, which led RCA to release "If God Is Dead (Who's That Living in My Soul)" as a single in 1970.

In the early 1970s, Connie started recording more songs written by Dallas Frazier. They became close friends, and Frazier wrote songs for Connie that reflected her own life. Both Connie and Frazier said her 1970 song "Where Is My Castle" was about her own marriage difficulties. "Anybody knows that it's good to sing how you feel about things," Connie later said. "Where Is My Castle" reached the top 20 on both the Billboard and RPM country charts. In 1971, RCA released Connie's cover of Don Gibson's "Just One Time". This song reached number two on the Billboard and RPM country charts, becoming her most successful song of the 1970s. Her eighteenth album, Just One Time, reached number 14 on the Billboard country albums chart.

Connie was one of RCA's top-selling artists, so she could convince them to let her record another gospel album. This resulted in 1971's Come Along and Walk with Me. This album featured gospel songs written by spiritual writers like Dottie Rambo. In 1972, Connie had three hit singles in a row on the Billboard country chart: "Just for What I Am", "If It Ain't Love (Let's Leave It Alone)" and "Love Is the Look You're Looking For". RCA released these songs on three different albums: Ain't We Havin' Us a Good Time (1972), If It Ain't Love and Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs (1972) and Love Is the Look You're Looking For (1973). Her most successful album was If It Ain't Love And Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs, which reached number 14 on the Billboard country albums chart. This album was a tribute to Dallas Frazier and had ten songs written by him. Frazier also sang several duets with Connie on the album. Before she left RCA, the label released more albums, including the collection Dream Painter (1973). Its title song reached the Billboard top 40.

Later Career and Legacy

In 1973, Connie left RCA and signed a new recording contract with Columbia Records. Columbia promised her more control over her music, including recording one gospel album each year. At Columbia, she met producer Clive Davis, but he left the label before they could work together. Instead, she started working with producer George Richey.

Smith performing at the Grand Ole Opry with her daughter on her arm, 1974.

At Columbia, Connie felt pressure to record music with more pop sounds. "From Day One at the new label, it was a constant struggle," Connie remembered. However, she still had a say in choosing songs and the recording process. Connie's first Columbia album, A Lady Named Smith (1973), included pop sounds like string instruments and background singers. The album reached number 31 on the Billboard country albums chart. Her song "Ain't Love a Good Thing" was finally released as a single and became her eighteenth top ten song on the Billboard country chart. She also recorded two gospel albums in 1974. Columbia released a regular album called I Never Knew (What That Song Meant Before) (1974). Its title song became a top 20 Billboard country single, reaching number 13. This was followed in 1975 by the traditional country album, I Got a Lot of Hurtin' Done Today/I've Got My Baby On My Mind. Both "I've Got My Baby on My Mind" and Connie's cover of Hank Williams's "Why Don't You Love Me" reached the country top 20.

In 1975, Columbia released two of her 1974 gospel albums. The first was Connie Smith Sings Hank Williams Gospel. For this album, Connie and her producer found several never-before-released gospel songs by Hank Williams. This was the first album of Hank Williams's gospel music recorded by another artist. In 1976, this album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance. The second religious album in 1975 was a Christmas album called Joy to the World. In 1976, Columbia released two more country albums: The Song We Fell in Love To and I Don't Wanna Talk It Over Anymore. Both albums reached the Billboard country albums top 40. The albums included the number 13 country single "I Don't Wanna Talk It Over Anymore" and her twentieth top ten hit, a remake of The Everly Brothers's "(Till) I Kissed You". The latter was Connie's second song to reach number one on Canada's RPM country chart.

In 1977, Connie moved to Fred Foster's Nashville label, Monument Records. She felt pressured to record even more country pop music. She was also given singing lessons by a songwriter. "He wanted to mold me into something that I wasn't comfortable with," Connie said. Monument released two albums of Connie's music between 1977 and 1978. Her only successful song from Monument was a cover of Andy Gibb's "I Just Want to Be Your Everything". This song reached number 14 on the Billboard country chart. However, her later songs for Monument reached lower positions on the country chart between 1978 and 1979. Also, Connie had five children by this point and felt she needed to be home with her family. So, Connie decided to leave her country music career to focus on raising her children and her religious life.

For three years, Connie mostly stopped performing, only occasionally appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, where she remained a member. At the Opry, she only sang gospel songs. However, she decided to return to her career in 1983. She re-signed with Monument Records, but left when the label had financial problems. Singer and songwriter Ricky Skaggs then helped her get a new recording contract with Epic Records. Her first song, "A Far Cry from You" (1985), reached number 71 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

One day in the mid-1990s, Connie was talking to one of her daughters on the phone. After her daughter shared her plans for the night, she asked Connie what she was doing. Connie didn't have anything fun planned, so she didn't tell the truth so her daughter wouldn't worry. After the call, Connie realized she didn't want her children worrying about her. She decided it was time to return to her career. Country artist Marty Stuart (whom she later married in 1997) became the main producer for her album. Connie signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1996. Even though the label wanted her to record an album of duets, Connie decided to record a solo album. In October 1998, she released her second self-titled album. It had ten songs, and nine of them were co-written by Connie and Marty Stuart.

Smith on stage at the Grand Ole Opry

Connie's 1998 album didn't sell a lot, but critics praised its traditional and modern style. One writer said the album sounded "far gutsier than anything in the Reba and Garth mainstream". Another critic called it "a solid effort" and said, "it stands head and shoulders over most of the stuff that's come out of Nash Vegas in over a decade." Also in 1998, Connie appeared in a movie again, playing a "Singer at the Rodeo Dance" in The Hi-Lo Country.

In August 2003, she released a gospel album with country artists Barbara Fairchild and Sharon White called Love Never Fails. Connie said she was sick while recording the album, but still enjoyed making it. The album was produced by Ricky Skaggs (Sharon White's husband) and was nominated for a Dove Award.

In November 2008, Connie joined the cast of Marty Stuart's TV show, The Marty Stuart Show. This show aired on the RFD-TV network and featured traditional country music performed by Marty and Connie. The show stopped airing in 2014. In August 2011, Connie released her first new solo album in thirteen years, called Long Line of Heartaches. Marty Stuart produced this album, and it included five songs written by Connie and Marty. Other famous songwriters also contributed songs. Critics reviewed the album positively. One said it "sounds like vintage traditional country given just a bit of a polished edge."

In August 2021, Connie's next album, The Cry of the Heart, was released. It was her third album produced by Marty Stuart and her first new music in ten years. The New York Times said The Cry of the Heart sounded like Connie's recordings from the 1960s. It was Connie's first album since 1976 to appear on a Billboard chart. PopMatters gave the album a high rating and said, "If you wanted to understand what traditional country is, you could go to the same place today as you could have 50 years ago: a Connie Smith record."

In April 2024, Connie's latest album, Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches, was released. It features covers of songs, but Connie described it as "singing on behalf of my friends. Hoping to share them while passing along their songs."

Personal Life

Connie Smith on the day of her wedding to third husband, Marshall Haynes, 1972.

Connie Smith has been married four times. In 1961, she married Jerry Smith. They had one child together, a son named Darren Justin, born in 1963. In the mid-1960s, they divorced. Connie then married Jack Watkins, the guitarist in her touring band. They had a son before they separated about a year later. Soon after, Connie married Marshall Haynes, a telephone repairman. In the early 1970s, Marshall often toured with Connie. They had three daughters together.

After divorcing Marshall Haynes in the early 1990s, Connie said she would never marry again. However, on July 8, 1997, she married for the fourth time to her producer, country artist Marty Stuart. Marty started producing her music after writing songs for Connie's 1998 comeback album. Marty Stuart shared that he met Connie when he was 12 years old. He told his mother then that he was going to marry Connie Smith! Connie explains that their marriage lasts because they "Make the Lord the center...and commit."

In February 2021, Connie Smith had a serious illness and was hospitalized. She eventually made a full recovery.

Her Unique Sound

Connie Smith's music style is known as the Nashville Sound, especially during her early successful years in the 1960s. While most Nashville Sound recordings used full orchestras, Connie's music kept a more traditional feel with its use of steel guitar and her distinctive voice. However, it still had some pop influences to appeal to a wider audience. Critics often praise Connie's use of the steel guitar, calling it "sharp" and "prominent". Her steel guitar player, Weldon Myrick, is often given credit for creating what Connie calls "The Connie Smith Sound". Myrick remembered that Connie's producer, Bob Ferguson, wanted the guitar to have a "bright sound."

Connie Smith's singing style is also a big part of her music. Writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that Connie sings with a "cool, authoritative ease." This skill helped her get the attention of Nashville's best songwriters. Other writers have called her singing "a pillar-of-fire delivery sobbed with desolation." Thom Jurek of AllMusic said that Connie's voice offers "sophisticated emotional delivery" and that "her control and phrasing remain a high-water mark today."

Awards and Honors

Smith at the Grand Ole Opry, 2007.

Connie Smith is considered one of country music's most celebrated and respected artists by many critics and historians. One critic explained why Connie's voice is often compared to Patsy Cline's: "Connie Smith is perhaps the only female singer in the history of country music who can truly claim to be the heiress to Patsy Cline's throne." This means she has a similar amazing ability to sing any song and make it a classic country song.

Writers and journalists also say Connie Smith is a very important part of country music history. She is known as one of country's "heroines of heartbreak" because of how much emotion she puts into her singing. Along with Tammy Wynette, Connie was one of the "most towering country voices of the 1960s and 1970s." She "sang from the depths of despair" and "spoke for conservative Middle America in both music and life."

Many artists in country music have said that Connie Smith is a big musical influence or one of their favorite singers. George Jones said Connie was his favorite female singer in his 1995 autobiography. Elvis Presley had many of Connie's albums in his record collection at his Graceland home. He even planned to record Connie's version of "The Wonders You Perform", but he never did. In a conversation with country songwriter Fred Foster, Dolly Parton famously said, "You know, there's really only three female singers in the world: Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, and Connie Smith. The rest of us are only pretending."

Connie Smith has received many honors and awards for her achievements. In 2002, she was ranked in the top ten of CMTs TV special, 40 Greatest Women of Country Music. In 2011, she was welcomed into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. In 2012, Connie Smith was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame alongside Garth Brooks. She commented, "Just to be in the company of the great Kitty Wells is enough." In 2015, she celebrated 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry radio show. Her celebration included performances by Alison Krauss and Mel Tillis. In 2017, she was ranked on Rolling Stones list of the "100 Greatest Country Artists of All-Time".

In March 2021, Connie's legacy was further recognized when the Library of Congress added "Once a Day" to the National Recording Registry. In April 2021, Connie's husband, Marty Stuart, announced that a documentary about her life and career would be released, called Connie: The Cry of the Heart.

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Awards, nominations and honors

See also

In Spanish: Connie Smith para niños