Thursday Thirteen

Today I thought I'd list the female country singers who have influenced me. My parents listened to country when I was young. Mind you, when I hit middle school and figured out that if I had my own radio in my room, I could turn the dial, I did. I went straight to Pop Top 40 and Kasey Casem's Countdown and never looked back. But still, there is a little bit of country in this ol' woman, I reckon.

1. Dolly Parton. I remember my mother singing Coat of Many Colors. She had another song, Love is Like A Butterfly, that my mother asked me to learn on the guitar, which I did. Dolly Parton also has done a lot of good with her money, which is more than I can say for many rich people.

2. Reba McIntire. This artist is someone I admire simply for tenacity and the ability to reinvent herself. I honestly cannot name a single song she sings, but I know she's done incredible things with her career. I admire a woman who doesn't let the glass ceiling give her a headache.

3. Anne Murray. Her song, "You Needed Me," was one of those that clutched your heart and allowed you to cry yourself to sleep at night after some silly boy let you down.

4. Loretta Lynn. She had grit and determination. I remember watching her on TV and thinking that she held herself well, and her music had an intensity that I sometimes found lacking in other singers.

5. Barbara Mandrell. I remember her best for her variety music show, which I watched religiously.

6. June Carter Cash. She's one of the originals, and she wrote many of Johnny Cash's hits.

7. Linda Ronstadt. I wouldn't have placed Ronstadt as country, but she was in the list I looked at, so here you go. She is one of my favorites, with a set of pipes unmatched in her day. I loved her early work and I was greatly taken by her album with Aaron Neville.

 

8. Crystal Gayle. I best remember her song, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." 

9. Bonnie Raitt. Now here's a woman after my own heart, a guitar player who can belt them out better than anyone. She put in a lot of time before she hit it big. She is a good song writer, too. I've been surprised at the number of tunes she penned.

10. Olivia Newton-John. Here's another singer I would have considered pop instead of country, but her songs cross-over. I know all of her songs from Grease and adored most of her work when I was younger.

11. Sheryl Crow. Yet another singer I consider pop and not country, but what do I know? I listen to Sheryl all the time. She's the singer I have on when I am writing articles. I listen to her early albums, though. I haven't bought a new one in a long time.

12. Jeannie C. Riley. How could the singer of "Harper Valley, PTA" not have left an impression on a young girl who wanted to be a guitar player and a singer?

13. Juice Newton. I still listen to Juice Newton's songs, even though she had one or two good albums and then faded away. I thought she had a good voice and a good ear for arrangements.

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