Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music

An in-depth look at the pioneering vocalist's life and career

In the conservative climate of the early 1950s, when housewife and mother were viewed as the proper roles for women, Kitty Wells carved out a successful career as a country singer. Her 1952 breakthrough hit, "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," became the first record by a female to reach #1 on Billboard’s country & western chart. Wells's ensuing success defied the country music establishment’s belief that women could not sell records or headline shows, and set an important precedent for female country singers. 

This timeline of Kitty Wells’s career tracks her rapid rise to country music’s highest class. Wells’s unlikely first hit in 1952 quickly led to honors, awards, and appearances on the Grand Ole Opry throughout the 1950s.

Detail of timeline, showing Kitty Wells's chart success in 1952.

Detail of timeline, showing major events in Wells's career in 1953 and 1954.

By the 1960s, Wells was country music's reigning queen, and a generation of female country singers would follow in her footsteps.

Detail of timeline, showing major events in Wells's career in 1962.

Detail of timeline, showing major events in Wells's career in 1964.

Born Muriel Ellen Deason in Nashville, on August 30, 1919, Kitty Wells grew up immersed in old-time country and gospel music. Her father and uncles entertained at square dances, and she sang with her mother and sisters in church.  

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At Knoxville station WNOX in 1943, Johnnie Wright & the Tennessee Hillbillies featured nineteen-year-old Chet Atkins on fiddle and “girl singer” Kitty Wells. Top row, from left: Wright, Atkins, Wells, Eddie Hill. Bottom row: The Johnson Brothers, Willy and Charlie.

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In 1948, Wells, Johnnie & Jack, and their Tennessee Mountain Boys began a four-year tenure at KWKH's Louisiana Hayride, where they would become known for their gospel numbers.

Just as Wells was considering stepping away from the performer's life, stardom found her. In 1952 she recorded "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" with Owen Bradley, thinking of nothing beyond the $125 recording payment. The single took off, hitting #1 on the Billboard charts and staying there for much of the summer. The song's pointed message, that dishonest husbands are more responsible for marital strife than good-timing women, prompted a ban by the NBC radio network. Nevertheless, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" sold over 800,000 copies in its first release.

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The song was conceived as an answer to Hank Thompson's portrayal of a home-wrecking "honky tonk angel" in his "Wild Side of Life."

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Wells's response song proved more popular than Thompson's original lament, and Wells won the top spot from Thompson in the Billboard charts.

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Wells soon became an Opry favorite, performing regularly there throughout the 1950s. Here she is on the Opry stage in 1953, being presented with an award by Opry founder George D. Hay.

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Photo of Kitty Wells, Johnnie & Jack, Roy Acuff, and others.
On Grand Ole Opry package tour c. 1957.

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Throughout the 1950s, Wells garnered awards from every major trade publication, and was voted Best Female Singer by country & western DJs and fans almost every year.

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Kitty Wells's dignified image and plaintive vocal style would appeal to country audiences for decades. In the 1960s, she continued to earn accolades, release albums, and perform on the Opry and elsewhere. She scored her last Top Ten hit in 1965, but her records continued to chart into the 1970s. 

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Kitty Wells's Lonesome, Sad, and Blue album reached #7 on the Billboard chart in 1965.

In her private life, Wells was soft-spoken and family-oriented. Her children, Bobby, Ruby, and Carol Sue (left to right) sang back-up on their parents' recordings, and all three went on to have their own careers in show business.

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In 1968, the family's road show—which included Kitty, Johnny, Ruby, Bobby, Carol Sue, and singer-songwriter Bill Phillips—made the transition to television as a syndicated series, The Kitty Wells-Johnny Wright Family Show.

Kitty Wells's career in country music celebrated women's perspectives and broke down the genre's gender barrier. The accepted wisdom of the time held that women don't sell records and can't headline shows, but Wells proved that they could and did. Her success led record companies to open their doors to other women, and to experiment with new themes and images for women. As a result, country music was forever changed, and Wells was recognized as country music's Queen. 

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Among the many female singers to follow in Wells's footsteps were Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Barbara Mandrell, and Emmylou Harris, who is pictured with Wells here at the 1981 CMA Awards.

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“I had never nurtured any dream of becoming a big recording artist, though I always loved singing. It was enough for me to get pleasure just knowing my singing pleased an audience.” - Kitty Wells

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Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music ran from August 01, 2008 to June 14, 2009 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Pictured here is the exhibit gallery.

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Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music exhibit artifacts.

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Guitars and other artifacts on display for Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music exhibit.

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Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music exhibit costumes and artifacts.

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In addition to the artifacts on display, this exhibit included film footage and sound recordings of Kitty Wells, some of which can be found at http://digi.countrymusichalloffame.org.

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