Jeannie Seely

Jeannie Seely
Seely at the Grand Ole Opry, 2012
Born (1940-07-06) July 6, 1940 (age 84)
Titusville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • actress
  • author
Years active1964–present
WorksDiscography
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1969; div. 1979)​
  • Gene Ward
    ​
    (m. 2010)​
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Websitejeannieseely.com

Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940)[1] is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song "Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-inspired vocal delivery[2] gave her the nickname of "Miss Country Soul".[3] Seely has been a member of and performer on the Grand Ole Opry, having appeared more times on the program than any other performer (over 5,000 appearances in her 55-year and ongoing tenure).[4]

Born and raised in northwestern Pennsylvania, Seely had an early interest in country music, regularly appearing on local radio and television stations. After high school she began a career in the baking industry and moved to California. Switching careers, she began writing songs which would be recorded by other artists. After being briefly signed with Challenge Records, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to further elevate her country music recording career. In Nashville, Seely's "Don't Touch Me" was released on Monument Records and reached the US country top five. She followed it with several more top ten and 20 songs, including "A Wanderin' Man" (1967) and "I'll Love You More (Than You'll Need)" (1968).

Seely then formed a duet musical partnership with Jack Greene and they began collaborating together in the late 1960s. Their highest-charting single was 1969's "Wish I Didn't Have to Miss You" and they subsequently toured over the next decade. Her solo career continued with the popular singles "Can I Sleep in Your Arms" (1973) and "Lucky Ladies" (1974). After a car accident in 1977, Seely's career went on a brief hiatus and then resumed new projects. This included appeares in the Willie Nelson film Honeysuckle Rose and acted in several stage plays, opening a Nashville bar and becoming the first female to host the Grand Ole Opry.

In the 1990s, Seely returned to recording albums with a 1990 eponymous release, followed by her first album of holiday music in 1994 called Number One Christmas. Other releases included the critically-acclaimed 2003 release Life's Highway. Her most recent studio release was 2020's An American Classic, issued on Curb Records. Seely has since continued to work the Grand Ole Opry and became a regular host of a weekly radio program on Sirius XM's Willie's Roadhouse broadcast.

  1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Jeannie Seely: Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Big Honor for Jeannie Seely Later This Month". Meadville Tribune. 2 December 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Burns, Ken. "Country Music: Jeannie Seely Biography". PBS. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Windsor, Pam. "Country Singer Jeannie Seely Honored For 55 Years As A Member Of The Grand Ole Opry". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-27.