Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight To Feature Jeannie C. Riley

You and I have a date for the Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight as we feature Jeannie C. Riley at 11 am on Sunday, January 18th.

She was Jeannie Carolyn Stephenson and spent her younger years in the small Texas town of Anson.  She married Mickey Riley before they moved to Nashville in 1966.  There she found work as a demo singer and secretary while Mickey, who was a mechanic, ran a service station.

Tom T. Hall wrote Harper Valley P.T.A and the song was recorded on July 26, 1968 and released immediately.  It became a major hit single for Jeannie in August of 1968.  The record sold over six million copies as a single and the song made her the first woman to top both Billboards Hot 100 Country and Pop Charts, a feat that would that would not be repeated until Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 in 1981.  The single also won her the 1968 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance as well as the CMA's Single of the Year Award.  Harper Valley P.T.A. was her most enduring hit and she went on to place twenty more hits on the country chart between 1968 and 1973.

The song makes two references to short  hemlines, referring to the mini skirt and the mini dress.  The expression 'this is just a little Peyton Place,' is a reference to the wildly popular TV show based on the earlier novel and film of the same name.  Tom T. Hall first offered the song to Skeeter Davis who declined.

Join me every Sunday at 9 am for more country classic's.  Remember we always take your requests at 320-252-9897 or email dick@98country.com.