On Hot Country mornings with Jody & Melody we shared with you that the country music world shines a little less bright with the news of Jeannie Seely passing away last Friday, Aug 1st.
She was 85.
Jeannie is a country music legend and is credited with helping modernize the Grand Ole Opry. Before her time, all the women had a strict dress code and had to wear long ruffled skirts.
Jeannie was the first one to wear a mini skirt at the Opry. The stage manager gave her a stern talking to afterwards, but she said, “I explained that I just moved here from California, and this is what everybody’s wearing.”
Jeannie also pushed for women to be able to host the Opry segments, and in 1985 she became the first woman to do so. Even though the only reason it happened was because the male host got caught in a snowstorm. But Jeannie kept up the pressure and in 1993 management finally changed their mind.
She’s best known for her songs “Don’t Touch Me“ . . . “A Wanderin’ Man“ . . . and “Can I Sleep in Your Arms?“
Many tributes from the country music world have been pouring in ever since Jeannie passed. Reba McEntire . . . Dolly Parton . . . Carly Pearce . . . Trisha Yearwood, and many more sent their condolences.
