Tag: Gail Davies

Celebrating Women’s History Month: Dottie West, Gail Davies, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Our partnership with our friends at Real Roots Radio in Southwestern Ohio continues as we move from Black History Month to Women’s History Month! This time, we’ll bring you weekly collections of a variety of powerful women in bluegrass, country, Americana, folk, and elsewhere who have been featured on Real Roots Radio’s airwaves each weekday in March, highlighting the outsized impact women have on American roots music.

You can listen to Real Roots Radio online 24/7 or via their FREE app for smartphones or tablets. If you’re based in Ohio, tune in via 100.3 (Xenia, Dayton, Springfield), 106.7 (Wilmington), or 105.5 (Eaton).

American roots music, historically and currently, has often been regarded as a male-dominated space. It’s certainly true of the music industry in general and these more down-home musics are no exception. Thankfully, American roots music and its many offshoots, branches, and associated folkways include hundreds and thousands of women who have greatly impacted these art forms, altering the courses of roots music history. Some are relatively unknown – or under-appreciated or undersung – and others are global phenomena or household names.

Over the next few weeks, we and RRR will do our best to bring you examples of women in roots music from all levels of notoriety and stature. Radio host Daniel Mullins, who together with BGS and Good Country staff has curated the series, kicks off March featuring Dottie West, Girls of the Golden West, Donna Ulisse, Gail Davies, and Cousin Emmy. We’ll return next week and each Friday through the end of the month with even more examples of women who blazed a trail in roots music.

Plus, you can find two playlists below – one centered on bluegrass, the other on country – with dozens of songs from countless women artists, performers, songwriters, and instrumentalists who effortlessly demonstrate how none of these roots genres would exist without women.

Dottie West (1932 – 1991)

She was a trailblazer, a storyteller, and a country music legend. Dottie West – born Dorothy Marsh in the small town of Frog Pond, Tennessee – rose to fame with her rich voice and heartfelt songs. Her childhood was heartbreaking, due to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. As a teenager, she testified against her father, aiding in his conviction and sentencing on charges resulting from his continued sexual abuse of her and her siblings.

After high school, Dottie received a music scholarship to pursue her passion. It was her songwriting that really helped build in-roads for her in the music business, particularly after Jim Reeves had a top three hit with Dottie’s song, “Is This Me.” In 1965, she made history as the first female country artist to win a GRAMMY with her original composition, “Here Comes My Baby.” Its smash success also led to her becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

From then on, Dottie became a force in Nashville, penning hits and performing alongside legends like Jim Reeves, Don Gibson, Jimmy Dean, and Kenny Rogers. Her duets with Kenny melted hearts, but her solo career soared, too, scoring twenty-five Top 40 country hits as a solo artist spanning three different decades. Songs like “A Lesson in Leavin’” proved she was unstoppable.

Part of Dottie’s legacy is that of friend and mentor. Pointing to Patsy Cline’s encouragement of her own career, Dottie West would help build up aspiring performers like Jeannie Seely, Steve Wariner, and more. She also helped transform the image of the female country star, with a sexy wardrobe full of flash and glamour. Dottie would be one of the first country artists to find success in writing commercial jingles as well, most notably, Coca-Cola’s use of “Country Sunshine.” But tragedy struck in 1991 when a car accident on the way to the Grand Ole Opry cut her life short at the age of 58.

Though gone too soon, Dottie West’s voice still echoes through country music. She was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

Suggested Listening:
“A Lesson In Leavin’”
“Here Comes My Baby”

Girls of The Golden West (active 1930s to 1960s)

Before there was Dolly or Patsy, there were the Girls of the Golden West! Sisters Mildred and Dorothy Good burst onto the country music scene in the 1930s, blending sweet harmonies and cowboy spirit into radio gold on Chicago’s WLS, home of the National Barn Dance. Alongside early radio stars like Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, and Bradley Kincaid, Girls of the Golden West were one of the most popular country acts of their era.

Taking their name from a popular opera, these Illinois farm girls also developed a compelling backstory for audiences – telling radio listeners they were from Muleshoe, Texas. Embodying the “western” in “country & western,” their cowgirl stage clothes helped add some girl power to the infatuation with cowboys and the Wild West at that time. Their signature song, “Will There Be Any Yodeling in Heaven?,” showcased their angelic voices and signature yodeling style, making them fan favorites on The National Barn Dance.

By the late ’40s, they would relocate from Chicago’s WLS to Cincinnati’s WLW, where they would be part of such iconic programs as the Renfro Valley Barn Dance and the Boone Country Jamboree. Unlike many country acts of the time, these trailblazing women wrote much of their own music, proving that female artists belonged in the spotlight. Their songs, filled with adventure, heartache, and the open range, paved the way for generations of country music legends, including Kitty Wells, Jean Shepard, and The Davis Sisters. Though their fame faded after World War II, their influence never did. So next time you hear a classic country duet, remember – Mildred and Dorothy Good were there first. The Girls of the Golden West were true pioneers of country music.

Suggested Listening:
“Lonely Cowgirl”
“Round-Up Time In Texas”

Donna Ulisse (active 1991 to present)

Donna Ulisse is a powerhouse singer, songwriter, and storyteller whose music blends traditional bluegrass with heartfelt country roots. Originally from Hampton, Virginia, she made her mark in Nashville as a country artist before fully embracing her love for bluegrass.

Donna arrived in Nashville in the early ’80s, working as a harmony vocalist. Her first recording session when she hit town was on a Jerry Reed album. By 1990, she was signed to Atlantic Records, where she released her debut album, Trouble at the Door. This great country album yielded two charting singles for Donna and landed her guest spots on Hee Haw, Nashville Now, and more. But Donna had a knack for mountain melodies – heck, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys played at her wedding (her husband, Rick, is a Stanley after all).

Donna began gaining traction as a songwriter and released her first album of original bluegrass in 2007. Since then, she hasn’t looked back. With a voice as rich as the Appalachian hills and lyrics that paint vivid pictures of life, love, and faith, Donna has penned songs for top artists like Del McCoury, The Grascals, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, and more. Her song, “I Am a Drifter” was recorded by Volume Five and was named Song of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2017. Donna has multiple Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year honors under her belt, as well.

But it’s her own albums – filled with soul-stirring melodies and award-winning songwriting – that truly showcase her artistry. Hits like “Back Home Feelin’ Again,” “Come to Jesus Moment,” “When I Go All Bluegrass on You,” and “Livin’ Large in a Little Town” have made her a beloved mainstay on bluegrass radio and at bluegrass festivals nationwide. Whether she’s performing on stage, writing timeless tunes, or inspiring the next generation of songwriters, Donna Ulisse is a true gem in bluegrass music.

Suggested Listening:
“Trouble At The Door”
“When I Go All Bluegrass On You”

Gail Davies (b. 1948)

She wasn’t just another voice on the radio, she was the first female record producer in country music history. Let’s tip our hats to a native of Broken Bow, Oklahoma and a trailblazer in country music: Gail Davies!

Originally a session singer, Davies sang on records by Glen Campbell, Hoyt Axton, Neil Young, and more. Through this experience she befriended Joni Mitchell, whose producer taught her about record production. In the mid-’70s she worked alongside Roger Miller and started her songwriting journey. Her song, “Bucket to the South,” would be covered by Lynn Anderson, Ava Barber, Wilma Lee Cooper, and later recorded by Gail herself.

In the late ’70s and ’80s, Davies broke barriers. She released her self-titled debut album in 1978. Though successful, she was dissatisfied with the production, changing labels in order to produce her own records – much like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings had done earlier in the decade. This made Gail Davies country’s first female record producer. The result was stellar, yielding her first top ten hit, “Blue Heartache.”

Gail crafted a unique sound that blended traditional country with fresh, innovative production. Hits like “Grandma’s Song” and “I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)” put her on the map, proving she had the talent and the vision to shape her own career. But Gail wasn’t just making music – she was making history, paving the way for women in Nashville to take creative control of their work, inspiring hitmakers who would follow in her wake like Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Pam Tillis.

Davies would also produce albums for others as well, being hired as the first female Music City staff record producer in 1990. Over the years she would record with Emmylou Harris, The Whites, Ricky Skaggs, Dolly Parton, and even Ralph Stanley. With over a dozen albums and a career spanning decades, her impact still echoes through country music today. So here’s to Gail Davies – a pioneer, a hitmaker, and a legend.

Suggested Listening:
“Grandma’s Song”
“I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)”

Cousin Emmy (1903 – 1980)

Have you ever heard of Cousin Emmy? If you haven’t, you’re missing out on a true legend of the Appalachian music scene. Born Cynthia May Carver in the heart of Kentucky, Cousin Emmy was the daughter of sharecroppers and a pioneering force in old-time radio and country music.

In the 1930s, her voice rang out across the airwaves captivating listeners with her mountain spirit and stunning talent. She became the first female to win the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest in 1935 and fronted her own band and radio show by the end of the decade. A true trailblazer for women in bluegrass, she didn’t just play – she performed. Known for her skillful banjo playing and unforgettable voice, Cousin Emmy brought Appalachian culture to the masses on major radio stations in Wheeling, Knoxville, St. Louis, and Chicago, leading her to be signed to Decca Records.

Cousin Emmy was featured in Time magazine in 1943, informing its readers that her popular St. Louis radio program drew an average of 2.5 million listeners every Sunday morning. From live shows to classic radio broadcasts, she influenced generations of musicians, including Grandpa Jones (whom she purportedly taught how to play old-time banjo) and Bobby Osborne, who heard her recording of “Ruby” on jukeboxes when he was a youngster. It would later become the debut single for The Osborne Brothers, and remained one of their signature songs, solidifying its status as a bluegrass standard.

Emmy would eventually move to L.A., where she would raise the children she adopted while continuing to perform locally. As the Folk Revival emerged in the early ’60s, the New Lost City Ramblers heard Cousin Emmy performing at Disneyland and encouraged her to join them on record. That session introduced her to a new generation of fans and led to appearances on the folk circuit, including the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival. She passed away in southern California in 1980, at the age of 77. Remember the name: Cousin Emmy — a powerful personality and hillbilly star.

Suggested Listening:
“Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man?”
“I Wish I Was A Single Girl Again”

Want more Good Country? Sign up on Substack for our monthly email newsletter full of everything country.

Listen to Real Roots Radio online 24/7 or via their FREE app for smartphones or tablets.

Photo Credit: Dottie West courtesy Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum; Gail Davies courtesy of the artist; Donna Ulisse courtesy of Turnberry Records.

Empowered Love Songs: Finding Strength Across Martina McBride’s Discography

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Consult the comments section of any Martina McBride music video and you will find paragraph-length, highly personal expressions of adversity and triumph. These entries are varied, but often take the form of earnest tributes to lost loved ones, painful confessions of romantic loneliness or haunting stories of abuse and neglect. It’s a testament to the power of McBride’s voice – that inimitable instrument that arguably did more than anyone else’s to popularize the wide, throaty belt style now common among female country singers – that her songs still provoke such intensely emotional reactions.

It also speaks to her choice of material. Many of McBride’s best-loved songs operate on a grand emotional scale, and she has singularly foregrounded issues of domestic violence and child abuse in her work. But even as social issues songs largely define her legacy, she has most often recorded love songs, approaching them with the same shrewdness and self-assurance that colors her most celebrated work.

Take, for example, “Safe in the Arms of Love,” a number four hit from 1995’s Wild Angels. Written by female songwriting trio Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose and Pat Bunch, “Safe in the Arms of Love” was originally released in 1986 by Wild Choir, a short-lived country-rock outfit fronted by Gail Davies. More new wave than country, the Wild Choir version features a prominent bassline, heavy drums and synths, and little of the warmth or joy that McBride’s would bring to the song years later. McBride’s version is twangier and more streamlined, trading the original’s raw energy for country-pop polish and sunny bursts of fiddle and mandolin.

The first line of “Safe in the Arms of Love” is bracing, almost a cliche but not quite: “My heart’s not ready for the rocking chair.” It’s an off-kilter choice of words, immediately followed by a clarification: “I need somebody who really cares.” This first couplet sets the rules for the rest of the song, which moves between metaphor and straight-ahead, conversational lyricism as McBride voices her desire for a stabilizing partnership.

An avowed hater of “wimpy woman” and “doormat” songs, McBride brings a resolve that makes clear she isn’t looking to be rescued. Rather, like the narrator of Lucinda Williams’ “Passionate Kisses” – a number four country hit for Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1992 — she’s simply voicing her desires. (It’s no accident that the song’s chorus begins with the words I want.) McBride’s delivery is confident, never beseeching or desperate. Do we ever doubt she’ll achieve her romantic goals?

The song’s music video takes place in a circus-themed fantasy world inhabited by Cirque du Soleil performers dressed as children’s entertainers. There is, notably, no love interest in sight. In fact, men rarely figure in McBride’s videos, at least not as love objects. The men in her videos tend to appear only in glimpses, as with the abusive husband and father figures in “Independence Day” and “Concrete Angel,” flashes of motion that connote menace. In the videos for her love songs, she is more often than not alone, less a protagonist than a guide figure.

Consider the video for “Wild Angels” – filmed for whatever reason in a black and white, vérité style – which locates Martina on the roof of the Clock Tower Building in downtown Manhattan. The song is ostensibly about a couple whose bond prevails through thick and thin, but the video instead captures a group of citydwellers being visited by a mystical being. Then there’s the video for “My Baby Loves Me,” which features a barefoot Martina twirling in a floral dress as various, smiling couples pose behind an empty picture frame. (John McBride, Martina’s husband and long-time business partner, has a split-second cameo at the end of the video.)

Both “Wild Angels” and “My Baby Loves Me” continue the theme of the empowered love song. The rootsier “Wild Angels” presents a smartly egalitarian vision of love, with McBride expressing disbelief at her good fortune in finding such balance. “Somehow we wake up in each other’s arms,” she shrugs in the second verse before chalking it up to divine intervention in the song’s lofty, joyous chorus. The title track and opening song on McBride’s third album, “Wild Angels” also features the sound of McBride’s then-infant daughter Delaney giggling, a nod to the McBrides’ real-life love story and an indicator of how McBride would continue to foreground motherhood in her work.

Where “Safe in the Arms of Love” finds McBride searching for unconditional love, “My Baby Loves Me” takes the perspective of a woman who already has it. The song offers a typically country approach to beauty: fashion magazines, high heels, fancy clothes… who needs ‘em! It’s less feminist-presenting than, say, Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine,” but sets up a similar dynamic: This man is totally enthralled by me. In this country-pop version of the world, women run the show and men are their biggest cheerleaders.

Such was the utopian impulse of ‘90s country, particularly in the latter half of the decade, when a handful of female stars topped the charts nearly as often as their male peers and frequently sold more records. McBride was central to this moment and though she never quite reached the crossover heights of Twain or Faith Hill, she remained a steady presence on country radio even as the format purged female voices in the aughts and the wake of 9/11. She was in fact the only female country artist to notch a solo No. 1 during the entirety of 2002, a feat that wouldn’t be repeated until Gretchen Wilson took “Redneck Woman” to the top of the charts three years later. (This fact has depressing echoes of today’s hyper-masculine radio environment, in which it is nearly impossible for a woman to hit No. 1, even with the help of a male duet partner.)

To her detractors, McBride’s great sin at the turn of the millennium was her shift toward the smooth sounds of Adult Contemporary. She found great success in this format with “This One’s for the Girls” and “In My Daughter’s Eyes,” two hits from 2003’s Martina that reached No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Critics have accused her of making “music for soccer moms,” an elitist term that equates suburban women with unrefined taste.

It’s true that McBride has at times leaned into inoffensive pop balladry, most successfully on “Valentine,” her hyper-smooth collaboration with pianist Jim Brickman that was her first brush with Adult Contemporary success in 1997. But to dismiss McBride’s music — which, yes, includes her honeyed love songs — as frothily unserious is to do a disservice to one of country’s great risk-takers. “Valentine” may not be hard-shell honky-tonk (for that, see cuts like “Cheap Whiskey” or her 2005 classic-country covers album, Timeless) but its softness isn’t a reason to reject it outright. It’s a symptom of country music’s eternal, exhausting authenticity debate that pop-leaning love songs, often the exact songs that allow women to break through country radio’s gender barrier and find commercial success, continue to be written off as superficial.

To be fair, not all of McBride’s more commercial instincts are brilliantly rendered; “I Love You” still smacks of a “This Kiss” retread, while “There You Are” is bland even as piano ballads go. But for every “I Love You” or “There You Are,” there’s an “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” a 2011 cut about a breast cancer survivor who finds strength in the selfless love of her husband.

With its sweeping, string-laden sound, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” risks being the kind of “soccer mom” fodder that McBride and her female peers have long been dinged for. But it’s also lyrically sober and undeniably moving, the kind of serious story song that has all but disappeared from the format. The song gave McBride her last top ten country hit and final GRAMMY nomination to date, for Best Country Solo Performance. (In one of the music industry’s great injustices, McBride has 14 GRAMMY nominations and zero wins.)

“Just take my hand, together we can do it,” McBride sings in the chorus, returning to the egalitarian vision of love that made her ‘90s work so disarming. Here, as in “Wild Angels,” McBride sees love not as a negation of self but rather as a mutual source of empowerment. Is it any wonder that her songs endure?

Want more Good Country? Sign up on Substack to receive our monthly email newsletter – and much more music! – direct to your inbox.

Photo Credit: Martina McBride courtesy of Red Light Management.