Billie Jo Spears (born Billie Jean Moore; January 14, 1938 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She was known for a series of singles whose characters often represented women in assertive positions. Among these recordings was a song about sexual harassment ("Mr. Walker, It's All Over"), and a song about rekindling sexual desire ("Blanket on the Ground").
Spears was raised in a working-class Texas family. She made her first recording at age 13 on the Abbott label. Singer–songwriter Jack Rhodes discovered her early music and helped her secure a professional partnership with producer Kelso Herston. Under Herston's production, she had her first top-ten song with 1969's "Mr. Walker, It's All Over" (issued on Capitol Records). Several follow-up releases were not as successful, and after recovering from a vocal setback she returned to United Artists. Her second release was 1975's "Blanket on the Ground", which topped the American country chart and became a commercial pop success in several countries.
Spears followed with several more American top ten and top 20 country songs like "What I've Got in Mind", "Misty Blue", "If You Want Me", "'57 Chevrolet" and a cover of "I Will Survive". Spears continued to have success overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom where she had several more top 40 songs. In 1981, Spears left United Artists (now Liberty) and recorded several albums with British labels during the 1980s and 1990s. She also continued to tour throughout, most notably in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Spears married and divorced five times between the 1960s and 1990s. In 2011, Spears died of cancer aged 73.
Early life
Billie Jean Moore was born in Beaumont, Texas and was one of six children. Her father was a truck driver, while her mother worked as a shipyard welder and waitress. Moore was usually called "BJ" during her childhood and the nickname stuck throughout her adult life. She was routinely exposed to country music throughout her childhood. Her mother spent some of her free time performing as a guitarist in a western swing band called the Light Crust Doughboys.
Moore's sister Betty first had aspirations of becoming a country artist and even signed a recording contract, but she chose a domestic life over a professional career. In 1953, the company released her first single while she was still a teenager titled "Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys". The track was issued under the name "Billie Jo Moore". According to the Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century, the record brought in an estimated $4,200. However, a separate statement from The Independent claimed that the record only brought Moore $2000. She cut several singles that were issued by United Artists but failed to become successful. Her producer at the time was Kelso Herston, who would move to Capitol Records. Believing in her musical abilities, he helped her switch to Capitol in 1968. Spears's first single for the label was the song "Harper Valley PTA". Released at the same time was a competing version by Jeannie C. Riley which became the commercially successful version. Spears's next single, "He's Got More Love on His Little Finger", became her first to make the American Billboard country chart. It was followed later in the year by her debut studio album titled The Voice of Billie Jo Spears. and the top ten of the Canadian RPM Country Tracks survey. Capitol then issued Spears's second studio album of the same name, which reached the Billboard Top Country Albums top 30. The disc featured several new recordings that followed similar storylines to her top ten single and included a cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man".
thumb|left|Billie Jo Spears in a magazine advertisement for her 1972 single, "Souvenirs and California Memories".
Capitol released several follow-up singles by Spears that discussed social issues.
In 1970, Spears began working alongside Capitol producer George Richey. He attempted to move her music in an orchestrated pop direction. Through 1971, the singles "I Stayed Long Enough" and "It Could 'A Been Me" made the Billboard country top 40. "Blanket on the Ground" reached number one on the Billboard country chart, number 11 in Ireland among other countries. It became a best-selling album in the United Kingdom, receiving a "Silver" certification from the British Phonographic Industry. The comeback brought Spears the Top New Female Vocalist accolade from the Academy of Country Music Awards during this time. which was intended to be a single. According to the Independent, Spears cancelled the single following the death of Presley because she did not want to "exploit" his passing. It also reached number 21 on the American country chart and number nine on the Canadian country chart. In 1980, a song about walking away from a failed relationship ("Standing Tall") returned Spears to the top 20 of the American country chart and the top ten of the Canadian country chart.
1982–2011: Focus in the United Kingdom and final career years
In 1982, Spears signed with the United Kingdom-based label Ritz Records. The label received airplay on BBC Radio 2 and Spears was promised to receive airtime there. Her first label single was 1982's "Apologizing Roses". It was included on the Ritz studio album, BJ – Billie Jo Spears Today (1983). Along with new material, the disc also featured covers of "Seven Lonely Days" and John Anderson's "Swingin'". Spears also collaborated on a duet with Carey Duncan called "I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me". Its title track was issued as a single in 1983. Spears's final chart appearance in the United States was a cover of "Midnight Blue", which reached the Billboard country songs top 40 in 1984.
In 1991, Broadland International released Spears's next studio project titled Unmistakably. The disc contained ten songs, most of which were new recordings. Its only single was the track "One Smokey Rose", which originally reached the top ten on the Canadian country chart for Anita Perras. Spears also recorded several cuts at Broadland for an intended duets project, which never came to be. "The album never got finished and I don't know what happened to the money. It's pathetic and I'm very disappointed." she told journalist Spencer Leigh. Spears also recorded many of her most-popular songs for several low budget albums.
In the final years of her career, Spears continued to perform on a regular basis. Because of her notable following in the United Kingdom, Spears did most of her concert engagements there.
Writers and critics also highlighted the blues-influenced style of Spears's vocal delivery. AllMusic's Steve Huey called her "a perfect torch balladeer" with a "sultry, bluesy voice". Music writers also noticed Spears's characteristic twang in her vocal performances. Bufwack and Oermann commented that she had a "Texas accent as thick as salsa and twice as tangy." Kurt Wolff commented, "Her voice was strong and confident sort of a combination of Loretta Lynn twang and the swampy soul of Bobbie Gentry." Lorrie Morgan knew many of Spear's recordings about assertive women and cut Spears's "Standing Tall" for her 1995 compilation Reflections: Greatest Hits. Morgan also performed many of Spears's popular songs in her concerts, including "Silver Wings and Golden Rings".
Personal life and death
Spears was married a total of five times. The book Grassroots Music in the Upper Cumberland reported a brief marriage to Mike Edlin, another fellow musician. Finding Her Voice: This History of Women in Country Music explained that Spears married her third husband in 1975, who was fifteen years younger than she. His name was not given. Spears spoke of the age difference in the book, "I guess I just think young. If it was the other way around, no one would give it a second thought...You're only as young as you feel." From her various marriages, Spears had three children: Tim Pierce, Kevin Jones and Ronnie Jones. "I was singing too high and straining on the high notes. It took six months of total silence to recover. I lowered all my keys and I don't scream anymore," she said. In 1993, she underwent triple bypass heart surgery and made a full recovery.
A heavy smoker, Spears suffered from lung cancer in her final years. In her autobiography, singer and friend Philomena Begley spoke of how Spears became increasingly weaker and frail shortly before her death. Begley also said that Spears continued to smoke despite her diagnosis. Spears chose to spend her final days in hospice care at her home in Vidor, Texas.
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| Record World
| Most Promising Female Vocalist
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| 1970
| Billboard
| Top Female Vocalist – Singles
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| 1971
| Record World
| Top Female Vocalist
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| 1975
| Billboard
| Top Female Vocalist – Singles and Albums
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| rowspan="2"| 1976
| Academy of Country Music Awards
| Most Promising Female Vocalist
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| Cash Box
| rowspan="3"| Top Female Vocalist
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| 1977
| rowspan="2"| Record World
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| 1979
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| rowspan="2"| 1980
| Grammy Awards
| Best Female Country Vocal Performance – "I Will Survive"
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| rowspan="2"| Record World
| rowspan="2"| Top Female Vocalist
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| 1981
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| 2010
| Vidor Walk of Fame
| Inducted
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References
References
Books
External links
- Billie Jo Spears at Internet Movie Database