Last updated: 3 hours ago
b. Mary Ann Ward, 4 July 1935, Birmingham, Alabama, USA, d. 19 December 1999, Madison, Tennessee, USA. Ward learned to play piano as a child (later adding guitar) and after initially starting nursing training, decided to pursue a singing career. She first sang with her sister, before appearing on local radio and television in Birmingham. In 1957, she gained a number 12 US country hit with her self-penned ‘Are You Willing, Willie’, recorded on the tiny Cherokee label. In 1960, another self-penned song, ‘That’s My Kind Of Love’, recorded on Happy Wilson’s Guyden label, reached number 5, which resulted in her joining Columbia Records (she also married Wilson). She became a regular on WSM’s Friday Night Frolics. In 1961, her first Columbia hit, ‘I Think I Know’, made the Top 10, with the follow-up, ‘There’ll Always Be Sadness’, peaking at number 21. Between 1963 and 1968, she achieved eight more Billboard chart entries, with ‘Shake Me I Rattle’ and ‘Crazy Arms’ both making the Top 20. She also gained Top 25 status with ‘Slippin’ Around’, a duet with George Morgan. In 1967, she moved to Decca Records, but after the self-penned ‘Mama Sez’ in 1968, she failed to make the charts again. Her ability to change from sultry ballads to lively barn dance-type numbers made her a popular performer on the Grand Ole Opry, where she was deemed a singer’s singer, and she was one of the first country stars to play Carnegie Hall in New York. She continued to tour in the USA and Canada and, in later years, became a popular performer in various Las Vegas venues until her death in 1999.
Monthly Listeners
5,384
Monthly Listeners History
Track the evolution of monthly listeners over the last 28 days.
Followers
617
Followers History
Track the evolution of followers over the last 28 days.
Related Artists
Carl & Pearl Butler
June Stearns
Dottsy
Leon Ashley
Jim Reeves' Blue Boys
Ralph Emery
