Ollie Imogene Shepard — known professionally as Jean Shepard — was born in Oklahoma in 1933 but raised in California. She has been a pioneer for women in country music and is a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. After Kitty Wells’ 1952 breakthrough, Shepard quickly followed, and a national television gig and the Opry helped make her a star when few female country singers had enduring success. Her first hit, “A Dear John Letter” with Ferlin Husky — included in “The Best Of Jean Shepard” — was the first post-World War II record by a woman country artist to sell more than a million copies. It became a major crossover pop hit, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard pop chart. The song struck a chord with audiences as it was about a soldier in the Korean War, who receives a letter from his sweetheart back home telling him she was breaking up with him.

As a teenager growing up near Bakersfield, CA, Jean played bass in the Melody Ranch Girls, an all-female band formed in 1948. Hank Thompson discovered her a few years later, and helped her get a contract with Capitol Records in 1952. Three years after that, she joined ABC-TV's nationally telecast Ozark Jubilee for several years. She also charted her first solo top ten single, “A Satisfied Mind.”

In 1960, Jean married fellow Opry star Hawkshaw Hawkins, whom she had met on the Jubilee. He died three years later in the plane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. Jean gave birth to their son just one month later. Marty Robbins wrote a song called “Two Little Boys,” which he credited to Don and Harold Hawkins — Jean and Hawkshaw's two children — as a way to generate money for the boys and their recently widowed mother. Jean recorded this touching number in January 1964 and it is included in this CD.

In the early 1970s, Shepard had another huge hit with a Bill Anderson-penned tune, “Slippin’ Away.” Never afraid to speak her mind, Jean became embroiled in controversy when she served as president of the Association of Country Entertainers, formed in response to foreign-born pop singer Olivia Newton-John’s CMA Female Vocalist of the Year win in 1974. The organization was intended to keep country music “pure” and shunned the pop influences at the time.

In 2005, Jean celebrated 50 years as a member of the Opry and is the longest-living female member to date. You can still hear her many Saturday nights if you tune into WSM Radio, and she still sounds as good as ever. In 2011, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame — an accolade that was long overdue.

This CD is a nice survey of some of Jean's most popular songs, that she often sings during personal appearances. This is unadulterated, old-time country music at its best — without frills. Just good, solid singing by a woman whom fellow performers marvel is always on pitch, and whose diction is impeccable. It's fun to hear an “old pro” at work in front of the microphone, whether enjoying this CD or hearing her on a live radio broadcast. They don't make ’em like Jean anymore. And that's a shame, because a truly American art form is being lost.

Keep on keepin’ on Ms. Shepard! We’ll be listening!

To sample some of the tracks, click the speaker icon below to hear them. Then scroll down the page to order today!