Features – Page 22 – Country Universe

100 Greatest Women, #44: Skeeter Davis

May 23, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 7

100 Greatest Women #44 Skeeter Davis She was never supposed to be a solo act. Her high, thin voice made her perfectly suited to play harmony to another vocalist’s lead. But after a tragic car

100 Greatest Women, #45: Cousin Emmy

May 21, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 1

100 Greatest Women #45 Cousin Emmy Due to its continued existence and legendary roster, the Grand Ole Opry has long been the most well-known country radio show. But it wasn’t the only one, and each

100 Greatest Women, #46: Janie Fricke

May 20, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #46 Janie Fricke There aren’t that many singers who emerge from the background to become stars in their own right. Then again, there aren’t that many who are able to make six

100 Greatest Women, #47: Felice Bryant

May 19, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 6

100 Greatest Women #47 Felice Bryant With husband Boudleaux, Felice Bryant was part of the greatest songwriting team of her time, so fine at their craft that they wrote themselves into the Country Music Hall

100 Greatest Women, #48: Lulu Belle

May 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #48 Lulu Belle The Queen of All Radio. Lulu Belle was born Myrtle Eleanor Cooper in North Carolina, the daughter of a convicted moonshiner. Her dad moved her family all around the

100 Greatest Women, #49: Olivia Newton-John

May 17, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 4

100 Greatest Women #49 Olivia Newton-John One of the biggest female country stars of the seventies became one quite accidentally. Her mere presence in country music infuriated traditionalists, but her pop-flavored country foreshadowed the boundary

100 Greatest Women, #50: Jeannie C. Riley

May 16, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 5

100 Greatest Women #50 Jeannie C. Riley Her music was more outspokenly feminist than any of her contemporaries, but Jeannie C. Riley was on the receiving end of every sexist obstacle imaginable as she worked

100 Greatest Women, #51: Terri Clark

May 15, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 6

100 Greatest Women #51 Terri Clark When Mercury records launched Terri Clark in 1995, they billed her as country music’s first female hat act. Over the next decade, she’d show a lot more staying power

100 Greatest Women, #52: Juice Newton

May 14, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #52 Juice Newton The cross-pollination between pop and country music in the early eighties provided an opening for Juice Newton and her undeniably infectious aural confections. By the time that the hits

100 Greatest Women, #53: Jo Dee Messina

May 13, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 9

100 Greatest Women #53 Jo Dee Messina The first big post-Shania country star, Jo Dee Messina fully embodied the girl power movement of the late nineties, releasing catchy country-pop songs that were consistently from a