Features – Page 26 – Country Universe

100 Greatest Women, #41: Lucinda Williams

May 25, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 10

100 Greatest Women #41 Lucinda Williams When Time dubbed Lucinda Williams “America’s Greatest Songwriter” in 2001, it wasn’t exactly a news bulletin to those who had followed her career for the previous two decades. She

100 Greatest Women, #42: Patsy Montana

May 25, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 7

100 Greatest Women #42 Patsy Montana It’s always tricky to measure an artist’s impact by just looking at the record sales. But any way you slice it, selling a million copies of a record during

100 Greatest Women, #43: Aunt Molly Jackson

May 24, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 3

100 Greatest Women #43 Aunt Molly Jackson Country music has long been credited as speaking for the common man. Alan Jackson sang of the “Little Man” in the late nineties, while Merle Haggard sang the

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