Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely has passed away. Seely was 85 years old when she died on Friday, August 1, at a Nashville hospital.
Seely had been battling health issues since last fall. In the spring, she underwent multiple back surgeries for vertebrae repairs, along with two emergency abdominal surgeries.
In December, Seely’s husband, Gene Ward, passed away.
Jeannie Seely’s Path To Music
Seely was born on July 6, 1950, in Titusville, Pennsylvania. In 2024, “Home of Jeannie Seely” signs were unveiled in the nearby town of Townville, where she was raised on a farm.
Even at a young age, Seely was turning on WSM 650 to listen to the Grand Ole Opry. When she was 11, Seely began singing for a Saturday morning radio show, WMGW, and by age 16, she was performing on television station WICU in Erie, Pennsylvania.
After working for the Titusville Trust Company for three years, Seely moved to Los Angeles when she was just 21 years old. She ultimately took a secretarial position at Liberty and Imperial Records in Hollywood, a job that didn’t pay well but would give her an insider’s look into the music business. It was then that she began writing songs for Four Star Music, also working alongside Glen Campbell on the Hollywood Jamboree television series. Her talent earned Seely her own recording contract on Challenge Records.
In 1964, Seely won the Most Promising Female Artist Award Country and Western Academy, which later became the Academy of Country Music. One year later, Seely made the move to Nashville, where she resided until she passed away. Her first single, “Don’t Touch Me,” from her debut The Seely Style album made her only the third female country artist to receive a Grammy Award.
Seely spent the next 60 years releasing music. She appeared on Billboard’s country singles chart for 13 consecutive years. In 2024, she released “Suffertime,” which was supposed to be on her next album. A successful songwriter, she also had songs recorded by Dottie West, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Hank Williams Jr., among others.
Jeannie Seely And The Grand Ole Opry
Seely was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 16, 1967. She last performed at the Grand Ole Opry on February 22, which was her 5,937th performance, more than any other artist in the Opry’s 100-year history. Seely also made history on her own at the Opry, becoming both the first female to wear a miniskirt on stage, and the first female to host the show.
“I like to think that I’ve tried to approach things in the right manner,” Seely told Everything Nash. “I mean, you can’t come in demanding things. I saw things that I thought just weren’t right. I tried to present the change in a good way and not criticize what was being done, but just make everybody see how much better it would be, if we, for instance, opened the doors for women to host a portion of the Opry. They used to tell me it was tradition. And I said, ‘But somewhere along the way, it’s turned into discrimination.'”
Seely remained a proud supporter of the Grand Ole Opry until she passed away.
“The Opry has just absolutely been a way of life for me,” Seely said “Back as far as I can remember listening to it, that’s what our family looked forward to all week long, was to listening to the Opry. All the years of listening, and then to be a part of it — somewhere along the way, I realized that not only have I been fortunate to become a member of it, but it’s also a responsibility from now on to make sure the new people coming in really know the history and appreciate what a unique institution the Grand Ole Opry is. There’s absolutely nothing else like it.”
The One Dream Jeannie Seely Never Saw Fulfilled
Seely accomplished so much in her life and career. But the one dream she never saw fulfilled was to become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’d love to join all of my peers and friends at the Hall of Fame,” Seely told Everything Nash. “I think some people maybe look at it as an ego trip, but I don’t look at it that way. I think that’s just a validation of your life’s work. I look in there and see all of my friends and fellow Opry members, my peers in this business, and the other writers that I’ve been associated with and was fortunate enough to spend my life with. It would be nice to know that I could join them, and that hallowed ground there.”
Per a press release, Seley is survived by numerous friends, family members and her special cat, Corrie. Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days. Tonight’s Grand Ole Opry show will be dedicated to Seely.
Everything Nash extends our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.