Ladies Lineup Trivia Quiz

As The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle with Chet Atkins, the group released its first record on February 2, 1949. This group (Maybelle Carter and her daughters June Carter Cash, Helen Carter, and Anita Carter) formed in 1943, and is often considered an iteration of The Carter Family (Sara Carter, her husband A. P. Carter, and her sister-in-law Maybelle Carter), who were active between 1927 and 1956. The Carter Family stopped recording at the end of a contract in 1943, and Maybelle organised her daughters, then aged between 10 and 16, into a recording and performance group. Their work was a combination of the material from the Carter Family and other influences such as vaudeville.

As they gained regular work, they moved to larger venues, and in 1948 added Chet Atkins to the lineup. That was the combination that recorded 'Why Do You Weep, Dear Willow' in 1949. Over time, as the girls matured, Maybelle moved further into the background, and the act featured her daughters. In 1950 they got a job at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee; they worked there for about ten years, by which time they were one of the biggest names in country music. In 1960 their name was changed again to The Carter Family, the original users of that name being no longer engaged in active performance.

They continued to perform both as a group and as individuals through the 1970s, during which time June married Johnny Cash, and the group started making regular appearances on his television show. Following Maybelle's death in 1978 this version of The Carter Family became defunct, but Helen and Anita did use that name for some recordings they made with their children in the 1980s, and there were a few reunion performances of all three sisters.

Kitty Wells, whose birth name was Ellen Muriel Deason, released the groundbreaking 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels' in 1952. This song made her the first female country singer to make it to number one on the US country charts, as well as becoming the first individual female recognised as a star of country music. Prior to this she had been performing with her husband's band, but found the general attitude that women had to be in the background of the performance discouraging. She was approached by someone from Decca Records to record an "answer song" to Hank Thompson's hit 'The Wild Side of Life', which had the lyric "I didn't know God made honky tonk angels", and a cynical attitude to promiscuous women who hang around bars waiting to lead men astray. The reply (controversially at the time) shifted the blame away from the women and onto the men, a tradition that has been carried on by many other female singers.

While many radio stations refused to play the song, due to its immoral lyrics, and she was not allowed to perform it at the Grand Ole Opry, it became a hit - so many who heard it made sure that the word was spread. Sales sent it to the top of the country chart for six weeks, as well as crossing over to make number 27 on the pop chart, and her career was off and running! In 1956 she became the first woman to release a solo country album ('Kitty Wells' Country Hit Parade', a compilation of her hits to that point), and continued to have hits through the 1970s, although not as wildly popular by the end as in the early days.

The legacy of Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley) is immense, considering that she died in an airplane crash at the age of 31! She signed with Four Star Records in 1954, and released her first single, 'A Church, a Courtroom, Then Goodbye' in 1955. Its sales were such that it could be called a minor hit, nothing like the success she was later to experience with later songs. After she sang 'Walkin' After Midnight' on 'Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts' in 1957, it became a major hit on both the country and pop charts.

After a break to get married and have a child, she moved to Decca Records in 1960, and released 'I Fall to Pieces' in 1961, gaining her the top spot on Billboard's country chart. Another career pause was caused by a serious car accident, following which she recorded 'Crazy', another massive hit. A steady stream of popular releases followed, cut short by her death in 1963. In 1973 she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the first female performer to do so.

If you've seen the 1980 movie 'Coal Miner's Daughter', or read the 1976 autobiography on which the film was based, you will be familiar with the background from which Loretta Lynn emerged to have a career that spanned six decades, from her first single in 1960 ('I'm a Honky Tonk Girl') through her 50th studio album ('Still Woman Enough'), released in 2021. Many of her songs focussed on philandering husbands and neglected women, reflecting some of the difficulties of her lengthy, but rocky, marriage to the man she married at 15, Doo Lynn, who died in 1996.

Loretta Lynn started singing in clubs as a teenager, and won a televised talent quest in 1959 which led to a recording contract. The early sessions concentrated on songs which she both wrote and performed, including 'I'm a Honky Tonk Girl', which became a hit due to relentless promotion by Loretta and her husband. The single reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, number 12 on Music Vendor, and number 30 on Cash Box.

Lynn joined the Garnd Ole Opry in 1962, and credited Patsy Cline's mentorship as playing a significant role in her career, which was beginning to take off. She signed with Decca and released 'Success', the first in a long string of top ten hits. In 1967 'Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)' gave her the first of many number one hits on the country charts.

During the 1970s, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty performed as a duo, producing five number one hits in a row, while she also continued her solo career. In 1972 the two beat out the pairs of George Jones/Tammy Wynette and Porter Wagoner/Dolly Parton to be named Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA), while she was named Female Vocalist of the Year. She was later named by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) the Artist of the Decade for the 1970s.

Her career continued, with some highs and lows, until a stroke in 2017 and a broken hip in 2018 made touring too difficult. By the time she died in 2022, she had achieved 24 number one singles and 11 number one albums.

Even those who have no interest in country music have probably heard of Dolly Parton, possibly from her work in film: she had a lead role in, and wrote and performed the title track for, the 1980 comedy '9 to 5', and followed this with 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' in 1982; both performances earned her Golden Globe nominations, and she has continued to pursue a career in acting as well as music.

But it is the music that features here, starting with her debut album, 'Hello, I'm Dolly', released in 1967. I won't even try to list some of the awards she has received - they are so numerous that it gets boring to read them all, but it seems unfair to overlook any. Suffice it to say that she has achieved massive recognition for her work, including having songs that made it to the country music charts in seven decades! Her musical roots are in country music, but she has also had success in pop ('Here You Come Again' made it to number 20 on the Billboard 100 in 1977, as well as number one on the country chart) and '9 to 5' hit number one on both of those charts, as well as the adult-contemporary chart.

Dolly Parton wrote over 3,000 songs, including 'I Will Always Love You' - written in 1974 as a farewell to her partnership with Porter Wagoner as she planned to pursue a solo career. It was rerecorded for the soundtrack of 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas', and hit the charts for a second time, then reached an international audience when Whitney Huston sang it as the theme song for her 1992 debut film, 'The Bodyguard'.

Dolly and Emmylou are probably the two women who are the hardest to sort here, because their careers started at much the same time, and they also made a number of recordings together, including the 1987 album 'Trio', which also included Linda Ronstadt. Emmylou Harris started as a folk singer, and 1969's 'Gliding Bird' (on which her name was shown as Emmy Lou) was about half folk, with the rest showing her eclectic musical interests. The company which released this album folded shortly afterwards, and Emmylou later considered that she had not really her found her own voice, and considered her 1975 album 'Pieces of the Sky' to be her "real" first album. That country-rock album certainly was the one that launched her career, and she continued in that genre - although most albums included other material.

While she included a wide range of material on her albums, both covers and self-written, the singles released from them were mostly chosen to gain success on the country charts, and they did so. During the 1990s she spent some time as president of the Country Music Foundation, as well as becoming an official member of the Grand Ole Opry. During this time, she began extensive collaboration in writing and recording, as well as producing a number of albums for which she wrote all the material. In 2018 she was one of seven artists presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."

Brenda Gail Webb, younger sister of Loretta Lynn, released 'Crystal Gayle' in 1975. The recording company didn't want her to use Brenda, as they already had Brenda Lee under contract, and wanted to keep the name unique. Her sister suggested Crystal, and she used her middle name with a slight spelling modification as her new surname.

Trying to establish herself independently of her sister, she moved her style towards a country-pop crossover, achieving success with the 1977 single 'Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue', which topped the country chart and made number two on the Billboard Hot 100, along with a number of international charts. It also earned her a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

While never abandoning her country roots, Crystal Gayle added other genres to her recordings. 'Someday' (1995) was a collection of gospel songs; 'Crystal Gayle Sings the Heart and Soul of Hoagy Carmichael' (1999) included both jazz and American standards; 'In My Arms' (2000) was an album of children's music. In 2017 she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by her sister.

Mother Naomi and daughter Wynonna released an EP (extended play record, with six songs in the vinyl edition, ten on the cassette) in 1984, titled 'Wynonna & Naomi'. The EP made it into the charts, and one of the singles, 'Mama He's Crazy' became their first number one hit (the first of six in a row) and earning a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The full-length album 'Why Not Me' was released later that same year, and sold over a million albums.

The Judds had a string of hit albums and singles through the 1980s, before disbanding in 1991, when Naomi's health issues forced her into retirement. Wynonna continued as a solo performer, releasing over 20 singles, including four that made it to number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, and multiple albums.

Although Naomi had retired, the Judds performed a number of reunion shows, with the final one on 11 April 2022. Nineteen days later, the day before they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Naomi succumbed to the depression that had plagued her for years and shot herself. The tour they had planned for later that year went ahead with a number of country stars joining Wynonna in tribute to her mother.

Laura Lynch, Robin Lynn Macy, and sisters Martie and Emily Erwin formed the Dixie Chicks in 1989, playing bluegrass and country standards. In 1990 they released 'Thank Heavens for Dale Evans' on an independent label. In those early days they dressed as cowgirls, making the reference to the singer-songwriter whose face was familiar from her appearance on television with her husband Roy Rogers quite apt.

There have been a number of changes to the group over the years. In 1992 Robin Lynn Macy left to concentrate more on bluegrass. In 1995 Laura Lynch was replaced by Natalie Maines, and the group took on a more contemporary sound (and look). Martie and Emily both married, taking on their husbands' names. It was this lineup that began to experience serious commercial success, starting with 'Wide Open spaces', released in 1998. This album sold over 12 million copies, charted on both country and pop charts, and garnered multiple industry awards. Their 1999 album 'Fly' debuted at number one, and again sold over 10 million copies, making them the first country band and the first female band of any genre to have two successive releases certified as RIAA diamond albums.

Controversy over their stated opposition to US military involvement in Afghanistan in 2003 led to a cutback in their recording and touring for a time, but they didn't go away. In 2020, partly as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and partly because they had long felt it was a silly teenage name, they dropped Dixie from their name, becoming The Chicks. Under this new name they released their first album in 14 years, 'Gaslighter'.

Shania Twain's self-titled debut studio album was a commercial failure upon release in 1993, but there was much more to come from this Canadian singer, who was to go on to be proclaimed the Queen of Country Pop. She had little input into that first album, and has basically ignored the music on it in live performances, building her sets on material released on and following the phenomenally successful albums 'The Woman in Me' (1995) and 'Come on Over' (1997). The former sold over 20 million copies and earned a Grammy. The latter sold over 40 million copies, becoming (according to Guinness World Records) the best-selling studio album by a female solo performer, the best-selling country album and the best-selling album by a Canadian. The twelve singles released from 'Come on Over' included 'That Don't Impress Me Much' and 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman!', international hits. Her fourth album, 'Up' was released in 2002, and sold over 20 million copies, making her the first female singer to have three consecutive albums certified Diamond by the RIAA.

In 2004 Shania Twain took a break for health reasons (Lyme disease and dysphonia), releasing her next single in 2011, and her next album in 2017. She has had several residencies in Las Vegas, and continued to record and tour following her recovery. In 2016 she was designated as a Billboard Women in Music Icon, which is "given to a female artist of extraordinary accomplishment, who has made historic contributions to the industry and artistry." She was the third woman to receive this award, following Debbie Harry (2008) and Aretha Franklin (2014).