Jean Shepard

Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016), was an American country singer who was considered one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her commercial success ran from the 1950s to the 1970s while also being a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 years. Shepard was born in Oklahoma and raised in California with her nine siblings. Having a musical upbringing, she formed an all-female country-music band, The Melody Ranch Girls. She was heard by country artist Hank Thompson, who helped her get her first recording contract at age 18 with Capitol Records. Her second single, "A Dear John Letter" with Ferlin Husky, topped the country charts in 1953. In 1955, she had her first solo single top-10 successes with "A Satisfied Mind", "I Thought of You", and "Beautiful Lies". During this period she was among the first female country performers to headline shows and be played consistently on country music radio.