Girls of the Golden West

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The Girls of the Golden West
The origianl Girls of the Golden West
Background information
Origin	Mt. Carmel, Illinois
Genre(s)	Country music
Years active	1933- Early 1960s
Label(s)	Bluebird Records, Bluebonnet Records
Former members
Dolly and Millie Good

The Girls of the Golden West (Mildred Fern Good & Dorothy Laverne Good) were a female country music girl group that was popular during the "Western Era" of Country music in the 1930s and 40s. With Mildred born in 1913 and Dolly born in 1915 in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, they became one of the most popular Country acts of the 30s and 40s and were one of the key developers of women in country music and western music.

1 Rise to Fame
2 The Height of Their Career & Decline
3 Sources
4 External Links

[edit] Rise to Fame

The Girls of the Golden West were originally from Mt. Carmel, Illinois. They had enetertained friends and family in their early years before they worked on a radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, and then later moving to the WLS National Barn Dance in 1933. This was home plate at the time for Country music pioneers Gene Autry and Patsy Montana. Another man who was with WLS at the time called, Bradley Kincaid would later work with the girls in their recordings. They first started recording for Bluebird Records in 1933, where they stayed for quite some time. They named themselves the Girls of the Golden West, taken from the popular opera by Puccini called The Girl of the Golden West. They started singing some great newly written music like "Put My Little Shoes Away" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" and this made them stars.

The Girls of the Golden West were one of the most popular acts of the 1930s and 40s and were one of the few women that were to be found in Country music. In a male-dominated genre, it was often hard for women to gain the sense of equality their male counterparts had during this time. This is why the Girls of the Golden west had worked so hard to preserve what they had and keep strong because if they gave up, their careers could end quickly. The Girls also had kept a fictious story of their life. They would claim they were from Muleshoe, Texas but in reality, they were nothing more than farming girls form Illinois. However, this was all part of the image of the "Western Music" craze theme thaht swept across the nation in the 1930s and 40s. They would normally wear Cowgirl western-style outfits for their appearances on television programs across the nation, which was once again part of this "western" theme.

[edit] The Height of Their Career & Decline

the Girls of the Golden West were pioneers in Country music at the time. This was because there were few women at the time in country music, like for example Patsy Montana, The girls would inspire a whole new breed of country music singers like Kitty Wells, Jean Shepard and Patsy Cline. They would also inspire a short-lived Country girl group called the The Davis Sisters (country). It was amazing at the time to see women in Country music because by most records companies, they wouldn't be accepted. The Girls of the Golden West still remained a popular group, with other songs like "Lonesome Cowgirl" and "Silvery Moon of the Golden Gate", which without a doubt became their signature tune. Later in their careers, they performed one more television shows like Renfro Valley Barndance and Boone County Jamboree. Toward the end of the 40s, their careers faded more and more as the "Western" craze was fading away. They also later moved from WLS to WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. After this, they occasionally performed and had even recorded again in the early 60s, just when female's were gaining their mainstay in Country music. In 1967, Dolly Good died and later in 1993, Millie Good died, leaving a long-lasting legacy on Country music behind.