Dottie West

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Dottie West
Dottie West at the height of her career in the early 80s, proving that female Country singers could have sex appeal.
Background information
Birth name	Dorothy Marie Marsh
Also known as	Dottie West
Born	October 11, 1932
Origin	McMinnville, Tennessee
Died	September 4, 1991
Genre(s)	Country, Pop, Countrypolitan
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1959–1991
Label(s)	Starday Records Atlantic Records RCA Records United Artists Records Liberty Records Permian Records
Associated acts	Shelly West, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Kenny Rogers, Jim Reeves, Don Gibson, Jimmy Dean, Lynn Anderson, Dolly Parton
Website	Dottie West Official Site

Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American Country Music singer. Her career spanned as one of the longest in Country Music history, her chart success spanning from 1963, up until 1985. Her biggest hits include the Grammy-winning "Here Comes My Baby", "Country Sunshine", "What Are We Doin' In Love", "A Lesson in Leaving" and "Are You Happy Baby".

According to CMT.com, she has been considered one of the most successful and most controversial stars to rise to popularity during the height of the Nashville Sound in the 1960s.

[edit] Childhood & Early Life

Born in Frog Pond, Tennessee, she was the first of Hollis and Pelina Marsh's 10 children. Her mother came from a middle class family, and married Hollis Marsh at 16. An alcoholic, he ran moonshine out of the family's house and rarely worked; as a result, the family rarely had enough to eat. Many times, Pelina would go outside and pick blackberries for the family to eat in their meals, and did work for their neighbors to support the family. They were often paid with vegetables, however, rather than money. Hollis would play the fiddle and guitar, while Pelina would sing; their daughter took up the guitar soon after.

Hollis Marsh was by most accounts a violent drunk, and started whipping his oldest daughter when she was only a baby. He began molesting her when she was 12. The abuse went on for five years, until Hollis told her to move with him to Detroit, Michigan (where he had gotten a new job) to do his housework. Panicked, she told her high school principal about the abuse. He had her father arrested and called the sherriff, with whom she lived with for a few months. She later testified against her father in court. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Pelina moved the children to nearby McMinneville, where she got a job at a factory.

In high school, she joined a band called The Cookskins. She worked many part-time jobs to help pay for music lessons and save up for college. In 1951, she enrolled in Tennessee Technological University on a scholarship, majoring in music.

[edit] Rise to Success

She met her future husband, Bill West, a steel guitar player, at a college talent show. They soon formed their own ban called the Tech Two-By-Fours, which played at events around Cookeville. In summer 1952, the couple were married just before the start of her sophomore year. By 1955, the couple had two sons, William and Kerry. West dropped out of college to take care of her children. The family moved to Cleveland, Ohio after Bill West got a job there as an engineer. Bill West was also a guitarist on the TV program Landmark Jamboree, and recommended to the show's producer that they audition his wife as a female vocalist. She got the part, and performed on the show for five years until it was cancelled.

Bill and Dottie West went on a vacation over to Nashville in 1959, and auditioned for every record company in town. After being repeatedly turned down, they were signed to Starday Records. She recorded her first song called "Angel on Paper". While the record was not a commercial success, it got attention from the owners of the Grand Ole Opry, who invited her to sing there.

This scrapbook was given to Dottie by one of her best friends, Patsy Cline, shortly before Cline's death in 1963.

The couple decided to officially move to Nashville in 1961. That year, she gave birth to a daughter, Shelly, who would later have her own career as a country singer in the 1980s. The couple met many songwriters around Nashville during this time, like Willie Nelson, Roger Miller and Kris Kristofferson, all of whom taught her about songwriting. Around this time, she also met country singer Patsy Cline, who would become one of her best friends. Cline hired Bill West as a guitarist for her band, and Dottie came along to help with the wardrobe. Cline would sometimes lend them money by check to help pay their rent. Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in 1963 while coming home from a gig in Kansas City, Missouri.

Around this time, West also met country singer Jim Reeves. One night, she pitched Reeves a song, and he recorded it. West won a BMI Writers Award for songwriting. Reeves helped her land a recording contract with RCA Records. They decided to record an album together entitled Love Is No Excuse. They released the title track as a single, which made the Country Top Ten in 1964. That year, Reeves died in a plane crash.

[edit] Recording Career In the 60s and 70s

West released her first single under RCA Records in 1963, entitled "Let Me Off At the Corner". The song reached the Country Top 30 that year. In 1964, she officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. She also signed with Tree Publishings with her husband so they could continue songwriting. In 1964, West recorded a self-penned song called "Here Comes My Baby". The song was a hit, making it to #10 on the Country charts, and became her first Top Ten hit. The song won her a BMI award. In 1965, she won a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She was the first person to win for the category, and the first female country singer to win a Grammy. For the rest of the 1960s, West would continue to make hit records. Other hit songs include "Before the Ring on Your Finger Turns Green" (1966), "Would You Hold It Against Me" (1966), "Like a Fool" (1967), "Paper Mansions" (1967) and "Reno" (1968).

In 1969, West recorded a series of duets with Don Gibson which included "Rings Of Gold" which went to number 2 in 1969 and was Dottie's biggest country hit up to that point and "There's A Story Goin' Round" which was a Top Ten hit in 1970. She continued to tour and perform across the country and the world. In 1971, she recorded an album with singer Jimmy Dean. They recorded a Top 30 hit together that year called "Slowly".

The Esssential Dottie West album cover. This album featured all of West's hits from her years at RCA Records. The photograph of Dottie here was most likely taken back in the 1960s.

In January 1971, West worked with Dean in Las Vegas. There, she met apsiring songwriter Larry Gatlin. West was impressed with his demos, and got him a plane ticket to Nashville. She introduced Gatlin to some of the big names in Nashville, like Jeannie Seely, Kris Kristofferson and Hank Cochran. She jumpstarted Gatlin's professional career.

At around this time, West signed a contract with the Coca Cola company, after she wrote and recorded the song "Country Girl", which the company planned to release in one of their string of country music-themed commercials. West also wrote "Country Sunshine" for the campaign. The commercial and the song became a huge success, so much so that West recorded the song to release as a single. The song became one of her biggest hits on the Coutry charts, reaching #2 in 1973 and reaching the Top 50 on the pop charts. West was offered a lifetime contract with Coca Cola to write commercial jingles for them, as well as a lifetime supply of their product. She won a Clio award in 1974 for the song.

West and her husband divorced in 1972 after 20 years of marriage. She soon married Byron Metcalf, the drummer of her band, who was 12 years her junior. At around this time, she revamped her onstage image, wearing more revealing clothing and affecting a sultry onstage persona.

By the mid 1970s, her career was stalling; Her last major hits for RCA Records were in 1974 with "Last Time I Saw Him" and "House Of Love". After that, her singles were only minor hits.

[edit] The Height of Her Career In the Late 70s & Early 80s

West left RCA in 1976 and signed with United Artists Records and in 1977 she was back in the Top 20 on the country charts with "When It's Just You And Me" and "Come See Me and Come Lonely". Around this time, she had a chance meeting with Country Pop crossover singer Kenny Rogers. In 1978, they recorded a duet album together called Every Time Two Worlds Collide. In 1978, they released the hit song "Every Time Two Fools Collide", which hit #1. They recorded two duet albums together. Rogers and West became one of the most successful country duet groups of all time; Their concerts packed stadiums and superdomes across the country. They both won awards for their work together, and West suddenly had a whole new audience. They had a couple of other duet hits together between 1978 and 1979, like "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (1978), "Til' I Can Make It On My Own" (1979) and "All I Ever Need Is You" (1979).

Kenny Rogers and Dottie West performing.

By 1980, Rogers and West parted ways, as Rogers wanted to focus on revitalizing his solo career. In 1979, West released a solo album called Special Delivery, and a single called "You Pick Me Up and Put Me Down". Her songs now focused more towards the more popular Countrypolitan style. The song became a big success in 1979, and reached #12 on the country charts. In 1980, she released another single called "A Lesson in Leaving", which became her first #1 country hit as a solo act. It even went as far as to reaching the low ends of the pop charts. (The song was later covered in 1999 by Jo Dee Messina, who dedicated the song to West). Another hit song that year called "Leavin's For Unbelievers" reached the Country Top Twenty. At the age of 48, West had reached the height of her career.

In 1981, West released another album called Wild West. It featured her second (and last) #1 hit, "Are You Happy Baby". That year, she and Rogers reunited, recording a #1 duet hit called "What Are We Doin' In Love". This time, Rogers brought his crossover theme with him, when the song went to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, bringing West brief success in the pop charts. Around this same time, West updated her image, trading in her conservative gingham-checked dresses for skintight spandex jumpsuits. At this time she went from being known as "Little Miss Fireball" to "Lady Airbrush" virtually overnight. Her stage wardrobe was provided by Hollywood fashion designer Bob Mackie.

Dottie West at the height of her career in the early 1980s.

In 1980, West filed for divorce against her husband Byron Metcalf, citing his drinking and infidelity.

In 1982, West released her last Top 20 record, the title track from her album High Time. Her chart success began fading after the release of her album New Horizons. However, she began to focus on other careers. In 1982, West co-hosted the Academy of Country Music awards f, along with Mickey Gilley. In 1983, she played the lead role in the traveling stage production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She played the role over the summer for four weeks. In 1987, she had a featured role in the motion picture The Aurora Encounter, a science fiction film.

In 1983, she married her soundman, Al Winters, 22 years her junior. She also bought a colonial mansion outside of Nashville, which housed five bedrooms and sat on 40 acres of primeland.

[edit] Personal Problems

In 1985, West signed on with Permian Records and released the album Just Dottie Again, the biggest commercial failure of her career. It featured two singles that were released to the Country charts. Her second single called "We Know Better Now", went to #53 on the Country charts and was her last single ever released. By the late 80s, her records were barely selling and her marriage was failing. West and Simmons filed for divorce in 1990, and he sued her for $7,500. By this time, extravagant spending and a string of bad investments had left her nearly broke. In March, her Los Angeles manager sued her for $130,000. Her former manager sued her for $110,295. Her bank foreclosed her mansion outside of Nashville, and sent West an eviction notice on August 1, 1990. At this time, West owed the IRS $1.3 million dollars and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (she later switched to Chapter 7, which allowed her to liquidate her assets).

Dottie West's 1985 album Just Dottie Again. It failed to gain success on the charts.

Between 1990 and 1991, she toured with her daughter Shelly, and made many television appearances. In February 1991, West moved to Wessex Towers, a high-rise apartment complex in south western Nashville, and began attending the Springs Church of Christ.

In 1991, the IRS heard from an anonymous source that West was keeping belongings in a rented storage area in violation of her bankruptcy filing. The IRS later found the belongings, and warned her not to hide anymore valuables in her condominium. When the IRS came back for their next visit, they found more valuables and items, and brought in the FBI. West was looking at criminal charges for violating her bankruptcy. The IRS held a public auction of her belongings. West attended the auction and signed off on many of her belongings; some of the auctions attendees even gave her things back to her. The auction was a success and led West out of debt. She recorded her last song in July 1991 called "As For Me", a duet with Norwegian country singer Arne Benoni.

West planned to record and release an album with friends like Kenny Rogers and Roger Miller. Tanya Tucker and Tammy Wynette were planning on recording a single with her. West was also starting to write her autobiography.

[edit] Death & Legacy

On August 30, 1991, West was seriously injured in a car accident on the way to a performance at the Grand Ole Opry. She left her condominium at 8:00 PM on Friday in her Chrysler New Yorker Kenny Rogers had given her as a gift. The car stalled on Harding Road. A neighbor spotted her while driving and offered her a ride to the Opry, which she accepted. The neighbor was speeding around the exit for Briley Parkway and took the 25 mph exit around the corner at 55 mph. He lost control of the car, and it was tossed 181 feet across the grass, striking an enbankment of the ramp. The car went 80 feet in the air and hit the ground on the north side of the ramp. The accident happened at 8:11 PM. West did not know the extent of her injuries and pulled her neighbor out of the car first. When an ambulance came, she insisted he be taken to the hospital first.

A screenshot from the 1995 TV movie Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story starring Michele Lee.

West suffered a ruptured spleen and a lacerated liver. Her spleen was removed that Friday and, the following Monday, she underwent two more surgeries to stop her liver from bleeding. On September 4, 1991, during her third operation, West died in surgery at 9:43 AM, at the age of 58. Later that year, Family Feud dedicated a week of shows to her memory.

West's funeral was held at Christ Church on Old Hickory Boulevard. There were 600 friends and family attendees, including Emmylou Harris, Connie Smith, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash and Larry Gatlin. A couple of weeks later, President George H.W. Bush, a longitme fan for whom she had performed at the White House, expressed his condolences at the CMA Awards. Her hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee dedicated Highway 56 to her memory, naming it the Dottie West Memorial Highway.

In 1995, actress Michele Lee produced and starred in the made-for-TV biopic Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story that premiered on CBS. Although it received mixed reviews, it was one of the most successful TV movies in CBS history. In 2000, West was also honored with the BMI Golden Voice Awards with the "Female Golden Legacy Award". She was the second woman to win this type of BMI award, the first being her friend and mentor Patsy Cline.

[edit] The Hall Of Fame Campaign

While West was the first female country singer to win a Grammy, she has not been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. There have been many campaigns to try and get her elected, including a petition circulated on the web which will be presented to the CMA once the appropriate number of signatures has been collected.

[edit] Trivia

• West appeared as a guest in a Season 3 episode of The Dukes of Hazzard - "By-line, Daisy Duke."

• Kenny Rogers praised her as one of the best duet partners he ever worked with.

• She would often perform barefoot on stage.

• She was one of the first singers to record a song written by Jessi Colter, when she charted in 1965 with "No Sign of Living".

• West was ranked #23 in CMT 40 Greatest Women in Country Music in 2002.

• She loved to cook.

• She and Elvis Presley were close friends.

• Dottie West was the first person to ever win the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She won it in 1965.

• West appeared in the motion picture "Aurora Encounter"(1986), also starring Spanky McFarland and Jack Elam.

• She had two highly successful Showtime TV concerts: "Special Delivery"(1980) and "Full Circle"(1982).

[edit] Discography

[edit] Charted Singles

[edit] Albums

[edit] Awards & Nominations

[edit] External links

• Dottie West Official Site
• CMT.com: Dottie West
• The Petition Site to Get Dottie West Elected to Country Music Hall of Fame
• Dottie West's Gravesite
• Country Sunshine A Tribute To Dottie West