Melba Montgomery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Melba Montgomery | ||
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 Melba Montgomery promotional photo.
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Melba Montgomery | |
| Born | October 14, 1938 | |
| Origin | Florence, Alabama | |
| Genre(s) | Country Music | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter | |
| Years active | 1963–Present | |
| Label(s) | United Artists, Capitol, Elektra | |
| Associated acts |
George Jones Charlie Louvin Gene Pitney |
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Melba Montgomery (born October 14, 1938 in Iron City, Tennessee) is an American Country Music singer, who is best known for her string of her duet hits with George Jones, Charlie Louvin and Gene Pitney. Montgomery's biggest duet hit had to be the song "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" with George Jones in 1963. Montgomery was also a successful solo singer in her own right. Her biggest solo hit was "No Charge".
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[edit] Early Life & Rise to Fame
Melba Montgomery was born in 1938 in Iron City, Tennessee. Although she was born in Iron City, she was raised in Florence, Alabama. Through her father, Montgomery gained her first musical exposure. Her father played the fiddle and guitar. He also taught vocal lessons at the town's Methodist church. Because of her love of the guitar, she got her very own guitar at 10 years old. Ten years later, in 1958, Montgomery and her brother won an amateur contest, which was held at WSM radio, which was at the old Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Montgomery impressed many people at the contest and one of them was legendary Country Music singer Roy Acuff. He was so impressed by Melba's talent, that he asked her if he wanted to go on on tour with Acuff and replace Acuff's other vocalist June Webb because Webb was planning on leaving his tour. Melba accepted Acuff's offer and went on tour with him for the next four years.
By 1962, Montgomery left the tour and decided to go solo signing with United Artists Records. She also released a self-penned album. She then met George Jones and teamed up with him to record a series of duets.
[edit] Recording Career
Together, George Jones and Melba made a lot of duet recordings. Their first joint venture together was a version of Montgomnery's self-penned song "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds". The song reached the Top 5 on the Country charts in 1963. The song was one of the duo's biggest hits together, and one of the biggest duet recordings in Country Music at the time. The duo's follow-up proved to be just as successful as "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds". The song was entitled "What's In Our Heart"/"Let's Invite Them Over". The song was a two-sided single that became a Top Twenty hit, still meaning it was a big hit. From 1963 to 1967, George Jones and Melba Montgomery made six Top 40 hits, as well as several LP albums. Among their albums included What's In Our Hearts(1963), Bluegrass Hootenanny(1964), Close Together (As You And Me)(1966), and Party Pickin'(1967). In between, Melba signed with Musicor Records in 1965. In 1966, she teamed up with Gene Pitney to record a duet album called Being Together. Together, the duo had one Top Twenty Country hit with "Baby, Ain't That Fine". She also continued to record with George Jones, releasing another duet hit with "Party Pickin'" which became their last duet hit making the Top 25 in 1967. Melba also had some solo hits as well but they were not as successful as her duets with George Jones and Gene Pitney.
In the late 60s, Montgomery maintained on her own a fairly modest solo career, with a few minor hits. She also switched labels in 1969 this time with Capitol Records. In 1970, Montgomery teamed up again with a country singer, this time with Charlie Louvin. They released two albums, Baby, You've Got What It Takes and Something to Brag About. Only one of their songs became a hit, however. This song was "Something to Brag About" from the album of the same name. The song was a Top 20 hit for the duo in 1970. The album was produced by well-known producer Pete Drake. After the success of "Something to Brag About", several more singles followed, the biggest of these included "Did You Ever" and "Baby, You Got What It Takes" both of which reached the Top 30 in 1971. In 1973, Montgomery and Louvin parted ways with each other. Although they separated, Montgomery still worked with the same producer the two had worked with as a duo, Pete Drake. Melba switched labels yet again in 1973 this time with Elektra Records. In 1974, Montgomery finally went solo again. Her single was entitled "No Charge", written by Harlan Howard, who also wrote the Country hits "I Fall to Pieces" and "Heartaches By the Number". "No Charge" was Montgomery's biggest solo hit, topping the Country charts in 1974, as well as just making the Top 40 on the Pop charts that year, Montgomery's only Pop entry. "No Charge" remains as one of Montgomery's signature songs. Montgomery was able to prove to people, she could be just as successful as a solo artist, as she could be successful in a duet partnership.
As a solo artist, Montgomery managed to score one more hit for herself, entitled "Don't Let the Good Times Fool You" in 1975. She also released an album of the same name. However, both that album and another album, Aching Breaking Heart, had little commercial success. She returned to United Artists Records in 1977 and scored a Top 25 hit with her version of "Angel of the Morning" in 1978. After that, Montgomery's chart success faded away rapidly, after more than several years of being on top.
[edit] Life Today
Since the height of her career, Montgomery remained touring throughout the country, as well as also at appearing at festivals. In 1988, Montgomery published a cookbook of her family's recipes. In 2001, she released an album entitled Golden Moments.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | U.S. Country Singles | U.S. Pop Singles | Album | |
| 1963 | "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" (with George Jones) | #3 | - | What's In Our Hearts | |
| 1963 | "Let's Invite Them Over" (with George Jones) | #17 | - | What's In Our Hearts | |
| 1963 | "What's In Our Heart" (with George Jones) | #20 | - | What's In Our Hearts | |
| 1964 | "Please Be My Love" (with George Jones) | #31 | - | Blue Moon of Kentucky | |
| 1965 | "Multiply the Heartaches" (with George Jones) | #25 | - | What's In Our Hearts | |
| 1966 | "Baby, Ain't That Fine" (with Gene Pitney) | #15 | - | Being Together | |
| 1967 | "Party Pickin'" (with George Jones) | #24 | - | Party Pickin' | |
| 1970 | "Something to Brag About" (with Charlie Louvin) | #18 | - | Something to Brag About | |
| 1974 | "No Charge" | #1 | #39 | No Charge | |
| 1975 | "Don't Let the Good Times Fool You" | #15 | - | Don't Let the Good Times Fool You | |
| 1975 | "Searchin' (For Someone Like You)" | #45 | - | Don't Let the Good Times Fool You | |
| 1978 | "Angel of the Morning" | #22 | - | Melba Montgomery |
[edit] Selected Albums
| Year | Album | |
| 1963 | America's Number One Country & Western Girl Singer | |
| 1964 | What's In Our Hearts (with George Jones) | |
| 1964 | Down Home | |
| 1966 | Close Together (with George Jones) | |
| 1966 | Being Together (with Gene Pitney) | |
| 1966 | Country Girl | |
| 1967 | Let's Get Together (with George Jones) | |
| 1967 | I'm Just Living | |
| 1967 | Melba Toast | |
| 1967 | Party Pickin' (with George Jones) | |
| 1970 | Something to Brag About (with Charlie Louvin) | |
| 1973 | No Charge | |
| 1975 | Aching Breaking Heart | |
| 1975 | Don't Let the Good Times Fool You | |
| 1992 | Do You Know Where Your Man Is | |
| 2001 | Golden Moments |
