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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSMITH, Connie(b 14 August 1941, Elkhart IN) Country singer. One of 14 children, she sang in high school, worked on radio in West Virginia, switched to the Saturday Jamboree on WSAZ TV, got married and quit music but encouraged by her husband, Jack Watkins, she won a talent show '63, was spotted by Bill Anderson, moved to Nashville and signed with RCA in 1964. Her first single 'Once A Day' (written by Anderson) was a no. 1 country hit and won CMA Song of the Year. She made her TV debut on the Jimmy Dean show and notched up more than 30 hits, 14 more in the top ten; she switched to Columbia '74, Monument '77. She joined Grand Ole Opry '65, appeared on other TV shows, films Road To Nashville, Las Vegas Hillbillies, Second Fiddle To An Old Guitar. By the late '70s the hits were fading and she confined herself to gospel music and Opry appearances; she announced an intention to retire c.1980 but came back: a minor hit 'A Far Cry From You' '85 was on Epic. Fiddler Johnny Gimble told a charming story in an interview in 2010 with Barry Mazor in the Wall Street Journal. He was sessioning in Nashville and was often called by Bob Ferguson, who produced Smith, among others; when he played on Smith's 'If It Ain't Love' she wanted RCA to put Gimble's name on the label as a soloist, but they wouldn't do it, so, Gimble said, 'she enclosed a handwritten note with disc jockey copies that said "That fantastic fiddle is Johnny Gimble." That record was a major hit, so overnight every D.J. in the country knew who I was.' |