"Texas" Jean Valli was a hillbilly music singer. [1] Born Gina Rozanna Vadala in 1926, [1] she was raised in Carbondale, Pennsylvania and started playing country-western music and yodeling at age 9 with her own radio show at age 13. [2] By age 17, she was not only an entertainer but also a promoter recruiting top country music stars to shows she promoted. [2] After high school she moved to Syracuse, New York where she got a job performing on country station WOLS. She later toured New York State including with country singer Hank Williams Sr. [3]
In the early 1950s she performed with Milton Berle when he hired her for his Kentucky Mountaineering Act, touring with him in the summer and playing clubs in Las Vegas, [2] as well as being featured on Berle's TV show for five years. [4] She played bass fiddle and guitar and wrote country songs, [5] and was considered one of the top female yodelers. [4] Also, she was known to be able to impersonate other artists such as Lefty Frizzell, Kitty Wells, and Wanda Jackson. [2] In 1970, she toured with Grand Ole Opry type country music shows and fairs. [6] She was an active performer around the same time as June Valli, which caused some mix-ups. [7]
Jean Valli befriended a young Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, who later took his stage name Frankie Valli from her. [5] [8] He said she took him under her wing and introduced him to people in the music business. [3]
Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer and occasional actor, best known as the frontman of the Four Seasons. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice.
Yodeling is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word yodel is derived from the German word jodeln, meaning "to utter the syllable jo". This vocal technique is used in many cultures worldwide. Recent scientific research concerning yodeling and non-Western cultures suggests that music and speech may have evolved from a common prosodic precursor.
Roy Linwood Clark was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and in helping to popularize the genre.
DeFord Bailey was an American singer-songwriter and musician, who was considered the first African American country music and blues star. He started his career in the 1920s and was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM's Grand Ole Opry, and becoming alongside Uncle Dave Macon one of the programs most famous performers. He was the first African-American performer to appear on the show, and the first performer to record his music in Nashville. Bailey played several instruments in his career but is best known for playing the harmonica, often being referred to as a "harmonica wizard".
Porter Wayne Wagoner was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour.
Alton Delmore and Rabon Delmore, billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneer singer-songwriters and musicians who were stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s. The Delmore Brothers, together with other brother duos such as the Louvin Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, the Monroe Brothers, the McGee Brothers, and The Stanley Brothers, had a profound impact on the history of country music and American popular music. The duo performed extensively with old time fiddler Arthur Smith as the Arthur Smith Trio throughout the 1930s.
Roselea Arbana "Rose" Maddox was an American country singer-songwriter and fiddle player, who was the lead singer with the Maddox Brothers and Rose before a successful solo career. Her musical styles blended hillbilly music, rockabilly and gospel. She was noted for her "reputation as a lusty firebrand", and her "colorful Western costumes"; she was one of the earliest clients of Hollywood tailor, Nathan Turk.
David Harrison Macon, known professionally as Uncle Dave Macon, was an American old-time banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Known as "The Dixie Dewdrop", Macon was known for his chin whiskers, plug hat, gold teeth, and gates-ajar collar; he gained regional fame as a vaudeville performer in the early 1920s before becoming the first star of the Grand Ole Opry in the latter half of the decade.
Norma Jean Beasler is an American country music singer who was a member of The Porter Wagoner Show from 1961–1967. She had 13 country singles in Billboard's Country Top 40 between 1963 and 1968, recorded twenty albums for RCA Victor between 1964 and 1973, received two Grammy nominations, and was a Grand Ole Opry member for several years.
Marilyn Jeanne Seely is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song "Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-inspired vocal delivery gave her the nickname of "Miss Country Soul". Seely has been a member of and performer on the Grand Ole Opry, having appeared more times on the program than any other performer.
Rhonda Lea Vincent is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
The DeZurik Sisters were a country-music duo. They were two of the first women to become stars on both the National Barn Dance and the Grand Ole Opry, largely a result of their original yodeling style.
Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard, was an American country singer who was considered by many writers and authors to be one of the genre's first significant female artists. Her early successes during the 1950s decade were said to influence the future careers of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.
Taylor Marie Ware is an American singer and yodeler from Franklin, Tennessee.
Marion Worth was an American country music singer. She was a popular performer on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. She also had several hits in the early 1960s.
Jimmy Yves Newman, better known as Jimmy C. Newman, was an American country music and cajun singer-songwriter and long-time star of the Grand Ole Opry.
Francis Edward Ifield OAM was a British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music.
Stanley Beresford "Donn" Reynolds was a Canadian country music singer and yodeler most widely known for his Bavarian style of yodeling. Often referred to as Canada's "king of the yodelers", Reynolds established two yodeling world records. He recorded 38 singles and six albums throughout a performing career spanning over 40 years.
Emilie Sunshine Hamilton, known professionally as EmiSunshine, is an American singer-songwriter from Madisonville, Tennessee, and a social media personality. Her performance of Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel No. 6" was posted on YouTube in 2014 and received over 1 million views and attention from the Today show (NBC) and Music Row. Her YouTube series, Americana Corner, featured Holly Williams for its debut episode and earned a feature story in Rolling Stone's country section.