Grand Ole Opry trailblazer Jeannie Seely has died, aged 85.
The Grammy-winning country singer died in Tennessee on Friday (August 1) as a result of complications from an infection, her representative Don Murry Grubbs confirmed to Rolling Stone.
Her passing followed a spate of health issues that began last autumn, worsening following the death of her husband Gene Ward in December.
Known as “Miss Country Soul”, Seely performed for over five decades as a Grand Ole Opry member, appearing on the show over 5,000 times, with her biggest hits including ‘I’ll Love You More (Than You’ll Need)’, ‘Don’t Touch Me’ and ‘A Wanderin’ Man’.
Her tenure on the show saw her credited as the first female performer to wear a miniskirt on the Grand Ole Opry stage, ushering in a more progressive era and successfully lobbying for women to host the Opry.
Reflecting on how her style managed to shake up expectations placed on female country singers, she told Forbes: “I go down in history for the mini skirt, but the significance wasn’t what I was wearing, but that it broke the mould of what everybody else was wearing.”
“Everybody could now do their own thing,” she said in 2020. “That’s the significance of that.”
In the Opry’s tribute to Seely, the Nashville music venue nodded to her pioneering efforts, writing: “In her 57 years as an Opry member, she is recognized for changing the image of female country performers with her bold fashion statements, championed efforts to support and enhance women’s roles in the music industry and was quite proud to be the first female to host a segment of the Opry.
Dolly Parton, whose own distinct look was also a departure from country tradition, was among those paying tribute to the singer. “She was one of my dearest friends,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humor. We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed.”
At the time of Seely’s death, she held the record for the most performances at the Opry, having made her debut at the radio show in 1966, her last show falling in February of this year.
In an interview with Country Stars Central last year, she said her time at the Opry gave her the “greatest sense of pride”, and shared hopes of being remembered by country audiences for her voice and spirit.
“I hope that people will remember me as being a good person, number one, and I hope that they will remember me with a smile,” she said. “I hope that I have made people laugh, I hope that will be a good memory for everybody, and I hope they will remember that number one, I was still and still am a fan, I never stopped being a fan of country music and certainly never stopped being in awe of the Grand Ole Opry.
“I hope that they’ll remember that I was just one of them, I just sang and wrote songs for a living.”