Tracy Lawrence
A native of East Texas, Tracy Lawrence has country music bred into his bones. Tracy Lee Lawrence was born into a large family in Deep East Texas in Atlanta in 1968. The family moved to Arkansas during his boyhood, but Tracy learned to play guitar and sang in the Methodist church choir. His mother hoped he would become a minister, but Tracy longed for a career in music.
His "crazy music dream" brought him into clubs, performing from the age of 15. Within two years he joined a Honky Tonk Band. In 1986 he enrolled in Southern Arkansas University, studying Mass Communications for two years. Tracy began singing for another band, but when that group broke up, he moved to Nashville. He performed impressively at several Nashville bars and nightclubs and won local talent competitions. Within just seven months he signed with the Nashville Division of Atlantic Records.
His debut album was Sticks and Stones. But prior to its release, Tracy and a young lady he was escorting were attacked by three armed men who were intending robbery and sexual assault. Tracy courageously resisted the attack, allowing his companion to escape. But Tracy was shot four times, causing the release of his album to be delayed while he recovered from surgery.
Sticks and Stones finally was released late in 1991, and four singles, including the title song, charted on Billboard's Hot Country Songs. Sticks and Stones was certified platinum by the Recording Industry of America and in 1992 Billboard Magazine named Tracy Lawrence Top New Male Vocalist.
Tracy's second album, Alibis, was released in 1993 and was certified double platinum for the shipment of two million copies. Four singles from the album soared to the Number One position on the Hot Country Charts between early 1993 and early 1994. Tracy co-wrote several of the album's songs.
Tracy's 1994 album, I see It Now, also was certified platinum, while the title track rose to Number Two on the Country charts. "As Any Fool Can See" also went to Numer Two and "Texas Tornado" became a Number One hit, while "If the World Had a Front Porch" also reached Number Two.
In 1995 Tracy released Tracy Lawrence Live, which was compiled from 40 different live shows. His fourth studio album, Time Marches On, released in 1996, became a double platinum album by 2000. "Time Marches On" reached Number One on Hot Country Songs and was nominated for Single of the Year.
Tracy contined to record studio albums at a steady pace, numbering 18 by 2022. In addition Tracy released two Christmas albums, All Wrapped Up in Christmas (2007) and Frozen Time (2018). The Rock (2007), a Christian country album, received strong reviews, including Todd Shelton's assessment that Tracy "sounds as comfortable singing songs about the Lord as he does straight country."
There have been four compilations: Tracy Lawrence Live (1995); The Best of Tracy Lawrence (1998); Then and Now, The Hits Collection (2005); and The Very Best of Tracy Lawrence (2007). Eight of his titles have reached Number One on Billboard, most recently "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" in 2007, which was named Vocal Event of the Year by the CMA and the Adademy of Country Music Awards in 2008.
Tracy and his wife Becca married in 2000, and they are the parents of two daughters, Skylar and Mary. Tracy continues to pursue a busy recording and performing career, and he is a welcome addition to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
Barbara Mandrell
During the 1970s I attended a concert at the State Fair Auditorium in Shreveport. The headliners were the Statler Brothers, who were at the height of their popularity, and who presented a delightful musical and comedy show. But the lead-in act also was spectacular: Barbara Mandrell and her band, The Do-Rites.
Barbara Mandrell was only in her 20s, but I had played a number of her recordings as a DJ over KGAS Radio. I knew that she was a lovely young woman who sang energetically and who played a number of instruments. But when her show opened I had no idea what a brilliant performance was about to explode across the audience.
Barbara immediately captivated the audience, singing one powerful number after another in her husky voice. She darted from one instrument after another, playing memorably on the pedal steel guitar before seizing a banjo, then a saxophone, an accordian, a Dobro, a bass, a mandolin, and a guitar. She commanded every instrument, and played and sang with frenetic energy. Her vocals ranged from country to R&B to gospel to country pop to soul.
It was a stunning hour. Audience members were left drained, and I could only imagine how Barbara felt after giving us such a bravura performance. She already was recording albums, and no one was surprised when an astonishing number of awards and accolades was presented to her.
Barbara Ann Mandrell was born in Houston, on Christmas Day in 1948, the oldest of three pretty and talented daughters of Irby and Mary Ellen Mandrell. Barbara's mother taught her music, and her father opened a music store when the family moved to California. The Mandrell Family Band was formed, and Barbara played saxophone in her school marching band. She became a regular on Town Hall Party, a syndicated TV show hosted by Tex Ritter. During summer breaks, Barbara performed in Las Vegas, and because she was a minor, she roomed with Patsy Cline. During this period the Mandrell Family toured military bases in the region.
One of the members of the Mandrell Family Band was Ken Dudney. Ken and Barbara married in 1967, had three children, and Barbara quit performing to be a mother and housewife. But while visiting her parents in Nashville, Barbara attended a performance of the Grand Ole Opry, and she announced a sudden revelation: "I wasn't cut out to be a member of the audience."
She soon signed a recording contract, and in 1970 she was named Most Promising New Female Artist by the Academy of Country Music. Barbara charted with such songs as "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home," "After Closing Time," "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed," "Woman to Woman," "If Loving You is Wrong I Don't Want to be Right," and "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool." She won Grammy Awards for gospel recordings.
There was an astonishing parade of awards: CMT Most Promising Female Vocalist (1978); Entertainer of the Year (1980); Top Female Vocalist (1981); Favorite Country Female Artist (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987); CMT Female Artist of the Year (1979, 1981, 1982), CMT Instrumentalist of the Year (1982); CMT Living Legend of the Year (1985); Minnie Pearl Award (1991). She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1972 and of the Southern Gospel Association in 2009.
In 1980-81 and 1981-82 she headlined a television variety show, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell SistersI. Enormously popular, the show attracted a weekly audience of 40 million viewers, but Barbara's pace was taking a toll on her voice. On medical advice, she stepped away from the show after two seasons, although she made guest appearances on other shows and at the Grand Ole Opry. (By Bill O'Neal)
Louise Mandrell
"Yellow Rose of Texas" Texas Legislature, 1981
"Official Sweetheart of Tennessee"
Born in 1954 to a musical family in Corpus Christi, Texas, Thelma Louise Mandrell was fascinated by instruments. Louise learned to play the fiddle, clarinet, drums, saxophone, accordian, keyboard, guitar and bass. She also sang, and when her parents - Irby and Mary Ellen Mandrell - organized the Mandrell Family Band, Louise was a featured member. During the 1970s Barbara formed a band, The Do Rites, and Louise became a member, focusing on guitar and bass.
Louise began to record her own singles, and she scored her first hit with "Reunited," which charted at Number 13. In 1980-81 and 1981-82, Louise and younger sister Irlene co-starred wth Barbara in the massive hit variety show Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters. For two seasons the musical comedy hour attracted as many as 40 million audience members each week.
By 1981 Louise had signed with RCA Records, and her singles began to chart in the Top 40. In 1983 she enjoyed two Top Ten hits, "Save Me" and "Too Hot to Sleep," as well as a Top 15, "Runaway Heart." RCA released her first music video in 1985, "Some Girls Have All the Luck."
During this period 50 Tennessee city managers named Louise the official "Sweetheart of Tennessee," and the Texas State Legislature annointed her 1981's "Yellow Rose of Texas."
From 1992 to 1994 Louise and Kenny Rogers headlined the 4,000-seat Grand Palace Theater in Branson, Missouri. On occasion Louise shared the stage with Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, and other stars.
In September 1997, Louise opened The Louise Mandrell Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. Louise starred in every performance, singing multiple styles of music, including Southern Gospel, and her theater became the best-attended in the Smoky Mountains. Louise sold her theater in 2005.
Louise co-authored The Mandrell Family Album in 1983, and a series of children's books followed. She appeared regularly on television on The Today Show, 700 Club, Austin City Limits, Hee Haw, The Tonight Show, Another World, Nashville on the Road, Grand Ole Opry, Branson Country Christmas, Ralph Emery, Barbara Mandrell's Country, Do Rite Women, Oprah Winfrey Show, among many others.
During the Christmas and New Year seasons Louise performed "Joy to the World," a dinner show which ran for one month. "Louise Mandrell's Christmas Dinner Party" was held during the 2011 season.
Louise performed live at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in 2019. On July 30, 2022, Louise and Irlene were part of a special Opry show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Barbara Mandrell as an Opry member. Three more times during 2022 and 2023 Louise was featured in the Country Classics segment of the Opry stage.
Irlene Mandrell
Irlene Mandrell is the embodiment of versatility. She has an abundance of musical talent. She is beautiful, and as a young woman she began a modeling career. She was one of the stars of an enormously popular television series, and later she made numerous appearances on many other TV shows. Proficient with firearms, Irlene is an accomplished hunter, and other sporting interests include that of race car driver. She is a celebrity spokeswoman for a number of companies, and she always is a delightful presence on-screen and on-stage.
Ellen Irlene Mandrell was born in 1956 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her parents both were musicians, and her father Irby - a naval veteran of World War II, a police officer and a skilled businessman - directed the early careers of his three daughters.
As a young lady Irlene modeled for CoverGirl, and later she worked as a model for Lanna Skin Care products, Nine West shoes, and other products. She later served as a spokesperson for a wide range of products, including hunting items.
After Barbara Mandrell organized her band, The Do Rites, Irlene joined in as drummer. Becoming one of the best-known female drummers in the music industry, Irlene also played mandolin and vibraphone.
In 1980 Irlene participated as a co-star in Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, a weekly television variety show which regularly attracted 40 million viewers. Gifted as a comedy relief, Irlene twice was presented awards for Comedy Act of the Year by Music City News. Although the show ended after two seasons, Irlene became a "Hee Haw Honey" with the cast of Hee Haw, delighting her fans for eight seasons. She also appeared regularly on other shows: two episodes of Love Boat; The Johnny Carson Tonight Show; the Oprah Winfrey Show; The Mike Douglas Show; celebrity panelist on Password Plus and The Match Game and numerous game shows such as Family Feud. Irlene also appeared on Town Hall Party, the long-running country music show hosted and headlined by Tex Ritter, charter member of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
An enthusiastic hunter, Irlene is an expert with handguns, shotguns, rifles, and crossbows. She has hunted throughout North America and Mexico, and has ventured into South America and Afrida on hunting trips. The Irlene Mandrell Celebrity Shoot raises a large amount of money for Wish Upon a Star and the Boy Scouts. Irlene appears on outdoor shows, and was featured on Irlene Mandrell Straight Shooter on PBS's Tennessee Wildside.
Irlene has made television films such as The Misadventure of Amy Everheart, A Belle for Christmas, and Every Other Holiday. In 2017 she released a patriotic album, Thanks to You, dedicated to military and first responders.
Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison was an immensely gifted songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. His career was studded with honors and musical stardom, but during his lifetime he suffered tragedies, ill health, and an early death.
Born in Vernon, Texas in 1936, Roy was the son of an oil-field driller. From the age of four, an eye difficulty required him to wear dark, thick eyeglasses. As a youngster he began to dye his light hair black, and during school recesses he regularly sat alone and practiced his guitar.
Growing up in Fort Worth, Vernon, and Wink in West Texas, Roy was influenced by country and western swing music, especially the plaintive singing of Lefty Frizzell, as well as Hank Williams, Bob Wills, and Jimmie Rodgers. He also was attracted to Tex-Mex music, Cajun sounds, and rhythm and blues.
Insired by multiple musical influences, Orbison began to create a unique style. Roy sang on a local radio program when he was eight, and he later hosted the show. At thirteen he organized the Wink Westerners, who played at area events, a morning radio show, and school dances, while winning a talent contest.
In 1954 Orbison enrolled in North Texas State College. He formed a new band, the Teen Kings, and launched efforts to record in studios, including the famous Sun Records label. Moving to the Nashville area with his wife, Claudette, and the first of their three sons, Orbison advanced his career while earning a living at Acuff-Rose Music.
By the 1960s Orbison had developed a complex recording style, and he sang with a three-octave vocal scale. From 1959-1963 Orbison was the top-selling American artist and one of the world's leading names in the music industry, despite a quiet and self-effacing personality.
Rolling Stone rated Orbison Number 37 on their list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time" and Number 13 on their "100 Greatest Singers of All Time." He recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Nelson and K.D. Lang. Elvis Presley said that Orbison was "the greatest singer in the world." Roy's hit songs included "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Only the Lonely," "It's Over," and "Crying."
Sadly, in 1966 Roy's wife, Claudette, was killed while riding a motorcycle. Two years later his two oldest sons perished in a house fire. Orbison began to suffer health problems which led to heart surgery, but he contined a heavy smoking habit.
During the 1980s he became part of an all-star supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys, alongside Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynn. Roy labeled himself "Lefty Wilbury," in homage to Lefty Frizzell. Country music fans celebrated a duet between Roy and Emmylou Harris, "That Lovin' You Feeling Again," which won a Grammy Award. There were five other Grammys, including a Life Achievement Award.
In 1988 Orbison died of a heart attack at the age of 52, leaving his second wife Barbara and three children. He was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (also in 1987), the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1989), America's Pop Music Hall of Fame (2014), a Step on the Hollywood Hall of Fame (2010), the Memphis Music Hall of Fame (2017), and now the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.