About Jeannie Seely
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" . 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 .
Born and raised in northwestern Pennsylvania, Seely had an early interest in country music, regularly appearing on local radio and television stations. After high school she began a career in the baking industry and moved to California. Switching careers, she began writing songs which would be recorded by other artists. After being briefly signed with Challenge Records, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to further elevate her country music recording career. In Nashville, Seely's "Don't Touch Me" was released on Monument Records and reached the US country top five. She followed it with several more top ten and 20 songs, including "A Wanderin' Man" and "I'll Love You More " .
Seely then formed a duet musical partnership with Jack Greene and they began collaborating together in the late 1960s. Their highest-charting single was 1969's "Wish I Didn't Have to Miss You" and they subsequently toured over the next decade. Her solo career continued with the popular singles "Can I Sleep in Your Arms" and "Lucky Ladies" . After a car accident in 1977, Seely's career went on a brief hiatus and then resumed new projects. This included appeares in the Willie Nelson film Honeysuckle Rose and acted in several stage plays, opening a Nashville bar and becoming the first female to host the Grand Ole Opry.
In the 1990s, Seely returned to recording albums with a 1990 eponymous release, followed by her first album of holiday music in 1994 called Number One Christmas. Other releases included the critically-acclaimed 2003 release Life's Highway. Her most recent studio release was 2020's An American Classic, issued on Curb Records. Seely has since continued to work the Grand Ole Opry and became a regular host of a weekly radio program on Sirius XM's Willie's Roadhouse broadcast.
Marilyn Jeanne Seely was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, but raised on a farm near Townville, Pennsylvania. Seely was the youngest of four children born to Irene and Leo Seely. Her father was a farmer and worked at the Titusville Steel Mill. On weekends, he worked square dances and played the banjo. Her mother was a homemaker, but enjoyed singing around the house. Her family and friends often got together to pick and play music in Seely's childhood. They also listened to weekly Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts during Seely's childhood.
At age 11, Seely started performing on WMGW's local radio show in Meadville, Pennsylvania and began performing on a local television show in Erie, Pennsylvania. Seely attended Townville High School where she was a cheerleader and an honors student. In high school, Seely was teased for singing country music and being poor. Following her 1958 high school graduation, she worked as a stenographer at the Titusville Trust Company. She also took night courses at the American Banking Institute. During this time, Seely was driving during an Easter winter storm when her car got stuck in the snow. This inspired her to move to southern California where the climate was warmer. In 1961, Seely left for California in her MGA Roadster convertible. She then briefly held a job at a bank in Beverly Hills, California but realized she wanted to get more involved in the music business, prompting her to obtain a secretarial position at Imperial Records for half the pay. Seely also appeared on a local California television program titled Hollywood Jamboree.
While working as an Imperial Records secretary, Seely started writing songs for Four Star Music in California. One of the first compositions she wrote was "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is ". Accompanying herself on piano, she tracked down writer Randy Newman to help finish the song. It would be picked up by R&B singer Irma Thomas whose version made the US pop charts in 1964. This was followed by the song "Senses" , which Connie Smith cut for her 1965 album Cute 'n' Country. The same year, Dottie West cut "It Just Takes Practice" for her album Dottie West Sings. Norma Jean later recorded "Then Go Home to Her" for her 1966 album Please Don't Hurt Me.
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