Jean Sheppard was induced with three others this last Thursday when their lives and careers were celebrated during the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Concert and Induction Ceremony.
That Nashville Sound has her ceremony induction video below:
Shepard joined singer, actor and Broadway star Sam Harris, Oklahoma balladeer Les Gilliam and legendary drummer Jamie Oldaker at 7:30 p.m. last night at Muskogee Civic Center. Following the ceremony, there was a concert with performances by the inductees.
Shepard was one of the first women to break the country music barrier in the 1950s. Upon the recommendation of Hank Thompson, Shepard signed with Capitol Records in 1952. One year later, she scored with a No. 1 country hit, a Korean War song entitled “A Dear John Letter” with narration from Ferlin Husky, who was appointed as her guardian for tours outside the state since Shepard wasn’t 21. It topped the country charts for 23 weeks and crossed over to the Top 5 pop charts, selling some 10 million records in 1953.
This success made her California’s first major female recording artist since Patsy Montana. She was one of the first women to join the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, and is the first woman to hold membership in the “mode lode of country music” for more than 47 years.
Shepard was the first country music female vocalist to overdub her voice on records and the first female in country music to sell a million records. Finally, she was the first woman in country music to record a concept album. Her 1956 “Songs of a Love Affair” featured 12 songs, all written by her, from a single woman’s point of view on one side, while the other side portrayed the wife’s perspective.
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