Billie Jo Spears
b. 14 January 1937, Beaumont, Texas, USA. Discovered by songwriter Jack Rhodes, Billie Jo's first record, as Billie Jo Moore, Too Old For Toys, Too Young For Boys, earned her $4,200 at the age of 15. Despite appearances on Louisiana Hayride, she did not record regularly until she signed with United Artists in 1964. Following her producer, Kelso Herston, to Capitol Records, she had country hits with He's Got More Love In His Little Finger and Mr. Walker, It's All Over. After time off, following the removal of a nodule on her vocal cords, she recorded briefly for Brite Star and Cutlass. In 1974, Spears returned to United Artists where producer Larry Butler was developing a successful country roster. Her trans-Atlantic smash, Blanket on the Ground, was controversial in America. ‘It sounded like a cheating song,’ says Spears ‘and the public don't think girls should sing cheating songs!’ In actuality, it was about adding romance to a marriage and its success prompted other records with a similar theme and tempo — What I've Got In Mind (which had originally been a rhumba) and '57 Chevrolet. The traditional Sing Me An Old-Fashioned Song sold well in the UK, whilst her cover of Dorothy Moore's ballad Misty Blue was successful in the USA. She is also known for her cover of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. She maintains, ‘It is still a country record. I am country. I could never go pop with my mouthful of firecrackers.’ A duet album with Del Reeves BY REQUEST and a tribute to her producer LARRY BUTLER AND FRIENDS with Crystal Gayle and Dottie West were not released in the UK. A single of her blues-soaked cover of Heartbreak Hotel was cancelled in 1977 because she did not want to exploit Elvis Presley's death. Billie Jo Spears has performed prolifically including over 300 concerts in the UK and her ambition is to make a live album at the Pavillion, Glasgow. Among her UK recordings are a duet with Carey Duncan of I Can Hear Kentucky Calling Me and an album B.J. — BILLIE JO SPEARS TODAY with her stage band, Owlkatraz. Of late, she has recorded husky-voiced versions of familiar songs for mass-marketed albums. A true ambassador of country music, she signs autographs and talks to fans after every appearance. She buys all her stage clothes in the UK and refuses to wear anything casual. ‘If I didn't wear gowns,’ she says, ‘they'd throw rotten tomatoes.’