Wilma burgess biography

For lack of a better cliche, we don't talk enough about one of the greatest country music singers of the s, Wilma Burgess. Her vocal talents paired well with the instrumental tracks that built the Nashville Sound, making for a handful of great singles seemingly lost to time. If rumors about her private life ever prove to be true, she might finally get her due as an overlooked trailblazer for LGBTQ artists in country music.

She fell in love with country music at a young age after seeing a live performance by Eddy Arnold. Despite her blossoming talents as a soprano, she had no apparent aspirations for stardom beyond regional television appearances. Instead, Burgess spent her college years studying to become a gym teacher. A songwriter friend eventually convinced Burgess to record some demos in Nashville.

Those early recordings caught the attention of Owen Bradley. The influential country music producer and Nashville Sound architect perhaps saw Burgess as a potential mainstream replacement for Patsy Cline. The Bradley and Burgess partnership led to her best-known recordings for Decca Records, including charting singles "Baby" , " Don't Touch Me " , "Tear Time" and the first major recording of the soulful and often-covered Bob Montgomery composition "Misty Blue" Notes [ edit ].

The single did not appear on any official album upon its release. References [ edit ]. Retrieved 25 December The Independent. Retrieved 24 December Vinyl, LP ". Hot Country Songs to Record Research, Inc. ISBN Wilma Burgess. Then "Misty Blue" - handed down to Burgess after being rejected by Brenda Lee - was shortly established as a trademark song for Burgess' prime influence Eddy Arnold , whose version in the spring of not only reached No.

Burgess association with Bradley and Decca Records ended in ; that same year she signed with Shannon a label owned by Jim Reeves Enterprises Burgess was a close friend of Reeves' widow Mary Reeves. Burgess was lesbian and preferred to record love songs with no gender-specific references. She did sometimes agree to record songs such as "Ain't Got No Man", on condition that her producer Owen Bradley let her record a song she liked but he did not.

The venue was located across the street from Nashville's first-known lesbian bar, The Women's Room.

Wilma burgess biography

It has been noted by Jim Ed Brown that Burgess was also a fine poker player, having taken both Ernest Tubb and Tubb's bus driver's money while on tour together. Burgess died unexpectedly on August 26, , at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, after suffering a heart attack. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.

Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. American singer-songwriter. Musical artist.