Opal Jean Amburgey (March 6, 1925 – August 12, 1995), known professionally as Jean Chapel, was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

singer and songwriter. She recorded for several

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s and wrote over 400 songs, more than 170 of which were published in her lifetime.

Biography

Amburgey was born into a family of six children in Neon, Kentucky. At the age of 11, she learned guitar and banjo, and performed with her sisters as the Sunshine Sister band. Together, they left home when Jean was 13 and were hired to play daily on WKLP-AM in Lexington, Kentucky in 1938. They moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

in 1940 to sing on '' WSB Barn Dance''; she began using the nickname Mattie at this time. Her sister Irene would later record with Capitol Records under the name Martha Carson. In 1947, she married

Salty Holmes Floyd Holmes (March 6, 1910 – January 1, 1970), better known as Salty Holmes, was an American country musician and Western B-movie actor. Holmes was born in Glasgow, Kentucky. He became a virtuoso on the harmonica, specializing in the style k ...

, and in 1950 they moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to appear on ''

National Barn Dance ''National Barn Dance'', broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. ''National Barn Dance'' also set the stage for other ...

'' on

WLS-AM WLS (890 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, through licensee Radio License Holdings LLC, the station airs a talk radio format. WLS has its radio studios in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Driv ...

. Soon Jean began appearing on the '' Grand Ole Opry'' opposite Holmes as Mattie & Salty under the name Mattie O'Neil. In 1956, she recorded a few

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

recordings under the name Jean Chapel with

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

; one of the tunes, "Welcome to the Club", was issued as a B-side of a single by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Sun promoted her as the Female Elvis, but the nickname stuck more successfully to

Janis Martin Janis Darlene Martin (March 27, 1940 – September 3, 2007) was an American rockabilly and country music singer. She was one of the few women working in the male-dominated rock and roll music field during the 1950s and one of country music ...

. After Chapel divorced Holmes in 1956, she moved to Nashville and devoted herself primarily to songwriting. She befriended

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

, who would later briefly marry her brother, Don (shortly before her marriage to

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

). Wynette asked her to record the duet "Crazy Me". Chapel's greatest success in the music industry was as a songwriter, penning " Lonely Again", a number one song for

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

. Chapel also wrote “ Baby, That's Living”, which went number two in the U.S. She also wrote "

Lay Some Happiness on Me "Lay Some Happiness on Me" is a song that was first released by Eddy Arnold in 1966, on the album ''Somebody Like Me''. The song became a hit in 1967, when it was released by Dean Martin and by Bobby Wright. Dean Martin's version spent 5 weeks o ...

", one of Dean Martin's most successful records of the 1960s and in 1973 her song "To Get to You", a hit for Jerry Wallace, was nominated for Song of the Year by the Country Music Association. Among the other artists to record Chapel songs are

Liz Anderson Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pu ...

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

Tommy Overstreet Thomas Cary Overstreet (September 10, 1937 – November 2, 2015) was an American country music singer. Often referred to as "T.O." by fans and radio disc jockeys, Overstreet had five top-five hit single, hit single (music), singles in the ''Bill ...

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

, and

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mor ...

. Chapel died August 12, 1995 in Port Orange, Florida.

Discography

References

;Footnotes ;General references * Jean Chapelat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapel, Jean American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American rockabilly musicians Sun Records artists RCA Victor artists Challenge Records artists Crest Records artists Apex Records artists Smash Records artists Country musicians from Kentucky 1925 births 1995 deaths People from Port Orange, Florida 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Florida Kentucky women musicians Singers from Kentucky 20th-century American women singers Country musicians from Florida