Margaret Louise Ebey (born October 12, 1935),
known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars
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", ...
and
Faron Young
Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...
. Singleton had her biggest hit with Young called "Keeping Up with the Joneses" in 1964. She managed a successful solo career in the 1960s.
Biography
Early life and rise to fame
She was born in
Coushatta
The Coushatta ( cku, Koasati, Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti) are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the terri ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, United States. As a young child, she was influenced by
blues and
gospel music. In 1949, at the age of 13, she married
Shelby Singleton
Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner.
Early life
He was born Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. in Waskom, Texas. His parents were Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Sr. and ...
. They worked at a munitions plant near Shreveport, Louisiana during the Korean War. She began to play guitar and write songs as a teenager after the birth of her first child, Stephen Singleton, in 1950. She had her second son, Sidney Singleton, in 1955.
In 1957, she signed with
Starday Records
Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s.
History
The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...
, and released her first single that same year called "One Step (Nearer To You)". The flip side of the single was called "Not What He's Got". Both of these songs were self-penned. In 1958, she made her radio and professional debut on ''
Louisiana Hayride
''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the ...
''. That same year, she released other 2 singles "Nothing But True Love" and "Teddy" with a great b-side, the outstanding rockabilly "oo-wee (you're the one for me)all penned by Her and Shelby Singleton. "Nothing but true love" was more successful, becoming a minor hit on the country music chart, reaching the top 25. She regularly appeared on ''Louisiana Hayride'' before moving to ''
Jubilee USA'' in 1960.
Height of career in 1960s
Singleton released another single in 1959 called "Eyes of Love". The song gave Singleton her first major hit when it reached the Top 20 in 1960. In 1961, she switched to
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
where her husband Shelby Singleton was a producer. With his help, Singleton recorded a duet with
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", ...
called "Did I Ever Tell You". The song became another hit for Singleton, and was released in 1961. The following year, the duo had equal success together with another country hit called "Waltz of the Angels".
Singleton continued to be an avid songwriter. She wrote a
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
hit for
Brook Benton
Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960 ...
called "Lie to Me". In 1963, he had another pop hit with another song written by Singleton called "My True Confession". The year 1963 was also the year Singleton made her debut on
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
's most coveted show, the ''
Grand Ole Opry''; and had another hit with the song "Old Records". In addition to being a solo and duet star, she also sang as a back-up vocalist with
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...
. Numerous performers recorded many of her songs, including
Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...
,
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 ...
and
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Rec ...
. In 1964, Singleton teamed up with singer
Faron Young
Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...
. Together they recorded the song "Keeping Up with the Joneses". That year, the song reached the country top 5, and became Singleton's biggest hit. The flip side of the single, "No Thanks, I Just Had One", was a Top 40 country hit. They continued to release singles and record together.
By 1965, Singleton was divorced from Shelby Singleton. That same year, she married
Leon Ashley
Leon Walton (May 18, 1936 – October 20, 2013), better known by his stage name Leon Ashley, was an American country music singer. He is known mainly for his single " Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)", which topped the country singles chart ...
, and soon moved to
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
. In 1967, she moved to her husband's label, Ashley Records. That year, she recorded a cover version of the
Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material.
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...
hit song "
Ode to Billie Joe
"Ode to Billie Joe" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry released by Capitol Records in July 1967, and later used as the title-track of her debut album. Five weeks after its release, the song topped '' Billboard's'' Pop sin ...
", which reached the country Top 40. She had a Top 60 duet with her husband called "
Hangin' On" in 1968. That same year, she appeared in a movie with
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...
called ''
Road to Nashville''. Her chart success was fading rapidly, although she continued to record, including recording the first version of "
Harper Valley PTA
"Harper Valley P.T.A." is a country song written by Tom T. Hall which in 1968 became a major international hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley. Riley's record, her debut, sold over six million copies as a single, and it made her the f ...
" that was later a huge
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
hit by
Jeannie C. Riley.
Later career
Singleton continued to record for her husband's label, but with no further chart entries. She toured with her husband Leon with the Country Music Spectacular, and with his band, Strings of Nashville. He died in 2014. Singleton returned to the studio recording a new gospel CD as well as revisiting yesterday and re-recording some of her past hits and favorites. She continues to play dates and enjoys writing. She has recorded and released a video for her self-penned song, "Heaven or Hell" (2018).
Discography
Albums
Singles
*
A"Magic Star" peaked at number 24 on the
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
References
External links
Margie Singleton At LP Discography.comMargie Singleton At Hillbilly-Music.com*
Margie Singleton At Allmusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Margie
1935 births
Singleton, Magie
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
People from Coushatta, Louisiana
Starday Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Louisiana
Country musicians from Louisiana
21st-century American women