Gail Zeiler (April 27, 1950 – September 1, 2016), known professionally as Kacey Jones, was an American singer-songwriter, producer and humorist. After co-writing the

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

hit " I'm the One Mama Warned You About" (credited as Gayle Zeiler), she found success as a performer through the band Ethel & The Shameless Hussies, with whom she released her first album. Later, in 1997, she released her first solo album, ''Men Are Some of My Favorite People'', through

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

, before founding her own label, IGO Records, co-founding the Kinkajou Records label with

Kinky Friedman Richard Samet "Kinky" Friedman (November 1, 1944 – June 27, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician, and columnist for ''Texas Monthly'', who styled himself in the mold of popular American satirists Will Roger ...

and creating two publishing houses—Zamalama Music and Mamalama Music. Since her first solo album, Jones released eight albums and produced music for both the theatrical comedy ''Nipples to the Wind'' and the movie (and TV series) ''

Sordid Lives ''Sordid Lives'' is a 2000 American black comedy film written and directed by Del Shores, in his directorial debut. It is based on his 1996 play, which is inspired by Shore's own coming out experience, and about a Texas family coming together i ...

''.

Career

Born Gail Zeiler in

Gilroy, California Gilroy is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. It had a population of 59,520 as of the 2020 census. Gilroy's origins lie in the village of San Ysidro, which developed in the early 19th ...

, she won the Northern California edition of the Wrangler Country Starsearch in 1981 and became an Equa recording artist. Jones found initial success recording with an independent label in San Francisco before moving to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, in 1986. Her move to Nashville came after she co-wrote " I'm the One Mama Warned You About", recorded by

on Epic Records. The song reached number 5 on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

. Her original song, "Cold Turkey," was recorded that same year by David Allan Coe on CBS Records. Jones moved to Nashville with expectations of being signed to a major record label as a serious singer-songwriter rather than writing humorous works. That changed when she recruited Becki Fogle and Valerie Hunt to form ''Ethel & The Shameless Hussies''. Jones performed as Ethel Beaverton, and the group soon gained a contract with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, recording the album ''Born To Burn'' in 1988. The group stayed together for four years and were nominated for Comedy Act of the Year in the Music City News Awards. After moving on from the Shameless Hussies, Jones became involved in a number of different projects. As a record producer she developed ''Pearls in the Snow – The Songs of Kinky Friedman''. The album featured artists such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...

, and

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American country singer and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded 14 albums and released 25 singles to dat ...

performing songs by

Friedman Friedman, Friedmann, and Freedman are surnames of German origin, and from the 17th century were also adopted by Ashkenazi Jews. It is the 9th most common surname in Israel (8th among Jews) and most common exclusively Ashkenazi name. Notable people ...

, and it went on to reach the number 1 spot on the Americana radio chart in 1999. While working with Kinky Friedman on the album, Jones and Friedman founded the Kinkajou Records label. Later she established her own independent label, IGO (Irritating Gentile Optimist) Records, for whom she signed artists such as Leland Martin. She was the President of two publishing houses: Zamalama Music (BMI) and Mamalama Music (ASCAP). As a recording artist and performer, Jones signed with

in 1997. This led to her first solo album, ''Men Are Some of My Favorite People'' (1997). Other albums by Jones were to follow on her own label, IGO Records including ''Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay or Dead'' (2000), (produced after completing the project with Kinky Friedman), ''Never Wear Panties to a Party'' (2001), "The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Box of Music" (2003), "Nipples to the Wind" (2007), and the more recent ''Donald Trump's Hair'' (2009). ''Donald Trump's Hair'', reached No. 1 on ReverbNation's comedy charts. In addition, ''Kacey Jones Sings Mickey Newbury'', a tribute to

Mickey Newbury Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American singer-songwriter and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Early life and career Newbury was born in Houston, Texas, on May 19, 1940, to Mam ...

(who influenced her early career), was released in 2006, and gave her an opportunity to explore the more serious side of her singing.

Death

Jones died on September 1, 2016, while in hospice care at her Nashville home. She was 66. She had been diagnosed with

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

three years before her death, and she chose only

alternative cancer treatments Alternative cancer treatment describes any cancer treatment or practice that is not part of the conventional standard of cancer care. These include special diets and exercises, chemicals, herbs, devices, and manual procedures. Most alternative ...

Discography

*''She's Goin' Home Alone'' (2:49); producers: Bob Saponti/Jerry Shook; writer: Gail Zeiler (1981) *''It Ain't My Concern'' (1981) *''No Place to Hide'' (1981) * ''Born To Burn'' (1988) with Ethel & The Shameless Hussies. * ''Men Are Some of My Favorite People'' (1997) * ''Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay or Dead'' (2000) * ''Never Wear Panties to a Party'' (2001) * ''The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Box of Music'' (2003) * ''Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay or Dead – Live'' (2005) * ''Kacey Jones Sings Mickey Newbury'' (2006) * ''Nipples to the Wind'' (2007) * ''Kaceyoke – Volume 1'' (2008) * ''Donald Trump's Hair'' (2009) * ''Amen for Old Friends'' (2014)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Kacey 1950 births 2016 deaths American humorists American women country singers American country singer-songwriters People from Gilroy, California Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from California Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Country musicians from California Country musicians from Tennessee American women humorists America's Got Talent contestants 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Tennessee