ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Billie Jo Spears

(Jan. 4, 1937 ~ Dec. 14, 2011 )

Career Highlights

Grand Ole Opry

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

• Austin City Limits, 4
• Billy Bob's Texas, 2
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw, 4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV 

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 1
• Top-20 Singles: 16
• Crossover Singles: 0
• Charted Singles: 34
• Chart Years Active: (1968-1984)

Career Labels:

• Capitol Records (1967-1972)
• United Artists (1974-1980)
• Liberty Records (1981)

Billboard Top-20 Singles

1. Mr. Walker, It's All Over -1969
2. Marty Gray -1970
3. Blanket on the Ground*# -1975
4. Stay Away From the Apple Tree
5. Silver Wings and Golden Rings
6. What I've Got in Mind -1976
7. Misty Blue
8. Never Did Like Whiskey
9. I'm Not Easy -1977
10. If You Want Me to
11. Too Much Is Not Enough
12. Lonely Hearts Club -1978
13. I've Got to Go
14. '57 Chevrolet
15. Standing Tall -1980
16. Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad -1981

*-No. 1 Chart Single

#-Biggest Chart Single

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Blanket On the Ground: The Billie Jo Spears Story

Born and raised in Beaumont, Texas (TX), Billie Jo Spears began performing when she was a child and had her first radio single out, the humorously titled Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys, when she was just a teenager.

After spending much of her adolescent years singing in clubs, she found a mentor who jump-started her career, famed songwriter Jack Rhodes (A Satisfied Mind, Silver Threads and Golden Needles), who helped Spears find and record material that would eventually land her a major label record deal. The singing sensation, praised for her bluesy voice with an impressive range, moved to Nashville in 1964.

After failing to gain any chart success with her debut efforts, she finally scored her first hit in 1969 with Mr. Walker It's All Over, which received both country and pop radio airplay. Her signature song and only number one single is Blanket on the Ground.

Although Spears' commercial momentum faded slightly after Blanket on the Ground, she returned to the top-5 with Misty Blue and What I've Got in Mind.

Billie Jo Spears had several minor hits that year (1975) and also cut an album of duets with Del Reeves. If You Want Me made the top-10, the last time Spears would reach that echelon.

Several more singles reached the top-20 by decade's end, but songs like '57 Chevrolet and Lonely Hearts Club were much bigger hits in Britain.

While Billie Jo Spears never quite edged her way into stardom in the U.S., Spears earned a devoted following in Great Britain and toured there frequently. Her final top-20 was her cover of the single, Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad, after which she and United Artists parted ways.

Spears recorded sporadically for independent labels, during the 1980s and early-1990s and toured throughout the US.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell. Roots of Country Music. Dec. 14, 2011.

Blanket On the Ground