ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Dottie West

(Oct. 11, 1932 ~ Sep. 4, 1991)

Career Highlights

Barn Dance Affiliate: Louisiana Hayride

Grand Ole Member -1964

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

• Austin City Limits, 4
• Billy Bob's Texas, 2
• Ed Sullivan Show, 4
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw, 4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• Second Fiddle to A Steel Guitar, 1
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Statler Brothers Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4 
• There's A Steel On the Hill, 1

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV 

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 5
• Top-20 Singles: 26
• Crossover Singles: 1
• Charted Singles: 63
• Chart Years Active: 1963-1984

Awards

Country Music Association

• Vocal Duo of the Year - 1978 (with Kenny Rogers)
• Vocal Duo of the Year - 1979 (with Kenny Rogers)

Career Labels:

• RCA Records (1963-1976)
• United Artists Records (1976-1980)
• Liberty Records (1980-1983)

Billboard Top-20 Singles

1. Love Is No Excuse, 1 -1963
2. Here Comes My Baby -1964
3. Would You Hold It Against Me -1966
4. What's Come Over My Baby
5. Paper Mansions -1967
6. Like a Fool
7. Country Girl -1968
8. Reno
9. Rings of Gold, 2 -1969
10. There's A Story (Goin' 'Round) 2
11. Country Sunshine -1973
12. Last Time I Saw Him -1974
13. When It's Just You and Me -1976
14. Come See Me and Come Lonely -1978
15. Every Time Two Fools Collide*3
16. Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight, 3
17. All I Ever Need Is You*3 -1979
18. Til I Can Make It on My Own, 3
19. You Pick Me Up and Put Me Down
20. A Lesson in Leavin'*# -1980
21. Leavin's for Unbelievers
22. Are You Happy Baby*
23. What Are We Doin' in Love*3, A -1981
24. (I'm Gonna) Put You Back on the Rack
25. It's High Time
26. Together Again, 3

*-No. 1 Chart Single

#-Biggest Solo Chart Single

1-With Jim Reeves

2-With Don Gibson

3-Kenny Rogers

A-Crossover Chart Single

Duet Partners

• Don Gibson
• Jim Reeves
• Jimmy Dean
• Kenny Rogers
• John Scneider

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Country Sunshine: The Dottie West Story

Country Singer Dottie West was one of the most gifted and talented pioneers of modern country music. West was one of a few female country singers, performing in a genre which was then dominated by male singers. Dottie broke ground for female singers like Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette. She traded her gingham dresses in for glitz and glamour, changing the face of the modern woman in Country Music.

Dottie West was born on October 11, 1932, McMinnville, Tennessee. She began appearing on local radio at age thirteen and went on to study music at Tennessee Tech. While there, she also sang in a band with steel guitarist, Bill West, whom she later married. After graduation, Dottie moved with her family to Cleveland, Ohio where she began appearing on the television program Landmark Jamboree. West made numerous trips to Nashville in the hopes of landing a recording deal.

In 1959, she move to Nashville and fell in with aspiring songwriters like Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Hank Cochran, and Harlan Howard. In 1963, Jim Reeves helped Dottie secure a recording contract with RCA Records. Her debut single, Let Me Off at the Corner (No. 29, 1963) was followed by her top-ten duet with Jim Reeves, Love Is No Excuse (No. 7, 1964). Dottie then charted her first solo,

Here Comes My Baby (No. 10, 1964), the self-written song won her a Grammy Award. She subsequently, received an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry. The song kicked off a series of singles, most of which only charted in the lower-level echelon. However, her national exposure and chart success jelled when she later scored three number one duet singles with Kenny Rogers.

For the remainder of the sixties, Dottie had only two major country hits, Would You Hold It Against Me (No. 5, 1966) and paper mansion (No. 8, 1967). West teamed with Don Gibson and charted Rings of Gold (No. 2, 1969) and then with Jimmy Dean on their version of the Slowly (No. 29, 1971). In 1973 West provided the Coca-Cola Company with a commercial titled, Country Sunshine. The popularity of the commercial prompted RCA to release the jingle as a single, and it became one of Dottie’s biggest hits (No. 2, 1973). Her only other major single during this time was, Last Time I Saw Him (No. 8, 1974).

Four years later, she teamed up with country-pop superstar, Kenny Rogers for a series of duets, which took her career in directions it had never gone before. Dottie garnered number one singles for the very first time. Her duet recordings with Rogers, Every Time Two Fools Collide (No. 1, 1978), Anyone Who Isn’t Me tonight (No. 2, 1978), All I Ever Need Is You (No. 1, 1979), Til I Can Make It on My Own (No. 3, 1979) and What Are We Doin' In Love (No. 1, 1981), threw West in the national spotlight.

Rogers for several years had already been riding a crest of popularity on both the country and pop charts. Dottie’s duet collaboration with Kenny resulted in them being awarded Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1978 and 1979.

While still at the pinnacle of her popularity, West notched a pair of number one solo singles, A Lesson in Leavin’ (No. 1, 1980) and Are You Happy Baby (No. 1, 1980). However, as the 1980s progressed, Dottie’s popularity began to wane. In 1984, she departed from her twenty year association with RCA. She switched to the independent label Permian, but only a couple of minor recordings resulted from their connection.

Her final single, We Know Better Now, charted in 1985, but failed to break into the top-forty. Dottie continued to tour for the next several years. In 1991, West planned to return to recording, but fate intervened and an automobile accident claimed her life.

In 2000, West was posthumously honored with the BMI Golden Voice Awards with the Female Golden Legacy Award. She was the second woman to win this type of BMI award, the first being her friend and mentor Patsy Cline.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Accident

On August 30, 1991, Dottie West was scheduled to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Shortly after leaving her Nashville apartment, her car stalled near her home. Her elderly neighbor spotted her on the side of the road and offered to drive her to the Opry. Anxious about getting to the Opry on time, she had urged the man to hurry. He lost control of his vehicle while exiting near the Opry at an excessive speed. The car left the ramp, vaulted in the air and hit the central division.

West did not believe she was injured as badly as her neighbor had been and, reportedly didn't seem harmed by officers who responded to the scene. She insisted he be treated first. West, though she thought she was unharmed, suffered severe internal injuries, including a ruptured spleen and a lacerated liver. Dottie underwent three surgeries, but the final procedure to stop her liver from bleeding failed and West died on the operating table.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RCA Recording Sessions With Don Gibson

Nov. 6, 1968

RCA Victor Studio; 806 17 Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee

Producers: Danny Davis & Chester B. Atkins

Session Personnel: Don Gibson (duet vocal, leader), Dottie West (duet vocal), Chester B. Atkins (guitar), Jerry Reed Hubbard, Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar), Bill West (steel guitar), Roy Huskey Jr. (bass guitar), Jerry Carrigan (drums), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano)

• Til I Can't Take It Anymore
• Let's Wait A Little Longer
• Lovin' Season
• How's the World Treating You

Nov. 7, 1968

RCA Victor Studio; 806 17 Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee

Producers: Danny Davis & Chester B. Atkins

Session Personnel: Don Gibson (duet vocal, guitar), Dottie West (duet vocal, leader), Chester B. Atkins (guitar), Jerry Reed Hubbard, Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar), Bill West (steel guitar), Roy Huskey Jr. (bass guitar), Jerry Carrigan (drums), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano)

• Rings of Gold
• Sweet Memories
• I Love You Because
• When I Stop Dreaming

Nov. 8, 1968

RCA Victor Studio; 806 17 Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee

Producers: Danny Davis & Chester B. Atkins

Session Personnel: Don Gibson (vocal, guitar, leader), Dottie West (duet vocal), Ray Edenton, Pete Wade (rhythm guitar), Thomas Grady Martin (electric guitar, vibes), Bill West (steel guitar), Roy Huskey Jr. (bass guitar), Jerry Carrigan (drums), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano)

• Set Me Free
• I'll Never Stand In Your Way
• Final Examination
• Sweet Dreams 

Oct. 9, 1969 

RCA Victor Studio; 806 17 Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee 

Producers: Danny Davis 

Session Personnel: Don Gibson (vocal, leader), Dottie West (duet vocal), Jerry Shook, Pete Wade, James Wilkerson (electric guitar),Bill West (steel guitar),Norbert Putnam(bass guitar), Kenneth Buttrey (drums), Larry Butler (piano), Joseph Babcock, Dolores Edgin, June Page, Hurshel Wiginton (vocal chorus) 

• There's A Story (Goin' Round)
• Lock, Stock and Teardrops

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Jun. 7, 2009.