Poor girls who sang their way upward
The rise from rags to riches for women and men is an oft-told tale in the entertainment business.
5.
Stage name: Kitty Wells
(from a name in a folk song)
Birth name: Ellen Muriel Deason
Born Aug. 30, 1919
in Nashville, Tenn.
One of six siblings, "Kitty" was born in Nashville. Her father was a railroad brakeman and a musician, as were her uncles. Her mother sang gospel.
In her teen years in the 1930s, Kitty and her sisters sang on a local radio station. At 18, she married Johnny Wright, a cabinetmaker and musician. She and Wright's sister sang with Johnny under various band names, including The Tennessee Hillbillies. Wright eventually achieved stardom with a group known as Johnny and Jack.
Aside from working with her husband, Kitty sang for Nashville studios under a union contract, but found the work unfulfilling. She went on to achieve Country superstar status with her Decca record, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels."
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