Singer Jeannie Seely dies at 85

New York: Jeannie Seely, the soulful country music singer behind such standards like ‘Don’t Touch Me’, has died. She was 85. Her publicist, Don Murry Grubbs, said she died on Friday after succumbing to complications from an intestinal infection. Known as “Miss Country Soul” for her unique vocal style, Seely was a trailblazer for women in country music, celebrated for her spirited nonconformity and for a string of undeniable hits in the ’60s and ’70s.

Her second husband, Gene Ward, died in December. In May, Seely revealed she was in recovery after undergoing multiple back surgeries, two emergency procedures and spending 11 days in the ICU. She also suffered a bout of pneumonia. “Rehab is pretty tough, but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine!” she said at the time. “The unsinkable Seely is working her way back.”

Seely was born in July 1940, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, about 2 hours north of Pittsburgh and was raised in nearby Townville. Her love of country music was instant; her mother sang, and her father played the banjo. When she was a child, she sang on local radio programmes and performed on TV. In her early 20s, she moved to Los Angeles to kick-start a career, taking a job at Liberty and Imperial Records in Hollywood.

She kept writing and recording. Nashville was next: She sang on Porter Wagoner’s show; she got a deal with Monument Records. Her greatest hit would arrive soon afterwards: ‘Don’t Touch Me’, the crossover ballad written by Hank Cochran. The song earned Seely her first and only Grammy Award, for best country & western vocal performance in the female category. Cochran and Seely were married in 1969 and divorced in 1979. —AP