(In memory) Jeannie Seely

(Courtesy Absolute PR) Grand Ole Opry star and country music legend Jeannie Seely has passed at age 85. Seely died peacefully August 1, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. CT at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, as a result of complications from an intestinal infection.
 
Seely had battled health issues since last fall, which escalated in December following the passing of her husband, Gene Ward.
 
As of her last Grand Ole Opry show on February 22, Seely had made 5,397 Opry performances, more than any other artist in the Opry’s 100-year history. In 2018, Seely began hosting her own weekly “Sundays with Seely” show on Willie’s Roadhouse on SiriusXM, and her most recent show aired this Sunday, July 27. A trailblazer and an icon, Seely was considered the oldest active female country music entertainer at the time of her death.
 
Music industry professionals early on praised Seely’s soul-inspired vocals, which earned her the nickname “Miss Country Soul,” a title she carried throughout her career spanning seven decades. In 2019, Dr. Jeannie Seely was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts from Lincoln Memorial University for her many groundbreaking accomplishments in the music industry.
 
Born on July 6, 1940, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Seely was raised on a farm along a dirt road outside of nearby Townville. A year ago this week, Seely returned to her roots when new “Home of Jeannie Seely” signs were unveiled in Townville. The ceremony was held at the Townville Fire Station, where decades earlier Seely had first performed in front of a live audience.
 
When she was barely tall enough to reach the dial on her family's big Philco console radio, Seely was tuning in the Grand Ole Opry on radio station WSM 650. At age 11, she began singing for a Saturday morning radio show on Meadville station WMGW, and by age 16, she was performing on TV station WICU in Erie. At Hillbilly Park near Franklin, Pennsylvania, Seely had the opportunity to see and meet performers like Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Jean Shepard, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, never imagining that one day she’d share the Grand Ole Opry stage with them.
 
Seely was a cheerleader, majorette, and honor student while attending Townville High School, and she sang at local amateur contests and began performing at weekend dances throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. Following high school graduation in 1958, Seely worked for three years at the Titusville Trust Company and continued her education by taking night classes at the American Institute of Banking in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
 
At age 21, Seely packed everything she could into her car, shipped the rest to "General Delivery, Los Angeles," and headed west. She initially took a job at a Beverly Hills bank but left after a year to take a secretarial position at Liberty and Imperial Records in Hollywood for half the money. With a foot in the door of the music business, she began writing songs for Four Star Music and became a regular act, along with an unknown Glen Campbell, on the Hollywood Jamboree television series. Her songwriting led to her own recording contract on Challenge Records, and a couple of regional hits and a West Coast tour resulted.
 
Seely received the “Most Promising Female Artist” award in 1964 from the Country and Western Academy, which later became the Academy of Country Music. A year later, upon the encouragement of friend Dottie West, who’d recorded one of her songs, Seely moved to Nashville, where she signed with Monument Records. Her chart-topping hit “Don’t Touch Me” resulted in Seely becoming only the third female country artist to receive a Grammy Award. After receiving the “Most Promising New Artist” awards from Cashbox, Record World, and Billboard, Seely subsequently went on to appear on Billboard’s country singles chart for 13 consecutive years.
 
On September 16, 1967, Seely was inducted as a member of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry. She was the first Pennsylvania native to become an Opry member and later the first female to regularly host Opry segments. Widely recognized for changing the image of female country performers, Seely became the first person to wear a mini-skirt on the Opry stage. With fellow Opry member Jack Greene, she formed one of the most successful duets and road shows in country music history. In 2022, the Grand Ole Opry honored Seely for her 5,000+ performances, a record that will likely remain intact forever.
 
A BMI-awarded songwriter, Seely’s songs were recorded by Country Music Hall of Fame members including Dottie West, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Hank Williams Jr. – as well as by artists ranging from Irma Thomas (the “Soul Queen of New Orleans”) to Rhonda Vincent (the “Queen of Bluegrass”), from Chris LeDoux to Moe Bandy, and from Boys II Men to Seal. Seely’s composition “Yours” was named “Song of the Year” at the 2022 Arkansas Country Music Awards.
 
The star of major stage productions, including Always, Patsy Cline, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Could It Be Love, and several others, Seely served as a radio disc jockey on her own Armed Forces Network, traveled on military tours throughout Europe and Asia, and published her own book titled Pieces Of A Puzzled Mind. Recordings by Seely have spanned seven decades, from her Top 10 Billboard album The Seely Style to her Curb Records album An American Classic, which includes her third duet with friend Willie Nelson. Seely appeared in Nelson’s movie Honeysuckle Rose and sang on the platinum soundtrack album.
 
In 2018, Seely was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame, which represents all genres of music. At the inaugural Influencing Women Awards Gala in 2019, the first “Standing Ovation Award” was presented to Seely, and then her name was added to the annual award. In 2022, Seely was the honored recipient of the Legacy Award at The Nashville Women in Film & Television WIFT ALICE Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner. In 2022, Seely was recognized on the nationally televised Country Music Association (CMA) Awards Show, in 2023, she received the CMA’s prestigious Joe Talbot Award, and in 2024, she was honored by SOURCE with the esteemed Jo Walker-Meador Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
With the release of her single “Suffertime” in 2024, accompanied by a music video and short documentary, Seely established a new record as the vocalist with the longest timespan (60 years) between recording sessions at historic RCA Studio B on Music Row. Following Seely’s 5,381st performance on the Grand Ole Opry in September 2024, the “Jeannie Seely Interchange” was dedicated at the Briley Parkway exit to the Grand Ole Opry House. In March of 2025, Sony Music Publishing Nashville celebrated Seely during Women’s History Month by releasing three reimagined versions of her songs as collaborations with rising female artists.
 
In late 2024, a display honoring Seely was added to the "Sing Me Back Home" permanent exhibit on the second floor of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and in November, Seely visited her display in person. Seely’s Billboard Most Promising Female Vocalist Award trophy is also on display in a special exhibit located in the museum’s concourse to the Omni Hotel.
 
Seely’s last public appearance was on March 1, 2025, when she attended the rebranded opening of the Legends of Country Music Museum located in Nashville’s Music Valley area. Her image appears on the outside of the building, and she is honored inside with an updated exhibit. In April 2025, the Studio Space at the SAG-AFTRA office on Music Row was named in Seely’s honor, and she was scheduled to attend the formal dedication. Until her death, Seely proudly served as producer for the bluegrass groups Cutter & Cash and The Kentucky Grass, and she was planning to produce their next recording session.
 
Throughout her career, Seely spearheaded efforts to support and enhance artist, musician, and songwriter roles in the music industry, especially paving the way for females who followed. Instrumental in instilling an atmosphere of fellowship and camaraderie at the Grand Ole Opry – and in any music circle she entered – Seely connected with artists, musicians, songwriters, and industry personnel from all generations and backgrounds.
 
Seely is survived by numerous friends, family members, and her special cat, Corrie. In addition to her husband, Gene Ward, and her parents, Leo and Irene Seely, she was preceded in death by her siblings, Donald Seely, Bernard Seely, and Mary Lou Seely Lang.
 
“Jeannie Seely's 5,398th Opry Show” (Celebration of Life) was held on Thursday, August 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. CT at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

Jeannie Seely's deep, moving vocals earned her the nickname “Miss Country Soul,” a title still used today. An esteemed singer, songwriter, producer, actress, author, and on-air personality, Seely added another title, “Doctor,” to her resume when she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Lincoln Memorial University in 2019. The third female country artist to win a GRAMMY® and the oldest female Grammy-winning artist who is still living. She is among a select group of country artists who have scored No. 1 hits as a solo artist, duet partner, and songwriter. On September 16, 1967, Seely fulfilled her lifelong dream of joining the Grand Ole Opry®, becoming the first Pennsylvania native to do so. Nearly 56 years later, Seely makes clear that it's still a thrill and an honor each time she performs on the world-famous stage, which she has performed over 5300 times. From her 1966 Top 10 Billboard album, The Seely Style, which featured “Don’t Touch Me,” to her self-produced album, Written in Song, consisting entirely of songs she’s written and recorded for more than 10 Country Music Hall of Fame® members, Seely's recordings have spanned seven decades. Seely first appeared on the Billboard charts in 1966, continued to score entries for 13 consecutive years on various Billboard charts, and, as recently as 2022, has had a presence on the MusicRow charts. Seely also reached No. 1 on the Record World Country Singles chart in 1971 and on the Bluegrass Today chart in 2019. In his 2003 book, Finding Her Voice: The Saga of Women in Country Music, music critic Robert K. Oermann wrote, “With her chin-out, tough/tender, heart-of-gold manner, Jeannie Seely remains one of Country’s most completely modern female personalities,” and that statement still holds true. With a strong social media following and over 4 million views on her YouTube channel, Seely continues to expand her international presence as music sales and fans' messages pour in. She appeared in Willie Nelson's movie Honeysuckle Rose and sang on the film’s RIAA® platinum-certified soundtrack. For the past four years, Seely has hosted her own show, Sundays with Seely, on SiriusXM's Willie's Roadhouse. She also served as a disc jockey on her own Armed Forces Network Show, which launched after her tour abroad for the troops. She continues to receive letters of appreciation from American soldiers for her support. She is also a fierce advocate for musicians' rights and takes much pride in her involvement and support for the cause. Nelson, along with Rhonda Vincent, Bill Anderson, Lorrie Morgan, Ray Stevens, and many more of her friends, joined Seely for her most recent recording project, An American Classic, on Curb Records, which has received rave reviews and three radio releases. Most recently, Seely won the Song of the Year Award at the Arkansas Country Music Awards and was honored with the Mississippi Career Achievement Award at the Mississippi Music Awards and is the 2023 recipient of the CMA’s Joe Talbot Award.  Keep up with all things Jeannie Seely at www.jeannieseely.com.