Jeannie C. Riley

Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson; October 19, 1945) is an American country music and gospel singer. She is best known for her 1968 country and pop hit "Harper Valley PTA", which reached number-one on the Billboard Country and Pop charts.

Riley later saw moderate country music chart action but never again duplicated the success of "Harper Valley PTA". She became a born-again Christian in the mid-1970s and began recording gospel music during the late 1970s.

Early life and rise to fame Riley was born in Anson, Texas, United States. As a teenager, she married Mickey Riley and gave birth to a daughter on January 11, 1966.

Riley's career was stagnant until former Mercury Records producer Shelby Singleton received a demo tape of Riley's voice.

Success of "Harper Valley PTA" "Harper Valley PTA" was released in 1968 and immediately became a hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts,

The song's success helped Riley make country music history in 1969 as the first female vocalist to have her own major network variety special, Harper Valley U.S.A., which she hosted with Jerry Reed. The show featured performances by Mel Tillis and the song's writer, Tom T. Hall.

The song spawned a 1978 film and a 1981-82 television series, both titled Harper Valley PTA and starring Barbara Eden as the widow Mrs. Johnson.

During the late 1960s and into the very early 1970s, Riley ranked among the most popular female vocalists in the country music industry. She had five Grammy Award nominations and four Country Music Association nominations, and performed a duet with Loretta Lynn. She had success on the country charts again, but on a lesser scale.

Other hits following "Harper Valley PTA" include "The Girl Most Likely," "There Never Was A Time," "The Rib," "The Back Side of Dallas," "Country Girl," "Oh Singer," and "Good Enough to Be Your Wife."

Riley left Plantation Records for MGM Records in 1972, recording several albums, but only two of her singles from the period, "Good Morning Country Rain" and "Give Myself A Party," cracked the top 30. Later stints at Mercury Records and Warner Bros. Records produced only a couple of charted singles, but she remained in demand as a concert artist well into the 1980s.

Riley became a born-again Christian and began recording gospel music in the mid-1970s. As result of her conversion, she distanced herself from "PTA" for a time due to its content. The song remained part of her live set, however, and she still performs it in her shows. She published her 1980 autobiography, From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top, which told the story of pop-music stardom and later move to gospel music.

Riley sued Big Lots' parent company, Consolidated Stores Corporation, for $250,000 in 2003 after suffering from a fall the previous year. Riley stated that injuries from the fall kept her from performing and resulted in lasting disability.

Discography Albums

Singles Year Single Peak positions Album US Country US CAN 1968 "Harper Valley PTA"A 1 1 1 1 Harper Valley PTA "The Girl Most Likely" 6 55 1 34 Yearbooks and Yesterdays 1969 "The Price I Pay to Stay" 35 — 22 — Sock Soul "There Never Was a Time" 5 77 12 76 Things Go Better With Love "The Rib" 32 111 — — "The Back Side of Dallas" 33 — — — 1970 "Country Girl" 7 106 16 — Country Girl "Duty, Not Desire" 21 — 13 — The Generation Gap "My Man" 60 — — — 1971 "Oh, Singer" 4 74 5 62 Jeannie "Good Enough to Be Your Wife" 7 97 22 67 "Roses and Thorns" 15 — 15 — "The Lion's Club" — — 36 — "Houston Blues" 47 — — — Give Myself a Party 1972 "Give Myself a Party" 12 — 37 — "Good Morning Country Rain" 30 — — — Down to Earth "One Night" 57 — — — 1973 "When Love Has Gone Away" 44 — — — When Love Has Gone Away "Hush" 51 — — — Just Jeannie "Another Football Year" 57 — — — 1974 "Missouri" — — — — Just Jeannie "Plain Vanilla" 89 — — — 1976 "The Best I've Ever Had" 94 — — — "Pure Gold" — — — — 1977 "Reach for Me" — — — — 1979 "It's Wings That Make Birds Fly" — — — — Wings to Fly 1982 "From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top" — — — — From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top 1984 "Return to Harper Valley" — — — — Total Woman 1991 "Here's to the Cowboys" — — — — Here's Jeannie C. "—" denotes releases that did not chart

A "Harper Valley PTA" was certified Gold by the RIAA. "Harper Valley PTA" also made the Adult Contemporary Charts, hitting No. 4. In the UK singles chart, it went to No. 12.

Charted B-sides

Music videos Year Video 1991 "Here's to the Cowboys"

Awards and nominations Year Award Program Award Result1968 Grammy Awards Record of the Year, "Harper Valley PTA" Best New Artist Best Female Country Vocal Performance "Harper Valley PTA" CMA Awards Single of the Year, "Harper Valley PTA" Album of the Year, "Harper Valley PTA" Female Vocalist of the Year 1969 Grammy Awards Best Female Country Vocal Performance, "The Back Side of Dallas" CMA Awards "Female Vocalist of the Year"

In 2019, Riley was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.