Dottie West

Artist: Dottie West

LP: Dottie West Sings

Song: "You're the Only World I Know"

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Born into a poor family in McMinnville, Tennessee in 1932, Dottie West (aka. Dorothy Marie Marsh) was physically and sexually abused by her father for many years before she finally got him sent to prison when she was just 17 years old. Dottie's interest in music led to work with The Cookskins and The Kay-Dots before she finally launched her solo career in the early 1960s. West was an inspiration to singers like Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, as she was the first female country singer to win a Grammy—for her hit single "Here Comes My Baby" in 1964. Dottie's popularity began to wane in the early 1970s, but Kenny Rogers helped change that with a series of duets they took to the top of the charts together toward the end of the decade. West's career was further transformed in the late '70s and early '80s when she suddenly turned into the Nashville version of Ann-Margret. The incredible  life and career of Dottie West, which you can read about here, came to a sudden and tragic end in 1991 with an incident that reminds us once and for all that you should never, ever, encourage an octogenarian to drive 30mph over the speed limit.

 [ Dottie West: October 11, 1932 — September 4, 1991 ]