Jeannie Seely burst on to the country music scene in 1966 and had her biggest hit right off the bat DON'T TOUCH ME, which won her the Grammy in 1966 for Best Country Female Vocal. This collection is of vintage tracks from her years on Monument Records 1966-69 and includes seven songs that were top 40 country successes for her. Seely signed with Decca-MCA in 1969 and had a hit-or-miss string of chart songs for them, although her music was consistently fine. Unfortunately for Jeannie, these were arguably the greatest, most competitive years in country music history for female vocalists with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette at their apexes and Lynn Anderson, Dolly Parton, Jeannie C. Riley, Connie Smith, and a dozen more "girl singers" proved tough competition but Seely's head was always above water and remained famous and popular. As someone else mentioned, during the Monument years Jeannie recorded almost nothing but slow melancholy material, even her love songs like "I'll Love You More" have a touch of sadness in them. The sassy uptempo "Everything I Had Going For Me is Gone" even casts Jeannie as "feeling sorry for myself" although the melody is catchy and fun. Her Decca material was much more varied and I prefer those recordings, but these songs were generally bigger hits since they followed in the wake of her blockbuster "Don't Touch Me". Jeannie always sang with a lot of heart and passion which helped to earn her the nickname "Miss Country Soul". One suspects had Jeannie been around in the 1950's she would have been an acclaimed pop singer of the "torch" variety. Today Jeannie is past 60 but still one of the most promenient female vocalists on the Grand Ole Opry, still singing and looking great and in recent years has recorded everything from a Christmas album to a bluegrass one."
Best Compilation on Jeenie so far.
Cory L. Schwent | Bloomsdale, MO United States | 12/01/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This compiles her all of Jeenie Seely's charting songs on Monument Records between 1966 and 1968. It includes 2 top ten hits, "Don't Touch Me" and "I'll Love You More (Than You Need)."The sound is alright, and Jeenie is in great voice here. All the songs are originals and the booklet boasts no notes.I would recommend getting this, as it has become very rare, and I don't see any of her hits being reissued in the near future."
Best Jeannie cd on the market
Beth | Mesa, AZ United States | 03/12/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Jeannie Seely possessed a wonderful dry voice. But this unfortunately had bad sides to it. For though she sounded good on slow songs, there was just too much of it. I admit her voice is more suited for those types of songs, but there could have been more upbeat stuff available on this cd. Also there are no linear notes and the songwriting identification is kind of confusing.
Now for the compliments. If you're into 60's country girls, one should check Jeannie out. Her voice is instantly recognizable and not every country person's is. This includes her hit "Don't Touch Me", but also check out "Welcome Home to Nothing" and "A Wanderin' Man."
Hopefully someone will make a collection of her Decca/MCA material soon."
Jeannie Seely is the best as far as I'm concerned.
V. A. Peek | Summerville, SC | 04/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"She is a beautiful lady in more than looks. She is truly a person who cares about her fans and audiences. My husband and children and I had the good fortune to see her when she was performing and touring with Jack Greene back in the late 60's and early 70's up in Pennsylvania at the Sunset Park. She was always gracious to sign autographs and still is and she will talk with you. She did not hide in her bus during intermissions nor between other acts. She was right out there with us fraternizing. It was truly a park. We took a picnic basket and sat on blankets and quilts. It was oh such fun.
The album "Don't Touch Me" was the first one I bought by her. I will always love it. I love those soul songs. She's my favorite lady singer and Don Gibson was my favorite male. I only wished they had recorded together at least once. "The King of Country Soul" and "Miss Country Soul". "Don't Touch Me" put me on to her music and I've never looked back. We were in New Orleans with my husband preparing to head out for Vietnam when we first time and we rushed right down to the Navy Exchange to buy it. It was sort of like an anthem for us. To tell that to anyone who might want to get "close" with us while he was gone those 2 years. We've now been married over 50 years. And so of course I bought the Greatest Hits On Monument. There was another album she did I believe was called "Miss Country Soul". I have that as well, however all of my LPs are still stored in moving boxes since CDs came out. But I've tried to duplicate all of my LPs (purchasing them) on CDs. Thank goodness for someone telling me about Amazon. I've just about bought 1/3 of what I have stored in the boxes.
I would imagine that one would have to like this kind of music to appreciate her efforts. Which are really not efforts to her. She loves it. She sent me her latest CD "Life's Highway" and a sweet note. She has worked long and hard at country and at the Grand Ole Opry and has never been recognized enough I don't think. But these albums will ensure that she will always be remembered.
I believe that I remember hearing that Hank Cochran (her husband at the time) wrote the song "I Fall to Pieces" for her but Patsy Cline got the hit. Too bad. I liked Jeannie's version better and I have it on CD as well as LP."
Forgotten country star
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 01/13/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jeannie had one major solo country hit plus a few lesser hits. She also had some success as the duet partner of Jack Greene, though those tracks are not included here. She sounds a bit like Tammy Wynette might sound without the cry in her voice, though Jeannie's voice still packs plenty of emotion.
The big hit that Jeannie is remembered for (if she is remembered at all) is Don't touch me, which has been covered by many country singers including Tammy, George Jones and Lorrie Morgan. It is a heart-wrenching ballad, typical of many of the songs here although Jeannie can lighten up when she chooses, as in I'll love you more than you need.
Long after her hit-making days were over, Jeannie continued to perform on the Grand Old Opry and at other venues. Despite that, her music is generally hard to find these days. Nevertheless, if you enjoy predominately sad love songs sung in a traditional country style, you will enjoy Jeannie's music."