35 Years Ago Today, Country Music Lost a Grammy-Winning Trailblazer After an Ill-Fated Trip to the Opry

Most women who have found success in country music owe some of that success to Dottie West. Born and raised in Nashville, the singer grew up steeped in country music. As an adult, she clawed her way through a male-dominated Music Row to become the first woman ever to win a country music accolade from the Grammy Awards. West also took it upon herself to mentor up-and-coming female country artists such as Jeannie Seely and Jessi Colter.

Tragically, on this day (September 4) in 1991, Dottie West died at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center from injuries she’d sustained in a car crash five days earlier. The “Country Sunshine” singer was just 58 years old.

Dottie West’s Final Ride to the Opry Ended in Tragedy

On August 30, 1991, Dottie West’s car stalled on the way to a performance at the Grand Ole Opry.

Already running late, West flagged down a neighbor, who offered her a ride to the venue. In his haste to get the “Here Comes My Baby” to the Opry on time, the older man lost control of the vehicle as it exited Tennessee State Route 155. The car went airborne and hit an enbankment.

At first, West appeared uninjured. However, a trip to the hospital revealed that she had ruptured her spleen and lacerated her liver. (Her neighbor survived the collision, later pleading no contest to reckless endangerment charges.)

After undergoing two surgeries, West had lost a substantial amount of blood. On the morning of September 4, 1991, the 58-year-old country music pioneer’s heart stopped on the operating table as medical professionals prepared her for a third surgery.

They could not revive her.

Three days later, Dottie West’s friends and family laid her to rest following a service at Nashville’s Christ Church on September 7, 1991.

Eulogizing his duet partner, Kenny Rogers said, “When she sang about pain, she felt pain; when she sang about love, she felt love; when she sang about beauty, she felt that beauty. While some performers sang words, she sang emotions.”

She Was Planning a Comeback

Born Dorothy Marie Marsh on October 11, 1932, in Frog Pond, Tennessee — roughly 64 miles northeast of Nashville — Dottie West was one of 10 children.

Her upbringing was a difficult one, enduring poverty and abuse from her alcoholic father. Country music success didn’t come easily, either.

After being rejected by nearly every label in Nashville, West was a married housewife in her 30s by the time she broke through with 1964’s “Here Comes My Baby”. The top 10 hit won West the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

“Dottie’s path was never easy, but she had the strongest determination,” Jeannie Seely said during her friend’s Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2018.

[RELATED: 4 of Kenny Rogers and Dottie West’s Most Stunning Duets]

West would collect more Top Ten singles with “Would You Hold It Against Me” (1966) and “Paper Mansions” (1967). She also enjoyed successful collaborations with Jim Reeves, Kenny Rogers, and Don Gibson.

Additionally, West composed 12 Coca-Cola jingles, including the Clio Award–winning “Country Sunshine,” which reached the top 10 in 1973.

However, her commercial success began to decline shortly after. In 1990, the singer filed for bankruptcy with more than $1 million in debt.

She was gearing up for a comeback before her untimely death.

Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The post 35 Years Ago Today, Country Music Lost a Grammy-Winning Trailblazer After an Ill-Fated Trip to the Opry appeared first on American Songwriter.