Connie Smith

==Early life==
Connie Smith was born Constance June Meador to parents Wilma and Hobart Meador in Elkhart, Indiana.<ref name="allmusicbio">{{cite web |last1=Bush |first1=John |title=Connie Smith: Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/connie-smith-mn0000099753/biography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> Her parents were originally from West Virginia, and when Smith was five months old, the family returned there. They later moved to Dungannon, Ohio.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=4}} Her biological father was an alcoholic, and he was abusive to Smith's family.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=4}}{{sfn|Mazor|2012|p=6}} "There were some tough times that I went through as a young child," she told an interviewer.<ref name="Country Stars Central">{{cite web|title=Connie Smith Interview |url=http://www.countrystarscentral.com/conniesmithinterview.htm|publisher=Country Stars Central|access-date=August 15, 2010}}</ref>

Her mother divorced her biological father when she was a child and remarried to Tom Clark. Smith's stepfather brought eight children to the marriage, and Meador brought five (including Smith). The couple later had two more children together, totaling 15 children.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=4}} Smith was influenced by music in her childhood. Her stepfather played [[mandolin]], while her brother played [[fiddle]], and her other brother played guitar. On Saturday nights, the family tuned into the [[Grand Ole Opry]] radio broadcast.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=4}} She took up the guitar following a lawnmower accident, which nearly cut her leg off. While in the hospital recovering, she was given a guitar and learned how to play different chords.<ref name="legendscorner">{{cite web|last=Sexton|first=Scott|title=Legend's Corner – Connie Smith|url=http://countrymusic.about.com/od/legendscorner/a/LC_ConnieSmith.htm|publisher=[[about.com]]|access-date=August 13, 2010|archive-date=February 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225050917/http://countrymusic.about.com/od/legendscorner/a/LC_ConnieSmith.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Smith did not perform publicly until high school when a friend invited her to sing [[Connie Francis]]'s pop hit "[[My Happiness (1948 song)|My Happiness]]".{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=5}}

With only one-tenth of a point behind the valedictorian,{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=5}} Smith graduated from Salem-Liberty High School in 1959 as the class salutatorian.{{sfn|Mazor|2012|p=6}} Following graduation, she worked as telephone operator in Lowell, Ohio. She also worked as a drugstore clerk, a dental assistant and in a grocery store.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=5}} At age 19, she married her first husband, Jerry Smith.<ref name="The Boot">{{cite web |last1=Betts |first1=Stephen L. |title=Country Music Hall of Fame Adds Garth Brooks, Connie Smith, Hargus 'Pig' Robbins |url=https://theboot.com/country-music-hall-of-fame-garth-brooks-connie-smith-hargus-pig-robbins/ |website=The Boot |date=March 6, 2012 |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> Smith's husband encouraged her singing, and she began performing with more frequency. Her first professional performance was at the 1962 Washington County Fair. She then briefly joined the cast of ''Saturday Night Jamboree'', a local country music television program. Smith was fired following her first performance, later theorizing it was because she was pregnant.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=5}} She then successfully auditioned for and landed a spot on a similar program for [[WSAZ-TV]].{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=7}}

Despite performance opportunities, Smith intended to remain a housewife and mother.<ref name="roughguide"/>{{sfn|Escott|2001|pp=6-8}} In August 1963, Smith entered a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio. Performing [[Jean Shepard]]'s "[[I Thought of You]]", Smith won the talent contest and five [[Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollars]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |last1=Osmon |first1=Erin |title=54 Albums Later, Connie Smith's Defiant Heart Has Plenty to Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/arts/music/connie-smith-cry-of-the-heart.html |access-date=20 August 2021 |work=[[New York Times]] |date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> Judging the contest was country singer-songwriter [[Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson]], who was instantly impressed by her voice. "At first I thought they were playing a record and she was lip sync'ing it," he later explained.{{sfn|Escott|2001|p=7}}

In January 1964, Smith ran into Anderson again at a country music package concert in Canton, Ohio. He invited her to perform with him on [[Ernest Tubb]]'s ''[[Midnite Jamboree]]'' program in Nashville, Tennessee. When Smith performed on the program in March 1964, she found out that she would not be performing with Anderson, but instead with [[Ernest Tubb]]. Impressed by her performance, [[Loretta Lynn]] introduced herself after the show and gave her career advice.{{sfn|Escott|2001|pp=7-8}}<ref name="interview">Interview with Connie Smith for ''Ralph Emery Live'' on [[RFD-TV]]</ref> After performing on the program, Smith returned to Nashville that May to record demos by Anderson that he planned on pitching to other country artists. Anderson's manager Hubert Long brought the demo recording to the [[RCA Victor Records|RCA Victor]] label where producer [[Chet Atkins]] heard it. Also impressed by her vocals, Atkins offered Smith a recording contract, and she signed on June 24, 1964.{{sfn|Escott|2001|pp=8-10}}
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