INTRODUCTION

I released my first recordings in 1960. During that decade I had several chart records, and toured the U.S. and Canada with many of the Grand Ole Opry Stars. It was a blessed time of learning, crafting, and serving my fans.

In 1965 I moved to Texas, and became a regular singer at the Longhorn Ballroom until 1970. Destiny tapped my shoulder and chose me, along with Skeet’s McDonald, to sing in the Paul Newman movie “Hud.” My husband, Claude McBride, and I enjoyed happy times in Texas until 1973, when he died suddenly of a massive heart attack. Overcome with grief, I left the music business.

Just a few years later, destiny tapped again, and a friend introduced me to tall Texan John Ingram, and after a short courtship, we were married. By 1979, my new bridegroom had talked me into returning to the music business, and I tried singing at the various Texas Opry shows.

In 1981, John and I became hosts of the Mesquite Opry, and I again began to record. Many, many young people auditioned for that stage, and, I’m proud to say, a great number are successful now in the music business.

In 1991 I received the title of “World Class Champion Female Yodeler” at the Western Music Festival in Tucson, Arizona, and appear at the festival every year since.

In addition to my music, I’ve always managed to find day jobs that provide fulfillment. My most recent is the one that lasted the longest, 18 years as a Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy from which I recently retired April 30th, 1997. Many thanks to husband John for introducing me there, as he has been a law man since the day I met him.

We’re now both retired, and I sing at the Mesquite Opry Saturday night show (under new management), as well as at other festivals and concerts throughout the country. John and I love to travel, and this new career is a long awaited “dream come true.”

Even today, though, I spend many hours working with people who want to learn song writing, singing, and yodeling, especially the yodeling. I treasure the opportunity to pass along what knowledge I have. I’ve tried for over 50 years to master that craft, and it still gives me a thrill when someone says, “teach me to yodel too.”

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