Country legend Jeannie Seely, known for “Don’t Touch Me,” has died at 85

Country music icon Jeannie Seely, known for her groundbreaking career and record-setting presence on the Grand Ole Opry, has died at age 85. Her passing was confirmed by publicist Don Murry Grubbs on August 1.

Per reports, Seely died in hospice care, just weeks after her July 6 birthday, after a a series of serious medical setbacks and and undergoing several procedures to address vertebrae damage.

In May, she reportedly had urgent abdominal surgeries. Seely addressed her fans' concerns with People:

"Thank you for those, and I assure you that I miss you just as much! Hopefully I can count on that support as I struggle through this recovery process from multiple back surgeries in March, as well as two emergency abdominal surgeries in April, followed by eleven days in the intensive care unit and a bout with pneumonia.”

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Jeannie Seely: A record-breaking voice in country music history

Jeannie Seely made history with 5,397 appearances on the Opry stage, more than any other performer. Her contributions went far beyond the numbers. She was the first artist to ever record a live album on the Opry stage and one of the earliest women to win a Grammy for Best Female Country Performance.

Raised on a Pennsylvania farm, Jeannie Seely’s rise in the industry was fueled by persistence. As a young woman in Los Angeles, she worked at a Beverly Hills bank before taking a secretary job at a record label, determined to break into music by any means necessary.

There, she began writing songs and completed her first, “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” with Randy Newman. The track later became a hit for Irma Thomas.

She later co-wrote songs with Glen Campbell (“Senses”), penned “It Just Takes Practice” for Dottie West, and recorded her own early hits in Nashville in 1964.

That session yielded “If I Can’t Have You,” “A World Without You,” and “Today Is Not the Day.” After meeting country singer Hank Cochran, whom she later married, Jeannie Seely relocated permanently to Nashville.

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“A door I kicked in”: How Jeannie Seely made country music history in miniskirt and heels

Jeannie Seely’s first appearance at the Opry came in 1966. Reflecting on that debut, she once said:

“Every emotion a person could feel was going through my mind and body, from nerves to sheer terror.”

In 1967, Seely became a full-time Opry member and the third woman to win a Country Performance Grammy. That same year, she turned heads by performing in a miniskirt on the revered stage, making a quiet but powerful statement about agency and image.

“The relevance of that miniskirt was that I got away with wearing what my choice was. When I did that and got away with it, they were allowed to... wear whatever they wanted to wear.”

Her persistence paid off. In 1985, she became the first woman to host a half-hour Grand Ole Opry segment.

“That was a hard won battle. That wasn't just given to me. That was a door that I kicked in incessantly to get open.”

Looking back, she took pride in the path she carved for others.

“When I saw Lorrie Morgan, Pam Tillis, that era come up — they were able to walk out there (and) host a segment without that pressure, that stigma. I'm very proud of that.”

Jeannie Seely’s career spanned decades and included collaborations with country legends like Willie Nelson, Jack Greene, Ernest Tubb, and Merle Haggard. She also dabbled in acting, with appearances in Nashville theater productions and a cameo in the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose.