Barbara Mandrell

Barbara Mandrell is a country icon who ruled the charts throughout the ‘70s and ’80s, melding downhome storytelling and R&B-soul melodies on hits like “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right” and “Sleeping Single In A Double Bed.” Born in Houston, Texas, on Christmas Day in 1948, Mandrell began performing at an early age, picking up accordion, saxophone and, most famously, steel guitar before she finished high school. In 1960, she joined Joe Maphis' Las Vegas country show, frequently playing guitar with Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, and eventually landing her first solo hit in 1971 with “Tonight My Baby's Coming Home.” Mandrell scored six No. 1 singles throughout her career, later breaking into acting and hosting a successful prime time variety show in the early ‘80s. Mandrell gave her loyal fans one final televised concert, 1997’s Barbara Mandrell and the Do-Rites: The Last Dance, and appeared in several hit TV series before retiring from showbiz in 2000.