Kitty Wells became the first female country superstar with her 1952 smash "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Born Ellen Muriel Deason on August 30, 1919, in Nashville, the young singer was dubbed Kitty Wells by her husband Johnnie Wright, half of the hitmaking country duo Johnnie and Jack, when she joined his traveling show in the late 1930s. Following her breakthrough solo hit, Wells became known as "The Queen of Country Music" and remained a constant on the country charts well into the 1970s, performing steadily until she and Wright jointly announced their retirement in 2000.