Remembering 1970’s Country Music Hit Maker Billie Jo Spears
I was working at KWYR in Winner South Dakota in 1975. It was a great year for Country Music. Conway was putting out #1 after #1, the general public was recognizing the genius of Willie, the outlaw movement was underway and the CB craze was sweeping the nation. C.W. McCall had a massive hit with 'Convoy'. Glen Campbell topped the country and pop music chart with 'Rhinestone Cowboy'. Freddy Fender had not one but two massive hits in '75 with 'Before The Next Teardrop Falls' and 'Wasted Days and Wasted Nights'.
Yes, all the artists who are now considered country music legends were at or near the top of the country charts.
And Billie Jo Spears cut through it all and had a huge #1 hit with "Blanket On The Ground".
She never was able to duplicate the success of that song. She had several great Top 10 hits, but never reached #1 again.
So whatever happened to Beaumont, Texas native Billie Jo Spears?
Well, she kept releasing albums into the 1980's, and while her popularity lessened in the U.S., she remained a major name in the United Kingdom! In fact, she released many successful albums in the U'K. that were never released in the U.S.
In her later years she lived in Vidor, Texas and sadly passed away from cancer December 14, 2011. Billie Jo was 73.