Jeannie Seely, the country music singer best known for her hit song Don’t Touch Me, has died at 85.
Seely died on Friday at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, from complications brought on by an intestinal infection, according to People.
Her death follows the loss of her husband Eugene Ward from cancer in December.
Following news of Seely’s death, her longtime friend Dolly Parton posted a tribute to her on Instagram.
‘I have known Jeannie Seely since we were early on in Nashville. She was one of my dearest friends,’ Parton wrote.
‘I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humor. We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed,’ the country icon added.
Jeannie Seely, the country music singer best known for her hit song Don’t Touch Me, died on Friday at 85 at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, according to People; pictured in 2022 in Nashville, Tenn.
Dolly Parton posted a tribute to Seely, whom she called one of her ‘dearest friends,’ later on Friday; pictured January 28 in Nashville
Parton praised Seely’s ‘wonderful sense of humor’ and reminisced about how they ‘had many wonderful laughs together’ and ‘cried over certain things together’
Seely had been plagued by health problems since last year, and she announced in May that she had undergone multiple surgeries on her back to repair her vertebrae.
The performer also said she had two emergency abdominal surgeries and developed pneumonia during an 11-day stay in the intensive care unit.
‘Rehab is pretty tough, but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine!’ she said at the time. ‘The unsinkable Seely is working her way back.’
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Seely was known for her distinctive soul-inflected vocal delivery, which earned her the nickname ‘Miss Country Soul.’
Her 1966 single Don’t Touch Me became a hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart after ascending to number two, and she followed it up with more hits including A Wanderin’ Man (1967) and I’ll Love You More (Than You’ll Need) (1968).
All three songs were written by Seely’s future husband, Hank Cochran, whom she wed in 1969.
The couple separated later in the 1970s, and their divorce was finalized in 1979. Cochran died in 2010 at age 84 from cancer.
While Seely was collaborating with her husband behind-the-scenes, she regularly sang duets with country star Jack Greene starting in the late ’60s.
Seely was known for her distinctive soul-inflected vocal delivery, which earned her the nickname ‘Miss Country Soul’; pictured circa 1970
Several of Seely’s biggest hits — including Don’t Touch Me, A Wanderin’ Man and I’ll Love You More (Than You’ll Need) — were written by her first husband, Hank Cochran. They divorced in 1979, and he died in 2010; Seely is pictured in June 2024 in Nashville
In 2010, Seely married her second husband, the Nashville-based attorney Gene Ward.
He was plagued by health problems not long after the nuptials, and he died on December 13 after being diagnosed with cancer.
Seely, who was born in 1940 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, had been singing on the radio for local stations beginning at 11, but she initially pursued work as a stenographer after high school.
After setting out west for California’s warmer climate, she started working at a bank, only to change course again to get her start in the music industry as a songwriter.
Seely collaborated with future stars Randy Newman and Glen Campbell, and songs she wrote were performed by country mainstays including Norma Jean, Dottie West and Connie Smith, among others.
She got her chance to record under her own name beginning in 1964.
Seely’s chart status began to take a dive later in the 1970s, and her injuries from a 1977 car crash — in which she drove her car into a tree, resulting in a fractured jaw, broken ribs and a collapsed lung — kept her off the road and out of the studio for years.
During the 1980s, Seely tried her hand at acting with stage roles in the musicals Takin’ It Home and The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, as well as the play Everybody Loves Opal.
Her commercial fortunes began to take a hit in the ’70s, and a 1977 car crash kept her off the road and out of the studio for years. In the ’80s, she tried her hand at acting in musicals and plays; pictured in 2018 in Nashville
The singer holds the distinction of having more Grand Ole Opry appearances than any other musician after making her debut in 1966.
Seely had been a fan of the Opry’s radio show since she was a child, and she became a member of the organization in 1967.
‘Actually, I knew at eight years old what I wanted to be,’ Seely told People in 2022. ‘And I knew I wanted to be at the Opry.
‘I just wanted to know them,’ she continued. ‘I wanted to be a part of that family that I heard every week.’
Seely became the first woman to host the Opry’s show, and she contrasted many of the more conservative outfits worn by female performers by wearing more modern outfits, including jeans and even go-go boots.
In 2022, she recalled how her decision to wear a miniskirt on stage caused Opry manager Ott Devine to give her a dressing down.
‘I explained that I just moved here from California, and this is what everybody’s wearing,’ she said. ‘I said, “You do know the trend is coming.”‘
Seely recounted telling Devine that she wouldn’t wear miniskirts on stage on the condition that that he didn’t let in any audience members with short skirts, which led him to relent.