Country Music Legend Dies of Intestinal Infection: Jeannie Seely Was 85

The country music world is mourning the loss of a legend.

Grand Ole Opry star Jeannie Seely has passed away at 85.

According to a press release, Seely died as a result of complications from an intestinal infection on Friday at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee. Nicknamed “Miss Country Soul,” Seely had been battling health issues since last fall, which escalated in December after her husband of 14 years, Gene Ward, died. Earlier this spring, she underwent multiple back surgeries for vertebrae repairs and two emergency abdominal surgeries.

Seely was born on July 6, 1940, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, and raised on a farm outside of nearby Townville. By age 11, she was singing for a Saturday morning radio show on Meadville station WMGW, and at 16, she was performing on TV station WICU in Erie. Despite having a full plate in high school with numerous activities, Seely sang at local amateur contests and performed weekend dances throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. Following graduation, she worked for three years at the Titusville Trust Company and completed classes that were conducted by the American Institute of Banking in Oil City, Pennsylvania.

At 21, Seely moved out West and took a job at a Beverly Hills bank but left after a year to take a secretarial position at Liberty and Imperial Records in Hollywood. She soon began writing songs for Four Star Music and became a regular act on Hollywood Jamboree. Her songwriting scored her a recording contract on Challenge Records and later got a West Coast tour. From there, Seely’s star power only continued to rise, and she received the “Most Promising Female Artist” award in 1964 from the Country and Western Academy, later the Academy of Country Music.

A year later, Jeannie Seely moved to Nashville and signed with Monument Records. In September 1967, she was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry and became the first female to regularly host Opry segments. Seely was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame in 2018 and received the CMA’s prestigious Joe Talbot Award in 2023. Last year, she was honored by SOURCE with the esteemed Jo Walker-Meador Lifetime Achievement Award.

From 1966 to 2020, Seely released 17 studio albums. Her single, “Don’t Touch Me,” in 1966, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and is her only song to reach the Hot 100, reaching No. 85. Along with her contributions to music, Seely spearheaded efforts to support and enhance artist, musician, and songwriter roles in the music industry, paving the way for females who followed.

Seely is survived by friends, family members, and her special cat, Corrie. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents Leo and Irene Seely, and her siblings, Donald Seely, Bernard Seely, and Mary Lou Seely Lang.