In 2018, Dottie West was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
31 Facts About Dottie West
2.
Dottie West testified in court against her father and he was sentenced to 40 years in prison, where he died in 1967.
3.
Dottie West joined her high-school band, "The Cookskins", where she sang and played guitar.
4.
The singles Dottie West cut for the label proved unsuccessful, but she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, two years later, where she and her husband met several aspiring songwriters, including Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Hank Cochran, and Harlan Howard.
5.
Dottie West often played hostess to these struggling songwriters, offering them a place to stay and eat.
6.
Dottie West had asked Cline to ride with Bill and her in their car, but Cline, anxious to get back home to her children, opted to fly, instead.
7.
In 1963, Jim Reeves recorded a song written by Dottie West called "Is This Me", becoming a number-three hit that year.
8.
Dottie West earned her first top-40 hit in 1963 with "Let Me Off at the Corner", followed a year later by the top-10 duet with Jim Reeves, "Love Is No Excuse".
9.
Dottie West continued to have success as a solo artist during the late 1960s, with such songs as "What's Come Over My Baby" and "Country Girl", which garnered her an offer to write a commercial based on it for Coca-Cola in 1970.
10.
Around the time of Have You Heard Dottie West, released in 1971, she left her husband Bill, and in 1972, married drummer Byron Metcalf, who was 12 years her junior.
11.
In 1973, Dottie West provided Coca-Cola with another advertisement, featuring a song called "Country Sunshine".
12.
Under United Artists, Dottie West's material changed from traditional country to up-tempo and slow-tempo Adult Contemporary-styled music.
13.
In 1977, Dottie West released her first album under United Artists, When It's Just You and Me.
14.
In 1980, Dottie West filed for divorce from Byron Metcalf, citing his drinking and infidelity.
15.
In 1981, Dottie West had a pair of back-to-back number-one hits, "Are You Happy Baby" and "What Are We Doin' in Love" with Kenny Rogers.
16.
In 1984, Dottie West departed from her label and switched to the independent label Permian.
17.
Dottie West had her own float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that year.
18.
Dottie West posed for a revealing photo in the men's magazine Oui.
19.
In 1984, West released her final studio album, Just Dottie.
20.
In 1983, Dottie West, who was a lifelong active Democrat, performed on the party's syndicated telethon, "Celebrate America".
21.
Dottie West recorded her last song in July 1991 called "As For Me", a duet with Norwegian country singer Arne Benoni.
22.
Frantic about reaching the Opry on time, Dottie West urged Thackston to drive at high speed.
23.
Dottie West pled no contest to reckless endangerment and was ordered to complete an alcohol treatment program.
24.
Dottie West did not believe that she had been as badly injured as had Thackston and insisted that he be treated first.
25.
Dottie West's spleen was removed on Friday, and on the following Monday she underwent two more surgeries to stop her liver from bleeding, but these efforts ultimately failed.
26.
Doctors said that Dottie West knew the extent of her injuries and even visited with Kenny Rogers shortly before her last operation.
27.
On September 4,1991, during her third operation, Dottie West died on the operating table at the age of 58.
28.
That same year, a biography titled Country Sunshine: The Dottie West Story was released, written by Judy Berryhill and Francis Meeker.
29.
In 2000, Dottie West was honored at the BMI Golden Voice Awards with the Female Golden Legacy Award.
30.
Dottie West was only the second woman to win the award; the first was West's friend and mentor Patsy Cline.
31.
Dottie West was ranked number 23 in Country Music Television's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002.