1. Wilma Burgess had no interest in a musical career - although she had displayed her natural talent performing as a pop singer on local television - until hearing Eddy Arnold in concert awakened her passion for country music.
12 Facts About Wilma Burgess
1. 2.
In 1960, a songwriter friend of Wilma Burgess persuaded her to go to Nashville to record some demos of his compositions.
3.
One of the publishers Wilma Burgess sang for asked to manage her singing career and Wilma Burgess cut her first single in 1962 for the United Artists label.
4.
Bradley arranged for Wilma Burgess' signing with Decca where she had her first session in June 1964.
5.
In 1975, Wilma Burgess left Shannon signing with RCA Records, where her uneventful tenure lasted until 1978.
6.
Wilma Burgess worked on and off with Mary Reeves running the Jim Reeves Museum in Nashville.
7.
Wilma Burgess was lesbian and preferred to record love songs with no gender-specific references.
8.
Wilma Burgess did sometimes agree to record songs such as "Ain't Got No Man", on condition that her producer Owen Bradley let her record a song she liked but he did not.
9.
In September 1982, Wilma Burgess opened and operated a music venue called Track 9 located at 2025 8th Avenue South in Nashville.
10.
Wilma Burgess was part of the local lesbian community, and lesbians frequented Track 9 during its existence.
11.
Wilma Burgess died unexpectedly on August 26,2003, at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, after suffering a heart attack.
12.
Wilma Burgess was 64, and had been hospitalized for a week for tests, and had seemed to be on the road to recovery.