Jeannie Seely
Jack Greene
To Perform at Little Nashville Opry

~by Tamela Meredith Partridge

Two of country music’s finest musicians, Jeannie Seely and Jack Greene, will perform a duo headlining show at the Little Nashville Opry on Saturday, March 22 at 6 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.

“Jack Greene and I have been traveling together a lot lately as part of a country legends show,” Jeannie Seely says during a recent phone interview from her riverside home outside of Nashville, TN. “Jack is an old dear friend and I’m delighted to be working with him again.”

Grand Ole Opry member, Jack Greene, has spent a lifetime entertaining with his smooth, clear and dynamic vocals.

“Everything starts with a song,” Greene says. “There’s a lot involved in recording, especially with today’s modern technology, but the song is most important.”

Greene’s ability to choose just the right songs is found in a string of No. 1 hits including, “There Goes My Everything,” “You Are My Treasure,” and “Statue Of A Fool.”

“The fans still want to hear some of the old material,” Greene says. “In 1984, we went back into the studio and recut six of my No. 1 records using the new recording technology.”

Even though his roots are pure country, Greene’s signature sound stems from a combination of influences.

“I was influenced by the Eastern Appalachian songs — my Irish and English ancestory,” says Greene, a Maryville, Tennessee native. “My mother’s teaching and her molding me also gave a lot of support.”

Another influential woman in Green’s musical career is country singer, songwriter and former duet partner, Jeannie Seely.

“Jack and I toured a duo show together for 11 years,” says Grand Ole Opry member, Jeannie Seely. “And we’ve recorded two regular albums and a live album together as well.”

Seely and Greene topped the Billboard country singles charts in the early 1970’s with the duets, “Wish I Didn’t Have To Miss You,” “Much Oblige” and “What In The World Has Gone Wrong With Our Love?”

“We haven’t performed a duet together for a long time,” Seely says. “When I say Jack and I have worked together lately, it just means that we’ve been on the same show doing our own separate performances. In fact, in order to re-establish our own identities, we stopped performing any duets together a while ago. We’ve mentioned it a few times that we would enjoy doing a duet again sometime in the future. And who knows? We may just surprise everybody at the Little Nashville Opry and do something together on this show. We just don’t know yet. I do have to say though, if we did end up doing something together at this show, it would be a history making event.”

Seely’s 1966 debut single, “Don’t Touch Me,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard country singles chart, followed by such Top Twenty hits as, “Can I Sleep In Your Arms,” “I’ll Love You More” and “Lucky Ladies.”

“After you get a hit solo record, you’re singing lead all the time,” Seely says. “But what I always enjoyed about Jack Greene and I doing our duo shows is how we would hit the stage together with a five-piece band and sing harmony and provide back-up vocals for each other. Singing harmony was one of the things I missed the most after we split the show.”

Current endeavors for the Grammy award-winning vocalist include touring, writing a musical theater production and putting the finishing touches on an upcoming bluegrass album. Seely penned two out of thirteen songs for the new album, which also features guest accompaniments by some of Nashville’s most prestigious musicians.

“All of the guests on the album are Grand Ole Opry artists in the bluegrass field,” Seely says. “To name a few — we had The Whites, Steve Wariner played guitar, Jessie McReynolds played mandolin, The Osborne Brothers played the banjo, mandolin and sang harmony. Another thrill was when Charlie Louvin came and sang a harmony part above me on a song. I just can’t begin to describe what an absolutely incredible project it was to record.”

To this day, the lady referred to as “Miss Country Soul” remains grateful for the musical career that has given her so much.

“When you are already doing and living your life dream, just to keep doing it every year is wonderful,” Seely says. “I don’t take lightly, at all, how fortunate I’ve been to be a part of the Grand Ole Opry and to meet, know, listen and work with such a talented group of country music artists that I’m also able to call my friends.”