Nashville, TN (August 12, 2024) — There’s an old adage, adopted from the title of a Thomas Wolfe novel that states, “You can never go home again.” At 84, Jeannie Seely says you can – and she did. But not without a bit of trouble. While preparing to head home following a special event honoring “Miss Country Soul” in her native state of Pennsylvania, Seely was briefly hospitalized for acute diverticulitis and dehydration.
“It had not crossed my mind to visit a hospital on my trip home, but when it became necessary, it was yet another opportunity to experience Pennsylvania hospitality,” explains Seely. “I could not have received better care or more respect than I did at St. Clare Hospital in Pittsburgh or the courtesy shown at Pittsburgh International Airport. The kindness is appreciated and I’m very proud to call the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania my birthplace.”
The country legend is now home in Nashville and on the road to recovery.
Seely, born in Titusville, PA, and raised on a farm outside nearby Townville, was just eleven years old when she first sang on Meadville’s WMGW radio station and 16 when she sang on WICU television in Erie.
For all the accolades she’s since received – including a Grammy Award, Star on the Music City Walk of Fame and legendary Grand Ole Opry status – Seely has never forgotten her hometown roots. Likewise, the borough of Townville (Pop. 322) is proud of its star and new “Home of Jeannie Seely” signs were recently unveiled there.
On Monday, July 29, the sign unveiling ceremony was held at the Townville Fire Station where ironically Seely first sang in front of a crowd. The ceremony was a standing room only event as friends, school classmates, area residents, and fans crowded together to honor Seely. “It’s so great to be back in my hometown,” she said at the event. “I just can’t believe what y’all did to put this together.”
“As I have said so many times throughout my career, even though I didn’t get home that often, I would hear from all of you,” Seely added. “Whenever I hear from home, it always makes me feel so welcome.”
Bluegrass group Cutter & Cash and The Kentucky Grass performed “Farm In Pennsyltucky,” one of Seely’s songs and then introduced Seely. She had high praise for the band, for which she is the producer and thanked its members for the part they played in bringing her back home.
State Rep. R. Lee James (R-64th) and State Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-65th) were on hand to honor Seely with a PA House of Representative Citation. James read the proclamation, and Rapp shared a memory of hosting and honoring Seely a few years prior in the State Capitol Building.
Cutter & Cash and The Kentucky Grass performed a new song, written by Seely along with PA musician Conrad Fisher, titled “Take Me Back To Pennsylvania.” Immediately following the song, Seely unveiled one of two road signs that will be placed on PA Route 408, at each end of the borough. The signs read: “Home of Jeannie Seely, Grammy Awarded Grand Ole Opry Legend, Class of 1958.”
Brennan Cruce, one of the Cutter & Cash and The Kentucky Grass band members and owner of a Marion, KY sign business, made the new signs which incorporate Seely’s school colors.
“I’m so thrilled about this sign,” said Seely during the ceremony, “and let me say I appreciate so much my classmates, my graduating class of 1958. They’re the ones who originally put the signs up for me. Since they were deteriorating, it was decided they needed to be replaced. I’m so grateful to Cutter, Cash and their group for putting this together and making it happen.”
While returning to her hometown area, Seely also visited the Drake Well Museum located in her birthplace of Titusville – which had become the birthplace of the oil industry when Col. Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well there in 1859. Seely participated in the centennial celebration in 1959, and she donated items worn during that event to the museum which has now placed them on display. A private tour of the Drake Well Museum and Park was arranged by Sarah Bell, Curator at the Drake Well Museum which is operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Later, Seely met with Kelly Anderson Gregg, President of the Titusville Historical Society, and Abbe Watson-Popescu, Project Manager for the Oil Region National Heritage Area, and she donated memorabilia, artifacts, photographs, documents and a stage outfit to the Titusville Historical Society and their Heritage Center in Titusville. Seely also met with Josh Sherretts, Executive Director of the Crawford County Historical Society and Kim Sherretts, Curator and Archivist, and likewise donated items for their permanent exhibit and archives.
While in Titusville, Seely stopped by the Titusville Trust Company, the bank where she worked for three years while singing at local clubs like the Elks and American Legion. Seely also made visits to The Arcade, a diner in operation since the 1920s where she would eat lunch while working at the bank and to the Titusville YWCA where she lived at one time.
“It’s always wonderful when I get a chance to come back and I never want to miss the opportunity to tell everybody here that I appreciated their support all through my career,” says Seely.
About Jeannie Seely
Early in her career, Jeannie Seely’s soul-inspired vocals were praised by music industry professionals and resulted Seely being named “Miss Country Soul,” a title still used today. Ken Burns of PBS called Seely’s voice “emotion packed” in a biography of her music. In 2019 Seely added the title of “Doctor” to her name when she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts from Lincoln Memorial University for her many groundbreaking accomplishments in the music industry and her support and encouragement of new talent. After moving from her home state of Pennsylvania to California, Seely received the “Most Promising Female Artist” award in 1964 from the Country and Western Academy (later becoming the Academy of Country Music). A year later Seely moved to Nashville where she signed with Monument Records, and her chart-topping hit “Don’t Touch Me” resulted in Seely becoming only the third female country artist to receive a Grammy Award. Seely received Most Promising New Artist awards from Cashbox, Record World, and Billboard, and went on to score records on Billboard’s country singles chart for 13 consecutive years. On September 16, 1967, Seely was inducted as a member of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry. She was the first Pennsylvania native to become an Opry member, and then later became the first female to regularly host Opry segments. Widely recognized for changing the image of female country performers, Seely became the first person to wear a mini skirt on the Opry stage. Seely made history again in 2022 by being named the artist with the most performances in the Grand Ole Opry’s history. To date she has performed over 5,300 times. A BMI-awarded songwriter, Seely’s songs have been recorded by Country Music Hall of Fame members including Dottie West, Merle Haggard, Connie Smith, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Hank Williams Jr., as well as by artists ranging from Irma Thomas, the “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” to Rhonda Vincent, the “Queen of Bluegrass,” and from Boys II Men to Seal. Seely’s composition titled “Yours” was named “Song of the Year” at the 2022 Arkansas Country Music Awards. The star of major stage productions including Always, Patsy Cline, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and several others, Seely also appeared in the movie Changing Hearts. Seely has served as a radio disc jockey on her own Armed Forces Network, traveled on military tours throughout Europe and Asia, published her own book titled Pieces Of A Puzzled Mind, and received her own “Star” in the Music City Walk of Fame which represents all genres of music. Seely’s recordings have spanned seven decades from her Top 10 Billboard album The Seely Style to her Curb Records album An American Classic which includes her third duet with friend Willie Nelson. Seely appeared in Nelson’s movie Honeysuckle Rose and sang on the platinum soundtrack album. In 2018 Seely began hosting her own weekly show “Sundays with Seely” on the Willie’s Roadhouse channel of SiriusXM. At the inaugural Influencing Women Awards Gala in 2019, Seely was presented the first “Standing Ovation Award,” and then Seely’s name was added to the award. In 2022, she was recognized on the nationally-televised Country Music Association (CMA) Awards Show, and in 2023 she received the CMA’s prestigious Joe Talbot Award. This August, she will be honored by SOURCE with the esteemed Jo Walker-Meador Lifetime Achievement Award.
For more information on Jeannie Seely, visit jeannieseely.com.
