Kitty Wells (Ellen Muriel Deason) (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Singer Kitty Wells, whose hits such as "Making
Believe" and "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" made her the
first female superstar of country music, died Monday.
The singer’s family said she died peacefully at home after complications
from a stroke.
Her solo recording career lasted from 1952 to the late 1970s and she made
concert tours from the late 1930s until 2000. That year, she announced she
was quitting the road, although she performed occasionally in Nashville and
elsewhere afterward.
She recorded approximately 50 albums and had 25 Top 10 country hits. Kitty
was listed by various polls from 1953 to 1968 as the No. 1 female country singer.