HILLBILLY HITS

The late country music singer/songwriter Kitty Wells shocked the country music world in the 1950’s with her song “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”, perhaps one of the first female anthems in country music to candidly address attitudes about extra-marital affairs. Cheating husbands and misled women became standard fare in country music subject matter throughout the latter half of the 20th century with the help of Wells’ heartbreak ballad, and her single eventually sold more than a million copies after it was banned by the Grand Ole Opry.

Wells, a 1976 inductee into the Country Museum Hall of Fame and 1991 winner of the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, along with her husband and fellow country music star Johnny Wright, helped break ground in 1998 for the Heart of Texas Country Music Museum located in Brady. The museum houses an impressive collection of costumes and memorabilia from some of the top names in the industry. Visitors may view several of Kitty Wells’ gingham dresses, her favored outfit for the stage, as well as other Kitty Wells keepsakes. Legendary country music star Loretta Lynn has also donated an impressive collection of stage dresses, shoes and jewelry to the museum. Perhaps one of the more striking designs, Ernie Ashworth’s “Lip Suit”, an all-white suit embellished with bright red lips and rhinestones, honors his biggest hit “Talk Back Trembling Lips”.

The museum also hosts a year-round schedule of music shows as well as providing booking services for country music talent. It also sponsors a radio show “Hillbilly Hits” courtesy of the station KNEL at 95.3 FM and 1490 AM.