Dolly Parton once said, “There’s really only three female singers in the world: Streisand, Ronstadt and Connie Smith.” That high praise from one Country Music Hall of Fame inductee to another holds up when diving into Smith’s back catalog of throwback country tunes from the days of the polished Nashville Sound.
Constance June Meador was born on Aug. 14, 1941, in Elkhart, Ind., and raised in West Virginia and Ohio. She grew up in an abusive household with 13 siblings. Like others from her generation, her respite from a less-than-ideal childhood came from hours spent listening to the Grand Ole Opry and other favorite country music programs.
