She Won a Talent Contest That Landed Her A Recording Contract
In the early 60s, Connie married and became a housewife in small-town Ohio, but she was occasionally singing on local TV shows and was performing in various local talent contests. In August 1963, Connie joined a talent contest at the Frontier Ranch country music park near Columbus, Ohio.
She belted out her winning piece, “I Thought of You” by Jean Shepard. She won five silver dollars from the contests, and stardom she never expected to come. That day at the park, country music singer Bill Anderson heard Connie performed, and he was impressed by her voice.
But it wasn’t in January 1964, when Connie ran into Bill Anderson again at a country music package concert. The country crooner invited Connie to perform with him on Ernest Tubb’s Midnite Jamboree program in Nashville, Tennessee.
After performing on the program, Connie went back to Nashville that May to record demos by Bill that he planned on pitching to other country singers. But producer Chet Atkins heard it and was impressed by Connie’s vocals. Chet Atkins offered Connie a recording contract, and she eventually signed with the label on June 24, 1964.