She Quickly Became a Hitmaker
In less than a year, Connie Smith transitioned into being a small-town Ohio housewife to country stardom. Her debut single, “Once a Day,” written especially for her by Anderson, was released as a single in September 1964 and hit the top of the country charts. It peaked No. 1 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Singles and reigned as No. 1 for eight weeks. For almost 50 years, the hit song held the record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Billboard country chart by a female artist.
In March 1965, Connie’s self-titled debut album also peaked No. 1, spending seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and spent a whopping 30 weeks on the chart overall.